The Backwoods Boy: The Story of Abraham Lincoln (Illustrated)

This is part of the series Alger wrote about how boys from impoverished backgrounds rose to positions of prominence through determination and hard work. Lincoln, of course, did just that. Alger makes heavy use of published material that was available to him at the time to bring an understanding of Lincoln from some of those who knew him best.

The book moves along at a good pace. It contains many short anecdotes concerning Lincoln's physical strength, grace and humor. It's a great introduction to Abraham Lincoln without the tedium of some other biographies.

This edition of the book contains the four, rejuvenated illustrations, and 10 additional Lincoln illustrations unique to this edition.