Abraham Lincoln comes to life through the words of his devoted and talented biographer, Carl Sandburg. This edition is an excellent compromise between Sandburg's six-volume edition and the shorter, incomplete texts that abound regarding Lincoln. Take your time with this masterpiece and follow Lincoln from youth through the climax of his political career in Washington.

Thousands upon thousands of Civil War books are available, as American readers seem to have a limitless appetite for that era. If you are looking for the best, read Sandburg on Lincoln. A major American poet takes on one of the best-known, best-loved, most tragic of American historical figures.

When I was a freshman in high school, our English teacher offered us a deal: Anyone who read Sandburg's biography (then in six rather daunting volumes) would not have to attend class for a semester. I took him up on that offer, and was blessed to find my way through Sandburg's gift to the American people. Here is the highly detailed, thoroughly researched, and articulately written story of Abe Lincoln's years among us.

If you have time to read only one of the Civil War books from that burgeoning genre, read this one. You will come to know, from the inside out, this prairie boy who became a towering figure in American history.

I believe Sandburg is the only author to win the Pulitzer for both poetry and history. Originally a multi volume history taking decades to complete, this single volume work is an appetizer. I read it in the 1960's and went on with relish to the full multi volume work.

This single volume is insightful, laser like in it's detail yet painting the times of Lincoln in a broad and beautiful brush. Did you know that in 1860 tools could be honed to within one ten thousandth of an inch of accuracy? That magazines and newspapers said the world would change for-ever because of the new "instant" communication nation wide?

This is more than biography. It is a woven fabric depicting the times and life of Abraham Lincoln.

I must have had my dad read these stories a million times at bed time. I remember always bugging him to read one more story. It has been so many years since then and I can't wait to read them to my own children, although i don't think I can do the voices quit so well. The illustrations in the hardcover edition were beautiful and i would spend so much time pretending with my little sister that we lived in rootabaga country. It will be a pleasure to reread all the stories of my childhood. When i would pick rootabaga stories at bedtime even over everybodies all time favorite Winnie-the-pooh.

Carl Sandburg, winner of Pulitzer Prizes both for his biography of Abraham Lincoln and for his COMPLETE POEMS, explores another genre in ROOTABAGA STORIES, fairy tales that he wrote for his daughters. When asked how he wrote the stories, Sandburg replied, "The children asked questions, and I answered them."

The ROOTABAGA STORIES are unconventional in almost every way. Unlike traditional fairy tales, they have no perfect princesses and evil witches. They are American fairy tales with a rural flavor and, in fact, they have no evil characters. The settings, though fanciful, include images that defined America in the 1920s, when the stories were published: the railroad, which "ran across the prairie, to the mountains, to the sea," and the skyscraper.

In Rootabaga Country the railroad tracks go from straight to zigzag, the pigs wear bibs (some checked, some striped, some polka-dotted), and the biggest city is the Village of Liver-and-Onions. Characters in this fanciful world are equally peculiar: Please Gimme, Blixie Blimber, Eeta Peeca Pie, and dozens of others. Children and literary critics alike would be hard-pressed to explain (even symbolically) the events that occur in the stories. Nevertheless, meaning comes through and truth is revealed. For example, in "Three Boys with Jugs of Molasses and Secret Ambitions," ambition is defined as "a little creeper that creeps and creeps in your heart night and day, singing a little song, 'Come and find me, come and find me.'" Who would expect that "The Two Skyscrapers Who Decided to Have a Child" would have an absolutely poignant ending?

Although the events of the stories may not be explainable, the stories are replete with concrete images. Sandburg provides both visual and auditory description with musical, repetitious phrases and novel juxtaposition of words ("a daughter who is a dancing shaft of light on the ax handles of morning"). Occasionally he invents words, such as "pfisty-pfoost," the sound of the train's steam engine, and "bickerjiggers," the buttons on an accordion.

ROOTABAGA STORIES are wonderful for reading aloud. They provide an opportunity for readers and listeners to delight in language and revel in truths revealed in a fanciful world.

Sometimes it is late and you want to read your child something short so you naturally will reach for this book - where most of the stories are 4 pages or less and they are not really connected - the problem is: you can seldom stop at one and if you are not careful you will read the whole book! My 10 year old is just as mesmerized by Sandberg's words as my 8 year old was 2 years ago, mostly because Sandberg's choice of words and fantastic plots and settings are continually unexpected and surprising. I'm mesmerized too, but I won't reveal my age.

Though I have always enjoyed Carl Sandburg's poetry, I had never encountered this book until my son discovered it at the library on his first library visit. We took it home, read it every night for 2 weeks and he didn't want to take it back. The day we returned it, we went to the book store and got our own copy. When my daughter came along, I ordered a copy from Amazon, as she also fell in love with the story. The Wedding Procession is a lovely go-to-sleep book, telling the story of the sweet Rag Doll who was loved by all, but who chose to marry the Broom Handle. We each have our favorite group from the procession. My son loves the musical soup eaters, my daughter adores the easy ticklers. And my favorites, after the clean ears, are of course the sleepyheads. Children will want you to read this to them nearly every night. And parents and caregivers will oblige happily because it is a quite, lovely, charming story that will march your children right along to bed in the Wedding Procession of the Rag Doll and the Broom Handle.

