In the first multi-volume biography of Abraham Lincoln to be published in decades, Lincoln scholar Michael Burlingame offers a fresh look at the life of one of America’s greatest presidents. Incorporating the field notes of earlier biographers, along with decades of research in multiple manuscript archives and long-neglected newspapers, this remarkable work will both alter and reinforce our current understanding of America’s sixteenth president. Volume 1 covers Lincoln’s early childhood, his experiences as a farm boy in Indiana and Illinois, his legal training, and the political ambition that led to a term in Congress in the 1840s. In volume 2, Burlingame examines Lincoln’s life during his presidency and the Civil War, narrating in fascinating detail the crisis over Fort Sumter and Lincoln’s own battles with relentless office seekers, hostile newspaper editors, and incompetent field commanders. Burlingame also offers new interpretations of Lincoln’s private life, discussing his marriage to Mary Todd and the untimely deaths of two sons to disease. But through it all—his difficult childhood, his contentious political career, a fratricidal war, and tragic personal losses—Lincoln preserved a keen sense of humor and acquired a psychological maturity that proved to be the North’s most valuable asset in winning the Civil War. Published to coincide with the 200th anniversary of Lincoln's birth, this landmark publication establishes Burlingame as the most assiduous Lincoln biographer of recent memory and brings Lincoln alive to modern readers as never before.

Dispelling common myths and misunderstandings, this book provides a fascinating and historically accurate portrayal of the 1858 Almanac Trial that establishes both Lincoln's character and his considerable abilities as a trial lawyer. • Written from the highly informed and experienced perspective of a veteran criminal trial lawyer who has investigated, prosecuted, and defended hundreds of murder cases • Presents accurate information gathered from the most significant letters, statements, and interviews of the participants in the trial and cites the actual court record, allowing readers to distinguish fact from myth and lore • Explains how a fictional account of the trial came to be believed as fact and proves that the myth of the forged almanac was a libel invented by those who sought to profit from the lie • Appeals to Lincoln scholars and trial lawyers as well as any reader with an interest in American history or true crime

"With the introduction of Douglas' first bill in 1834, the Douglas-Lincoln contests continued in the decade ahead. Struggles over banking, internal improvements, party organizations, the seat of government and slavery put them on opposing sides. These battles were Douglas' political apprenticeship and he would use what he learned to become the most powerful Democrat in the nation"--