The original edition of this book was published about twenty years after
Lincoln's death at the close of the Civil War. At that time many of the
men who had taken a prominent part in the affairs, military and civil,
of that heroic period, many who had known Lincoln and had come in
personal contact with him during the war or in his earlier years, were
still living. It was a vivid conception of the value of the personal
recollections of these men, gathered and recorded before it was too
late, that led to the preparation of this book. It was intended to be,
and in effect it was, largely an anecdotal Life of Lincoln built of
material gathered from men still living who had known him personally.
The task was begun none too soon. Of the hundreds who responded to the
requests for contributions of their memories of Lincoln there were few
whose lives extended very far into the second quarter-century after his
death, and few indeed survive after the lapse of nearly fifty
years,--though in several instances the author has been so fortunate as
to get valuable material directly from persons still living (1913). Of
the more than five hundred friends and contemporaries of Lincoln to whom
credit for material is given in the original edition, scarcely a dozen
are living at the date of this second edition. Therefore, the value of
these reminiscences increases with time. They were gathered largely at
first hand. They can never be replaced, nor can they ever be very much
extended.

This book brings Lincoln the man, not Lincoln the tradition, very near
to us. Browning asked, "And did you once see Shelley plain? And did he
stop and speak to you?" The men whose narratives make up a large part of
this book all saw Lincoln plain, and here tell us what he spoke to them,
and how he looked and seemed while saying it. The great events of
Lincoln's life, and impressions of his character, are given in the
actual words of those who knew him--his friends, neighbors, and daily