Lincoln's Yarns and Stories: A Complete Collection of the Funny and Witty Anecdotes That Made Lincoln Famous as America's Greatest Story Teller

The legend of Lincoln tends toward the marble statue: solemn, stoic, crushed by Civil War and emancipation. But the man who walked among soldiers, argued in courtrooms, and occupied the White House told stories constantly. He needed to. McClure's collection gathers the jokes, parables, and wit that made Lincoln the most magnetic speaker of his era. These aren't mere anecdotes about a president who was 'funny sometimes.' They're evidence of a mind that used humor as a scalpel to dissect human nature, as a shield against despair, and as a bridge across the chasms of class and circumstance. Here you'll find Lincoln riffing with lawyers in Springfield, diffusing tense moments with a well-timed yarn, and wielding the tools of a backwoods storyteller to command a nation. The book reveals what monuments obscure: that Lincoln's greatness was inseparable from his warmth, and his laughter was as honest as his grief.