Lincoln's yarns and stories: A complete collection of the funny and witty anecdotes that made Lincoln famous as America's greatest story teller

About this book

The volume presents a curated anthology of Abraham Lincoln’s “yarns, stories, droll sayings, and witty anecdotes,” assembled by Colonel Alexander K. McClure after five years of collecting material that had previously circulated only in scattered recollections. The opening pages frame Lincoln not merely as the emancipator and martyr but as a “great story‑telling President” whose humor functioned as a “safety valve” amid the weight of his duties. McClure explains that the book gathers the “most of Lincoln’s stories and the best of them” into a single work, supplementing the text with original outline drawings and rare photographs that aim to capture the “true spirit of Lincoln’s humor.” The preface asserts that each tale carries a moral, likening Lincoln’s parables to those of Aesop, and positions the collection as a unique, richly illustrated complement to conventional histories.

Written in a reverent yet conversational 19th‑century style, the text blends biographical narrative with anecdotal commentary, reflecting the period’s admiration for moral instruction through humor. Readers who enjoy historical portraiture, legal or political rhetoric, and the lighter side of a towering figure will find this compilation rewarding. It especially appeals to those interested in the interplay between rhetoric and character, or to anyone who appreciates a well‑told story that reveals both wit and wisdom.

Opening lines

ABRAHAM LINCOLN, the Great Story Telling President, whose Emancipation Proclamation freed more than four million slaves, was a keen politician, profound statesman, shrewd diplomatist, a thorough judge of men and possessed of an intuitive knowledge of affairs. He was the first Chief Executive to die at the hands of an assassin. Without school education he rose to power by sheer merit and will-power. Born in a Kentucky log cabin in 1809, his surroundings being squalid, his chances for advancement were apparently hopeless. President Lincoln died April 15th, 1865, having been shot by J. Wilkes Booth the night before. …

Keep reading free · chapter 1 needs no account