Reviews for The frontier years of Abe Lincoln

The average rating for The frontier years of Abe Lincoln based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2013-08-12 00:00:00 Twylia Suttle Informative, but a bit plodding and tedious at times, capturing the essence of a man drawn to lead a nation sputtering towards self-identity. I am reminded from the work that there are no great men in history, but men with great moments in history. Washington was one of them, self-doubting, withdrawn, erudite, vengeful, loving, he was a man of his times.

Review # 2 was written on 2015-03-03 00:00:00 Mitzi Shepherd I've got about 20 pages left to read. These are my thoughts so far: George Washington: More concerned with his reputation and with getting ahead, and how he would be remembered. Washington comes across as an introvert and loner who will do whatever it takes to win admiration and respect. It was important for him to connect with the right people: those with money, connections, and power. This doesn't mean he didn't have any redeeming qualities, such as taking care of his family and helping his friends. Moderate federalist until he started depending on Hamilton as his main source for political advice. Alexander Hamilton: A snake. Pro-federalist. Thomas Jefferson: Less of a snake than Hamilton. Pro-Republican. Both Hamilton and Jefferson liked to write anonymous political articles in newspapers to prove how evil the other side was. And if lies were helpful in making their case, well, that's politics. So, if you think our political situation today has only recently become as bad as it gets, it actually started with the first presidency, and continued. The author did a good job narrating the facts and the era into an interesting story and in bringing the characters to life. It really got interesting when the Genet Affair and the Edmund Randolf fiasco were told towards the end. I rated this book a 4, only because the author had a tendency to intrude into the story with adjectives and adverbs that let the reader know what he personally thought of the characters. It was unnecessary, but I would guess that Ferling isn't the first historian who wanted to ensure the reader understood the characters were not the upstanding citizens they had been led to believe they were. Overall, I believe the author wrote a balanced biography of George Washington. I plan to read a few more biographies about Washington, as well as biographies of other presidents. I strongly recommend this book for those interested in American history.