Abe Lincoln (Landmark Books) by Sterling North
This biography of Lincoln covers a lot of his law career and his early political career. It pretty much wraps up with him getting the presidential nomination. It is interesting to have insights into his law practice and family life. The presidency is well covered in many other books, so this one makes a nice addition to Lincoln stories.
This short biography of Lincoln has enough unique points to bring him alive. There are the challenges of his childhood as well as experiences with his wife and kids in the white house. It helps answer the questions of who he was as a person.
Abe Lincoln's Hat by Martha Brenner (Author), Donald Cook (Illustrator)
Lincoln was seen as a political neophyte. He was not deemed as having much of a chance of gaining the Republican nomination for president. However, he was able to help use the conflicts among the primary candidates to eventually secure the nomination. He helped bring many of the rivals into his cabinet. His cabinet also included many people across party lines. Things were never super stable, with many resignations and attempted resignations. Lincoln worked hard to hold them together.
The focus is on the political maneuvering. As such, the final term of Lincoln's presidency passes by quickly. By then, people were mostly in order. The big conflicts were outside his provenance. The story of the assassination is covered in a way that ties together Seward and his experience with Lincoln. We will never know how Lincoln's conciliatory ways would have worked with reconstruction.
The book portrays Lincoln in a positive light. He grew up in both slave and free states. He was poor, but not too different from most of the frontier settlers of his day. He was a storyteller and a jokester and worked hard to be a peacemaker and get along with everybody. He was strong and engaged in plenty of manual labor, while also being an avid reader.
It was not uncommon for people to have seemingly incompatible views. Many ardent abolitionists did not actually want to live with the freed slaves. They would prefer to keep them out of their communities, or set up their own societies in Central America or Africa. There were also many preachers who would preach temperance and the evils of alcohol, before returning home to get drunk.
Lincoln rarely drank, yet he was not a complete teetotaler. He believed in the equality of opportunity for everybody, yet was not an ardent abolitionist. (He was even ahead of his time on women's rights.) He saw the arguments of people on both sides. He would structure his speeches to provide his view without offending others
Entertainment options were also different in the day. Political speeches and campaigns were a prime source of entertainment, and may be accompanied by alcohol. Theaters when available would draw a crowd. (And Lincoln was quite fond of the theater.) A good storyteller like Lincoln could also attract local attention.
The racial and slavery issues of the day were complex. Both the south and the north used the framing documents of the United States to advocate their cause. The north eventually enlisted a large number of freed slaves in the military. However, these troops were paid less than their white counterparts and usually led by white leaders.
The government of the day was much simpler than it was today. Each state had much greater autonomy. Lincoln had started a number of progressive policies that seem common today. Income tax for the wealthy and national parks both had their roots under Lincoln.
Lincoln sought out compromise. His former rivals were often given key places in his administration. He even reached across party lines. the Republican party of the day was a new, radically progressive party. Just aligning himself with the party set him apart. He adopted much more centrist policies and worked to get things done in a way that could make all happy.
His family life had played a roll in his political experience. He had family members that fought on both sides of the civil war. His wife came from a well-established family and had strong ambitions of her own. He suffered from the loss of many family members.
What would have happened to the United States if Lincoln had not been assassinated? Would he have struggled with the challenges of reconstruction? Or would he have helped unite the country in a way that would have eliminated the need for future civil rights movements? We will never know.
Killing Lincoln covers the history of the last few days of the civil war and the assassination of Lincoln. While it mostly sticks with the historical facts, the tone is far from that of a typical historical narrative. The author is a political commentator, and uses aspect of that style in the delivery. Much of the story is given as a countdown of Lincoln's time to live. The events in the life of Lincoln's assassin are covered in greater detail than the life of Lincoln. Various conspiracy theories are brought up. (Though they are generally acknowledged as unproven theories.) The end of the civil war is portrayed as a battle of wills. The Union had the rebels in a bind. However, the rebels somehow kept finding the will to fight. In one battle, the Union infantry failed to rise up for the killing blow. Because of that, they were all killed. In other cases, Union leadership failed to "finish the job", giving the rebels more time to fight. In the end, this let the Confederacy survive for a few more days. However, their cause was doomed. 
Seth Grahame-Smith had visited a book store and it seemed every book was either about vampires or Abraham Lincoln. All that was missing was a book that incorporated both. Hence, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. The books is presented as a the story derived from Lincoln's secret journals. Vampires had come to the new world to escape the persecution in Europe. The slave trade provided an easy source of "blood" for the vampires. After Lincoln discovered vampires had killed his family members, he vowed revenge. In the process, he meets a "good" vampire who helps him out in the battle against the "bad ones." The bad vampires are very concerned about a possible end of slavery and want to do all they can to keep the institution alive. Lincoln and the "good" vampires are working to overthrow slavery and the domination of the "bad vampires". 
When you look at events in the past it all seems clear. Of course Lincoln was a great president who ended slavery and kept the country together even after secession attempts. However, when events are occurring things are much different. There was strong opposition in congress for repealing slavery. (And this is a congress that doesn't include any members from the confederate states). The arguments used sound similar to arguments we hear today opposing the war in Iraq and Afghanistan or just about any other major policy movie.
