Short, fresh, accessible books on the life, times, and legacy of Abraham Lincoln

“Southern Illinois University Press’s Concise Lincoln Library series, which will extend to approximately thirty volumes when completed, is an excellent series of compact books. The premise of the series is to give readers the opportunity to quickly engage at a sophisticated level with selected Lincoln topics by noted Lincoln scholars. I own all volumes and haven’t been disappointed by a single one of them.”—Tom Peet, author of Reading Lincoln

"Knowing Abraham Lincoln is impossible and studying him is like trying to sip from the 'Fountain of Liberty' or make tea from the Constitution--he is not for the faint of heart. But reading SIU Press's Concise Lincoln Library offers something for every thirst. Deep drinkers and first-time students of the Civil War and Lincoln studies will come back for more, and this series will more than fill the glass." 
—William Furry, executive director, Illinois State Historical Society

This exciting series brings together expert scholars to elaborate on the life, times, and legacy of Abraham Lincoln. Through short, focused books, each concentrating on a different area of Lincoln’s life and career, the Concise Lincoln Library brings fresh perspectives to well-known topics, investigates previously overlooked subjects, and explores in greater depth topics that have not yet received book-length treatment.

Each book gives readers the opportunity to quickly achieve basic knowledge of a Lincoln-related topic. In an effort to make new scholarship accessible to the widest audience possible, the books carry minimal endnotes and historiography and are written in a style that is easy for anyone to understand. In-depth yet accessible, the Concise Lincoln Library appeals to both the novice and the Lincoln scholar.

Series Editors, Richard W. Etulain and Sylvia Frank Rodrigue

Richard W. Etulain is a professor emeritus of history at the University of New Mexico. He is the author or editor of more than fifty books. The editor of Lincoln Looks West (2010) and the author of Lincoln and Oregon Country Politics in the Civil War Era (2013), Etulain has also written widely on the American West. His coauthored book on U.S. presidents and the American West is forthcoming.

Sylvia Frank Rodrigue, an executive editor at SIU Press, has acquired more than 280 American history books since 1996. She is the coauthor of Historic Baton Rouge and Images of America: Baton Rouge. She works remotely from her home near Boston, Massachusetts.

Build your Concise Lincoln Library (CLL)! Purchase five or more copies of CLL books and receive a 40 percent discount (using promotional code BUILDCLL40). Purchase ten or more copies of CLL books and receive a 50 percent discount (using promotional code BUILDCLL50).

The Concise Lincoln Library has been made possible in part through a generous donation by the Leland E. and LaRita R. Boren Trust.

Volumes in this series have been published with support from the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Foundation, dedicated to perpetuating and expanding Lincoln’s vision for America and completing America’s unfinished work.