This was truly my favorite book as a child. I was surprised to find it available. Many happy hours were spent on my mother's
lap reading and looking at the unique pictures. I hope my Johnnie
loves it also!

I don't even have kids and I'm ordering this book just to have around the house. Though I haven't read it in probably 25 years, I can still recite whole passages from it. I only wish it were still available in hardcover.

Right from the start this book is one of those that just feels good in the hand. A thin aesthetically pleasing little volume it has a red satin ribbon to mark your place and a brightly colored huge red heart invites you inside from the front cover. The text is a love poem by the great Carl Sandburg that has never before been published. The pictures are by Anita Lobel and they are filled with glad, warm-hearted images and colors.
A young man goes to "where the aurora borealises grow" and brings home a beautiful speciman for his true love's birthday. The enchanting swirls of color actually do quite well at depicting the essence of the aurora borealis and its mysterious, magical light show. I know, because the northern lights were swirling in the skies over my home just a few nights ago and Lobel captured the feeling just perfectly.
We follow the young man's struggle to find and bring the aurora borealis to his love and we believe that his feelings are so strong that he really can do anything for his love that he sets his heart on doing. He offers to bring her more aurora borealises or even a rainbow if she would like. This poetical man is letting her know that he will always work hard for her and struggle through life with her which is something a young woman may hope for, but this clever man has found a beautiful and romantic way to say it. His sensitivity to her need for beauty and abundance is the endearing point of the colorful promises he makes in this story.
I treasure this book and I think it makes a wonderful gift for anyone you love, especially yourself.

I'm an avid reader of all sorts of novels. I've read 'em with thousands of pages, but none of them have ever moved me as much as this little book did. Both the poem and the illustration have a magical, enchanting quality to them. Buy it for yourself or as a gift. It's well worth the money.

This book is so amazing that when i picked it up in the store and started reading it, i began to cry right there in the shop. i've never experienced that sort of thing in before. i bouth the book right there on the spot with money i had ear-marked for something else. It is just a really simple, really beautiful poem about love with wonderful illustrations. It makes a beautiful present for a child or even a sweetheart.

Carl Sandburg's Always the Young Strangers is not a new book but that is what makes it such a compelling read. In an era marked by the popularity of the memoir, Sandburg's tales of growing up in Galesburg, IL at the end of the 1800s and the beginning of the 1900s allow the reader to hear a distinctive voice no longer with us speak again. This is not any ordinary voice either but voice of a poet clearly in love with words. Though his boyhood stories are simple, they are rich with detail that allow us insight into Sandburg's future as a poet and as a most notable biographer of Abraham Lincoln--in it, for example, Sanburg recalls attending a funeral procession (probably one of many held across the country in a time long before TV allowed the nation to mourn together as we did when JFK was buried) for U.S. Grant and watching from atop his father's shoulders as the various mourners passed. Clearly, this event, along with others he mentions, fed Sandburg's curiosity about the Civil War and led him to write his many volumes about Lincoln. If, like me, you enjoy autobiography and memoir, you will enjoy Always the Young Strangers.

If one hears the name Sandburg, the first thing to come to mind is probably "Fog" or "City of Big Shoulders." But in reading this wonderful memoir, we are reminded of what a fine prose writer the man was. The tale of his struggling Swedish immigrant parents finding their way in late nineteenth century America and young "Charley" as he liked to be called, as the name Carl marked him as a foreigner, is a fascinating glimpse of a bygone time and place. The interesting jobs that young Carl took on, such as traveling the back roads selling stereo-optican views, and his conversations with a civil war vet are rewarding and insightful. I believe this is a wonderful read for anyone with a love of biography, history, or simply good storytelling.

A magnificent collections by one of the most diverse and gifted minds in American literary history. As a high school English teacher, I often teach the "dark" Sandburg: "Killers," "Grass," "Iron," and other pessimistic works by Sandburg. This volume takes that pessimism and puts it into a much more realistic context, dealing with World War I, the Great Depression, and an era of American History to which few of us today can relate. Sandburg's poetry is virtually prose in sections, reading very fluidly. It is fascinating to watch his evolution as a writer and as a man throughout the poems he wrote. I rarely sit and just read poetry, but I recommend this volume to my students--and to anyone else reading/listening--for a couple of hours when a novel just doesn't seem right. Some of it is dark, depressing, and mildly disturbing, but he sheds a ray of light often enough to keep one reading. There's something in Sandburg's work for everyone!

I started looking into Sandburg for a school project, but then i was hooked. I had to take this book from the library countless times, because i couldnt get enough of it. You are able to see many sides of Sandbug, and are able to get a hold of what his views are. Overall, it is on of the best books of poetry by any author. Those from the Midwest can really appreciate his descriptions of the region.

