I have a lot of Abraham Lincoln books. Too many for my shelves, it seems. While I read a dozen (or two) books about our 16th President every year, the fact remains that my collection outpaces my available time. Still, it remains a joy.
I’ve previously listed the Lincoln books I acquired in 2013. In this post I’ll list the books I’ve acquired in the first half of this year. And yes, I know that June still has a couple of weeks to go, but I’ve put myself on a moratorium (of sorts), at least until the end of the month. Check out the list below.
David J. Kent is currently working on a book about Abraham Lincoln’s interest in science and technology. He is also the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and a soon-to-be-released ebook on Tesla and Renewable Energy.
Here’s the list!
| Ambrose, Stephen E. | Nothing Like It In The World: The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad 1863-1869 | 2000 |
| Bacon, Benjamin W. | Sinews of War: How Technology, Industry, and Transportation Won the Civil War | 1997 |
| Barton, William E. | Abraham Lincoln And His Books | 1920 |
| Borritt, Gabor (ed) | The Gettysburg Nobody Knows | 1999 |
| Boritt, Gabor S. (ed) | Lincoln The War President | 1992 |
| Denenberg, Barry | Lincoln Shot: A President’s Life Remembered | 2008 |
| Fletcher, George P. | Our Secret Constitution: How Lincoln Redefined American Democracy | 2001 |
| Gary, Ralph | Following in Lincoln’s Footsteps: A Complete Annotated Reference to Hundreds of Historical Sites Visited by Abraham Lincoln | 2001 |
| Goodheart, Adam | 1861: The Civil War Awakening | 2011 |
| Grant, Ulysses S. | Personal Memoirs | 1999 |
| Haydon, F. Stansbury | Military Ballooning during the Early Civil War | 2000 |
| Herdon, William H. and Weik, Jesse William | Herndon’s Life of Lincoln | 1942 |
| Holzer, Harold | Lincoln: How Abraham Lincoln Ended Slavery in America | 2012 |
| Katcher, Philip | The Civil War Day By Day | 201 |
| Martin, Iain C. | Worthy of Their Esteem: The Timeless Words and Sage Advice of Abraham Lincoln, America’s Greatest President | 2009 |
| Miller, Richard Lawrence | Lincoln and his World: Prairie Politician 1834-1842 | 2008 |
| Mills, Eric | Chesapeake Bay in the Civil War | 1996 |
| Poleskie, Stephen | The Balloonist: The Story of T.S.C. Lowe – Inventor, Scientist, Magician, and Father of the U.S. Air Force | 2007 |
| Randall, J.G. | Mr. Lincoln | 1957 |
| Ross, Charles | Trial by Fire: Science, Technology and the Civil War | 2000 |
| Sandburg, Carl | Abe Lincoln Grows Up | 1956 |
| Stashower, Daniel | The Hour of Peril: The Secret Plot to Murder Lincoln Before the Civil War | 2013 |
| Stoddard, William O. | Inside the White House in War Times: Memoirs and Reports of Lincoln’s Secretary | 2000 |
| Thomas, Benjamin P. | Lincoln’s New Salem | 1987 |
| Thompson, Frank | Abraham Lincoln: Twentieth Century Portrayals | 1999 |
| Waugh, John C. | One Man Great Enough: Abraham Lincoln’s Road to the Civil War | 2007 |
| Widmer, Ted (Ed) | The New York Times Disunion | 2013 |
| Wilson, Douglas L. | Lincoln before Washington: New Perspectives on the Illinois Years | 1997 |
| Wilson, Douglas L. | Lincoln’s Sword: The Presidency and the Power of Words | 2006 |
| Zeitz, Joshua | Lincoln’s Boys: John Hay, John Nicolay, and the War for Lincoln’s Image | 2014 |
| Lincoln Takes Norfolk | 1983 |
There are over 15,000 books that have been written about Abraham Lincoln. At least that’s the number that is bandied about whenever someone talks about Lincoln books. Whether that number includes books about the Civil War or just books focused on Lincoln himself is also in question. In any case, I have over 800 titles, with more than 95% specific to the man, not the war.
Just this year alone (so far) I have acquired 19 books on Abraham Lincoln, plus two magazines focused on specific aspects of the Civil War. Most of these are recent copyrights. The seemingly old ones in the list that follows are actually more recent reprints (e.g., Halleck 1862 is not really a first edition from that era, much to my chagrin; and the Illinois Central Railroad Company 1905 is a modern disappointment).
I’ve just returned from the annual Lincoln Forum conference in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. This was the 20th anniversary event, complete with cake. The Forum fills two and a half days with presentations by renowned Abraham Lincoln scholars, great camaraderie, and books. A lot of books. As usual, my bag coming home is filled with new books picked up at the conference bookstore.
Now the books. New additions to my collection include an essay compilation book edited by Frank Williams and a second similar book edited by Joseph Fornieri. I also picked up an edition of Reck’s A Lincoln: His Last 24 Hours and a book on the lost whaling fleet (which had battled the confederate navy and the Arctic during the Civil War). Perhaps the most unique acquisition is a book called Villainous Compounds: Chemical Weapons & The American Civil War by Guy R. Hasegawa. With my scientific background it would almost be blasphemous if I hadn’t bought it (he tells himself, in a rationalizing sort of way).
Having already bought it beforehand, I took advantage of the conference to bring my copy of Harold Holzer’s new book 
The year in a writer’s life was busy. Some of it actually went according to plan, while some of it was, well, off-plan. I continued to do events related to my book, Lincoln: The Fire of Genius, and continued to write for the Lincoln Group and other venues. On the other hand, some of my writing goals turned out to be unrealistic and have been punted to next year. That said, overall, 2023 was a successful writing year.
The year in a writer’s life was spectacular. My new book was released, I did tons of media, and wrote constantly, while also juggling my duties as president of the Lincoln Group of DC. Sometimes those two lives blended to the point where the line between them wasn’t so easy to determine. Adding in my 
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