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Herndon's Lincoln

The True Story of a Great Life

Introduction

Herndon's Lincoln: The True Story of a Great Life is widely acknowledged to be the most important and, at the same time, most controversial book ever written about Abraham Lincoln. The result of a collaboration between William H. Herndon and Jesse W. Weik, Herndon's Lincoln created a stir from the moment of its first appearance in 1889. It was highly praised for its detailed and authoritative depiction of Lincoln's pre-presidential life, and it was roundly condemned for its indiscretions and lapses in taste. An attempt to balance these two perspectives is reflected in the verdict of the Atlantic Monthly, whose reviewer declared: "To any reader who wishes to know the truth about Lincoln, at whatever costs to illusions, this book is invaluable and suggestive." To tell the truth about Lincoln was undoubtedly the biography's aim, but whether such a thing should even have been attempted was sharply debated by the first generation of readers, and whether, and to what extent, it succeeded has been at issue ever since. "Cr ... read full excerpt from Herndon's Lincoln: The True Story of a Great Life ebook