Lincoln: A Photobiography

Respect for Lincoln

This is a wonderful Newbery Winner. This book would fall under biography in the list of genres. It is a story of Abraham Lincoln from his young life in Kentucky until his last days as President of the United States. We learn about how Lincoln felt self-conscious of his lack of education and sometimes feared public speaking. Contrary to this, he was an excellent speaker regardless of his education and social status. Lincoln was self-educated and worked his way into a career as a country lawyer. We find out that his wife's family wasn't very approving of Lincoln's courtship to Mary Todd. After their marriage we gain an understanding of Lincoln as family man and the agony he suffered at the loss of his son Eddie, who was only three. This was probably a heartbreak that Lincoln never recovered from. This book depicts Lincoln as a hard-working, honest man with a sense of humor who strived hard to reach his goals. A man that stood up for his beliefs and helped change the course of history through the Civil War. After reading this book I gained a great deal of respect for ou fourteenth President. I purchased this book and intend to have my children use it as a future reference. There were many pictures that accompanied the text, which made the book even more enjoyable. This book was very well written and organized which made it even easier to comprehend.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

An outstanding biography of a great man.

The North¿s hopes of winning the war are fading and it looks like slavery will never go away. After a series of bad generals, Abraham Lincoln finally finds a good one named Ulysses S. Grant. Lincoln and Grant lead the North to victory and abolish slavery. This book is a biography that tells about Lincoln¿s whole life. Lincoln goes from a country boy to the president. This was an outstanding book that shows what a great man Abraham Lincoln was. I like how the author gave a clear description of what Abraham Lincoln was like. He was a very tall, slender man. Abe had a bony face, and a solemn expression. For part of his life, he had a beard. But it wasn¿t his idea to grow it. A little girl wrote a letter to him and told him that he¿d look a lot more handsome with a beard. And he took the advice. Lincoln was an informal man. Before he was president, he would greet guests in a short-sleeved shirt and slippers. Abraham loved to read. He really liked poetry. Abe would always carry a book around and after he was done plowing, he¿d read. I learned that Lincoln had trouble finding good generals during the Civil War. One of the first generals for the Union was named General Irwin McDowell. He was supposed to lead his troops to Manassas, and then to Richmond. His troops met up with the rebels at a little creek called Bull Run. The Union lost badly. General George B. McClellan served later in the war. He trained his troops for months. Eventually, everyone grew tired of waiting for him to fight. Lincoln wanted McClellan to attack by land, but instead McClellan attacked by sea. He proceeded too slowly, and the rebels got time to ready their defense. Lincoln didn¿t have any better luck with General Henry Halleck. The General¿s ideas were good, but he had difficulty making decisions. I liked how the pictures helped me visualize the story. Both sides of the war had young soldiers. A photo shows a boy in a soldier uniform. He doesn¿t look like he¿s older than fourteen years old. You know that the Civil War was a gruesome war, but a picture in the book shows dead soldiers lying around at Antietam. John Wilkes Booth killed Lincoln during a play at Ford¿s Theatre. An illustration shows Booth running across the stage with a knife. It shows Lincoln slumped over in the balcony. This is a terrific book that you will learn a lot from, and it¿s very interesting. The story was very easy for a sixth grader to understand. Even if you didn¿t quite get the text of the story, there were pictures that would help you see different parts of history in Lincoln¿s life. This book also gave you a clear idea of why Lincoln abolished slavery. He felt slavery was unfair to African people, and was tearing the country apart. I¿d recommend this book to anyone who wanted to learn about one of the most important people in history. S.Howard

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great Book!

This books theme is a biography about President Abraham Lincoln¿s life. They say Lincoln stood out in a crowd with this wit and rollicking humor. This book is full of illustrations chosen photographs and prints. It begins with Lincoln¿s childhood, his career as a country lawyer and his courtship and marriage to Mary Todd. There where many complex issues he was dealing with like the Civil War and slavery. It tells about his final hours at the Ford Theatre on April 14, 1865 the night he was shot. The author of this book Russell Freedman is a nonfiction writer who prefers to be called a 'factual author.' He says that's because lots of people think 'nonfiction' is less interesting and less important than fiction. He chooses only topics that he is interested in and wants to learn more about. He likes to write about people in history who have character traits that stand out and make them memorable.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Lincoln A Photobiography

Newbery, Freedman focuses on Lincoln as an individual. I was pleased to see so much space devoted to Lincoln's complex relationship with Mary Todd, the woman who became his wife. The misfortune this couple endured is sobering: the loss of Eddie and Willie at young ages, Lincoln's melancholia and spells of deep depression, as well as the strains of the Presidency. Who can imagine the suffering of trying to keep a nation together while millions of American boys died in combat? The strain Lincoln endured is beyond imagination. Freedman tries to have the young reader put themselves in Lincoln's shoes. This is an instructive technique. Freedman also devotes considerable time to Lincoln's special father-son relationship with Tad, and his account of the assassination is outstanding. Russell Freedman grew up in San Francisco and attended the University of California, and Berkeley. He now lives in New York City. Bibliography Freedman, Russell. Lincoln: A Photobiography. New York: Clarion Books, 1987.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

H

I had to read this for school a few weeks ago and it was the best Lincoln biography i hav ever read. Not that i read Lincoln biographysall the time. But it was really good!

Accurate

Although pictures have been published many times before, the layout was concise, and orderly. It is a welcome addition to any Lincoln library.

A good book

I read this for my Civil War Class, it was better than I expected...ironically, everyone else in my grade is a guy...I recommend this book if, like me, you were given a list of choices as to what books you could read.

A Biography of Lincoln

This book was easy to follow and understand. I have never been good with history but I really enjoyed reading this book. It explained parts of his life that the reader would find surprising. Every chapter had some new exciting information about Lincoln. The photos were good quality but it seemed there should have been more. I would recommend this book.

Lincoln: More than the guy on the Penny

Lincoln: A Photobiography by Russell Freedman, to be a biography and picture book none the less, is a three star book. Quite honestly, I only read the book for my English class, but it proved to be decent. I'm not paticularly fond of biographies, and I partly feel books half-filled with pictures undermine my intelligence slightly. This was not the case with Lincoln: A Photobiography. Micheal Freedman picked out inteesting things rather than boring facts. He began each new chapter with a relevant quote by Lincoln himself. For example; when Lincoln was called two-faced by an opponet in a political debate he responded 'If I had two faces, do you think I would wear this one?!?!'. The book made good ol' honest Abe seem more human than ever before. He, in a sense, came to life right in the book. He was represented as a person with feelings, rather than a rather dull, for lack of a better phrase, dead guy. Most biographies are rather boring and straight-foward. The Lincoln Photobiography is by far the best portayl of Abraham Lincoln to date. It takes you from his dirt floored birth place, to his funeral persession, and even the after-life of his monument. You will never think of him as 'that dead president on the penny' again. Oh no, Lincoln did more for America than that. He freed slaves, and went out to the battle-fields himself to show his soldiers he cared, and help them fight for freedom. Abraham Lincoln is more than just the guy on the back of the penny, and this book is more than a Newbery winning biography.

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