Most of the Lincoln shelf – or rather library – focuses on his politics and the Civil War. Richard Kigel’s book is entirely pre-politics – it ends at age 25 when Lincoln is elected to the Illinois legislature (on his second try). The story to that point is warm enough to reinforce Lincoln not only as the greatest president, as we know from all the other works, but as a remarkable human being, from this one.

Becoming Abraham Lincoln follows his forebears to the point of his birth, and then Lincoln and his extended family from Kentucky to Indiana and Illinois. His many relatives, friends, neighbors and acquaintances provide multiple verifications for the many wonderful stories, remarkably few of which have become legendary. Kigel addresses this strange gap directly and thoughtfully. They are stories worth knowing.

What is striking is how much everyone loved him and made him the center of attention, right from childhood. At age seven he was transcribing letters for adults. He loved to tell stories, both true and tall tales, and there was a sparkle in his eyes as he entertained. He formally gathered other children around and conducted lectures, which they loved. He had a need to laugh and making others laugh gave him satisfaction. He was a practical jokester, and a hard, conscientious worker. He delivered a boat he built to New Orleans, and walked home to Illinois.

And it must be remembered that he was not a pretty picture. At six-four and just 160 pounds, he stuck out. His pants never came within five inches of his shoes, when he had any. He had a single suspender to keep them up. His face was described as having been chopped out with an axe, and in need of planing. But he was exceptionally strong, able to press a thousand pounds, several witnesses said, to handle an axe like no one before or since, and a wrestler to reckon with.

I can’t even imagine what Lincoln might have been with a real education. His one year of schooling was preceded and supplemented by an intense love of words and books. He read voraciously, studied everything hard, and everything he came upon was a wonder to him. The knowledge he built up blew people away. It was an age when the richest man in town was said to own 30 books. All the children sat in the same classroom and were taught by someone with no formal education. Few became literate beyond signing their own names. Abe Lincoln read science and law and poetry for (obsessive) pleasure. With what little education he had plus his drive to learn, he became one of the wisest men of the age.

His life was miserable poverty until his mid-twenties. Between that and the constant presence of death in his life, it’s a wonder he could be the upbeat, positive center of the community, but he was. It wasn’t until later that depression took control, instantly, for long bleak periods. Through it all he was exceptionally honest, exceptionally sincere, and a worthy preview of the great man we rightly revere.

David Wineberg ( )