Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln's love letters, speeches and legal arguments are the raw material for Fred Kaplan's account of the 16th president, which follows his life through the way he used words. Kaplan treats language as Lincoln's means of expressing complex ideas and feelings and as a tool of persuasion and power. He shows how Lincoln's reading of Shakespeare, Burns, Byron and the Old Testament shaped his views on liberty, love and human nature, and how his writing formed his identity, his relationships and his career. The biography also holds the modern presidency up against Lincoln's example, arguing that honest, careful language is something a democracy cannot do without. It appeared in 2008.

It appears on a list of every book Barack Obama recommended during his presidency.