A. Lincoln: A Biography. By Ronald C. White, Jr. New York: Random House, c. 2009. Pp. xv, 796, ISBN 978-0-8129-7570-3.

            White’s A. Lincoln relates the historical impact of one of the nation’s most influential presidents. White structures his book narratively and uses each page of his behemoth work to understand the man behind the office for which he was remembered. The title, A. Lincoln, depicts how Lincoln most commonly presented himself to the public and betrays White’s persistent desire throughout the work to understand Lincoln on his own terms. Much of the work naturally centers around Lincoln’s presidency and the Civil War, but White works hard to show how the presidency was simply the apex in a much longer and larger political career. Moreover, his actions during the Civil War were the culmination of a changing philosophy on the issues of slavery and union.

            One of the greatest strengths of White’s approach in writing such a dense work is that he dramatically expands the cast of characters beyond Lincoln, his cabinet, and his key generals. Many topical narratives focusing on specific components of Lincoln’s presidency fail to depict how key historical figures like Stephen Douglas and George McClellan persist within the narrative beyond their most climactic exchanges with Lincoln.

            The image of Lincoln in White’s narrative coalesces to a man who did not conform to the Republican or Southern legends of him. However, White falls into the common snare set for biographers; he idolizes Lincoln at every turn. Far less than an even handed account of Lincoln’s life, White focuses on the ways in which Lincoln continuously distinguished himself and the lasting effect he had on the nation. Yet, despite his aggrandizing Lincoln’s every action, White does dispel the idea that Lincoln was somehow fated to lead the nation. He shows the chance inherent to Lincoln’s rise to the head of his party and maintains the sense of drama that can so quickly evaporate in a biography about a great man inevitably fulfilling his great destiny. The end result of White’s attitude is an eminently readable account of a man who is worth reading about and understanding even if he the reader fails to get as excited as White.

            A. Lincoln is also more than just a text about Lincoln’s life. White includes an huge variety of quotations, portraits, political cartoons, and anything else that can help the reader better understand Lincoln. As much as he can, White turns the substance of his work toward understanding his subject by exposing the reader to the events of Lincoln’s life rather than filtering and analyzing primary and secondary texts into a workable thesis.

            Another interesting aspect of White’s work is that his narrative of Lincoln’s life is not so much “new” as it is “more.” Biographies on Lincoln could be their own small industry within the historical profession. As the reader moves through the text he or she crosses many familiar landmarks in regards to Lincoln’s life and the Civil War. White does not change the focus of his work or argue for a dramatic reinterpretation of his subject; instead he does his best to hit all the major events and ideas while bringing those events and actions on the periphery into sharper relief. White does not seem to challenge the established narrative or historiography in a key way. He strives to tell the story and create an authoritative text on Abraham Lincoln for his generation of Civil War scholars. By the final page the reader comes to the conclusion that if the author has not hit his mark he has made a fairly compelling argument in its favor.

Andrew Klooster