000			02352cam a2200265 a 4500
001			065723
005			20231009193201.0
008			270109s2008 nyu b 001 0beng
010			_a2007042330
020			_a9780060773342
050	0	0	_aE457.2 _b.K357 2008
082	0	0	_a92 LIN
100	1		_aKaplan, Fred, 1937-
245	1	0	_aLincoln _b: the biography of a writer _c/ Fred Kaplan
250			_a1st ed
260			_aNew York _b: HarperCollins Publishers _c, c2008.
300			_aviii, 406 p. _c; 24 cm.
504			_aIncludes bibliographical references (p. [357]-362) and index.
520			_aFor Abraham Lincoln, whether he was composing love letters, speeches, or legal arguments, words mattered. In Lincoln, acclaimed biographer Fred Kaplan explores the life of America's sixteenth president through his use of language as a vehicle both to express complex ideas and feelings and as an instrument of persuasion and empowerment. Like the other great canonical writers of American literature-a status he is gradually attaining-Lincoln had a literary career that is inseparable from his life story. An admirer and avid reader of Burns, Byron, Shakespeare, and the Old Testament, Lincoln was the most literary of our presidents. His views on love, liberty, and human nature were shaped by his reading and knowledge of literature.Since Lincoln, no president has written his own words and addressed his audience with equal and enduring effectiveness. Kaplan focuses on the elements that shaped Lincoln's mental and imaginative world; how his writings molded his identity, relationships, and career; and how they simultaneously generated both the distinctive political figure he became and the public discourse of the nation. This unique account of Lincoln's life and career highlights the shortcomings of the modern presidency, reminding us, through Lincoln's legacy and appreciation for language, that the careful and honest use of words is a necessity for successful democracy.Illuminating and engrossing, Lincoln brilliantly chronicles Abraham Lincoln's genius with language.
600	1	0	_aLincoln, Abraham _d, 1809-1865
650		4	_aPresidents _z-United States _v--Biography
650			_aPolitical oratory _z-United States _x-History _y-19th century
650		0	_aSpeeches, addresses, etc., American _x--History and criticism
942			_cMO
999			_c263869 _d263869