After watching Steven Spielberg's film about Abraham Lincoln I was keen to learn more about this fascinating character. This biography by Stephen B Oates is generally regarded as the standard one volume book about Lincoln and I can understand why. Oates really brings Lincoln to life, building up a vivid picture of a man who overcame an impoverished upbringing and grafted his way to the top by sheer talent and industry. The reader really gets to know Lincoln and admire him despite his faults and failings. In this sense it is a very objective book, and Oates is not afraid to shy away from Lincoln's human failings, both as a man and as a president. There is a good balance to this book. Oates develops Lincoln's character well while weaving historical circumstances around him, and is usually accessible to the layman, which would include myself. With Malice Towards None is very well researched, written with good economy and a high standard of prose. But it is not without its faults. The ending to the book is a bit abrupt. Oates should have told us what happened to his wife and children and how the civil war ended. The book basically ends with Lincoln's death. The emancipation proclamation, as portrayed in Spielberg's film, is not given enough clarity and emphasis and the whole issue is a little confusing. There is also a glaring omission of Lincoln's planned monetary reforms. If Lincoln had survived to serve another term as president then the world's economy might be in a much better state today. Still, these failings aside, With Malice Towards None is a very readable account of a great historical man. 8/10
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