Out of the 44 presidents who have served the United States of America, Abraham Lincoln remains one of the most well known and influential. Many simply recognize him as the president who declared “we must free the slaves”, but few people understand Lincoln as a person (110). In the biography “Abraham Lincoln and Civil War America”, Civil War historian William E. Gienapp gives a brief summary of Lincoln's upbringing, development in politics, and time spent during his presidency specifically on the war. Because the book is a biography there is no thesis presented. Instead, Gienapp creates a portrayal of not only Lincoln's life, and examines how Lincoln became an exceptional person and leader. Early on Gienapp offers interesting viewpoints…show more content… Whether it be telling stories to people at the county store or gathering crowds for a speech, Lincoln’s understanding of people was far beyond that of the average person. Interestingly enough, Gienapp is able to connect Lincoln’s skills from his earlier life to better explain his success. “(Lincoln) understood politics because he understood human nature” (180). In his writing Gienapp constantly reminds the reader of the skills Lincoln attained from a young age, but continually shows how Lincoln constantly grew to be the leader the United States knows him as today. Reminding the reader that “Lincoln was not born a great leader, he became one” (175). Gienapp clearly explains how his time in office helped nurture his abilities as a strategic leader, of war, and also one who was able to delegate between both political…show more content… Gienapp references Charles Dana for saying ‘(Lincoln) was all solid, hard, keen intelligence combined with goodness’ (180). Yet, there is no information given on who Charles Dana was, and more importantly it not said whether Lincoln and Dana had any interaction or connection. This can be frustrating at times because the perspective of the person being cited is unknown. Therefore, the reader is left to question why and what brought Dana to make that statement. By simply referencing people and the context in which people said what they did, Gienapp’s arguments and ideas would be further
