Abraham Lincoln
James M. McPherson, Abraham Lincoln (Oxford University Press, 2009)
Summary: An extremely concise biography, assembled by one of the Civil War's greatest historians. Far from comprehensive, but you're not looking for that in a primer. Highly readable and well-researched.
Key Quote: "Indeed, it seems quite likely that without his determined leadership the United States would have ceased to be...The first problem was the survival of the republic as one nation, indivisible...Americans were painfully aware that most republics through history had eventually collapsed, degenerated into tyranny, or were overthrown. Some Americans alive in 1861 had seen two French republics rise and fall, several European nationalist republics spring up in 1848 and succumb to counterrevolutions, and republics in Latin America come and go with bewildering rapidity." - p. 62
Bottom Line: Read this book if you want to read about Abraham Lincoln for a couple hours.