Carl Sandburg's Huckabuck Family will delight and charm children of every age with a story of family pride and optimism. When the Huckabucks Nebraska barn burns down and all their popcorn pops, they decide to go on the road and wait for a sign to tell them when to come back home. Each year they move to a new town and Papa finds a new job. The Huckabucks may have good luck, or bad, but they always have each other. David Small's illustrations add just the right touch to the story and are so detailed that even the farm animals have facial expressions. So, sit down and take a trip across the country and back with the Huckabucks. I promise, you won't be disappointed. This is a wonderful book the whole family can share.

This book is a satisfying follow-up to David Small's last twobooks, The Gardener & The Library. Though this is an old story its optimistic message suits Small's whimsical style beautifully. I'm thoroughly confused by the review in Kirkus that criticizes the repetitive nature of the names--this is part of Sandburg's poetic form--as well as the "pointless" nature of the Huckabuck family's travels, which is actually the whole point of the story. One must take a change in luck in stride, go out and find one's new fortune, and you may even find yourself back home having learned a thing or two. Cheers (& 5 stars) to the Huckabucks, Sandburg, and David Small.

I first read, "The People, Yes" in 1966, while I was still a high school student. I discovered then that reading and writing poetry was cool. More than anything I had ever read before that it spoke to me in such a personal way, that poetry could be warm, sad, funny and powerful all at the same time. While my friends talked about Kerouac, and Ginsberg, and of course Catcher in the Rye, I read everything Carl Sandburg ever wrote. I used my original copy to teach my high school students with until the cover fell off and the pages came apart. It has always held a special spot on my bookshelf, and now I have given this book to my daughter, and she carries it with her everywhere with her own copy of "Always The Young Strangers". She said she never knew poetry could be so powerful, yet easy to understand. Until I gave her this book, she said she hated to read the poetry they assign in school because "this is poetry. It has so much to say, and I know he wants me to understand his words, and he doesn't hide behind archaic language, literary symbols or obscure references that seem irrelevant." The Poetry of Carl Sanburg is timeless. I never understood why his place in American Literature was not much higher. To me he is the best American poet of the twentieth century, in a class by himself. After thirty years and hundreds of readings, I still find something new every time.

Oh, my! To think I never read this before. I knew of it, of course, fromquotes and snippets (my mother took me to see "The Family of Man" at the Museum of ModernArt in New York in the fifties). Why doesn't Sandburg rank higher in our artistic pantheon? Too left wing? Not pretentious enough? More like Woody Guthrie than like T. S. Eliot? Anyway, this is wonderful stuff, reads aloud wonderfully, funny, wise, and you'd better believe it has a message for the nineties. "Another baby in Cuyahuga County, Ohio--why did she ask: 'Papa, what is the moon supposed to advertise?'" "The public has a mind? Yes. And men can follow a method and a calculated procedure for drugging and debauching it? Yes. And the whirlwind comes later? Yes." A treasure. And fun to read.

I recently purchased this book, after having grown up with it in the 50s and 60s. The photographs are as stunning, vibrant and moving as I recall, and I realized that I had clearer memories of this collection of pictures than those in our family photo album - which probably says a lot about my family and cameras?!

Anyway - there's something VERY 50s about these photos - the Germans look "German" - the Irish look "Irish", and so forth. This collection of photos presents a very UN-MELTED "melting pot" at the same time it reveals a universal humanity and compassion. There's palpable joy, sorrow, pain, love, beauty, ulginess and every other human emotion depicted here. It's a beautiful book you won't be sorry you got!

This book details the Family of Man photography exhibit composed of photos that Edward Steichen collected from photographers throughout the world. From the intro by Carl Sandburg (his brother in law), to the photographs of birth, life, death and the emotions and events in between, the book shows true humanity through the eyes of the camera. Featuring works by many famous, but yet unknown photographers, this book is a true treasure. When you glance at its pages you will discover new perspectives, or maybe something inside yourself. This is not a picture book, but a photo biography of the human race. If you are tired of coffee table books that sit unopened, pick up this book a few times and share it with your friends. You will read it again and again, discovering new secrets with every turn of a page.

Ingrid Sischy, the editor of Interview Magazine, once taught her creative director the art of shutting up and just looking at a photo. It's a simple technique - yet it works. If you take 15 minutes to just look at a photo, eventually the photo will begin to speak to you. This lesson is even more profound when you allow the photos of "The Family of Man" to speak to you. Each photo encapsulates a tiny portion of the human experience and serves as a vivid mirror of our own spirit. As we journey from birth to death we see all the flaws and fascinating qualities that make the human being a beautiful work in progress. And while the book is only 5% words I've yet to complete it. Why? Because I've found myself watching closely each photo for the amount of time it takes to finish the chapter of a book. And each "chapter" that I've seen tells me several things: That we are all bonded by love, struggle, survival, passion, pain, fears, dreams, belief and hope.

Wonderful and authentic, a great collection for any Sandburg devotee or any patriotic Chicagoan. I was a little disappointed with the actual quality of the book, binding and covers, but it is not an expensive edition and the collection is priceless. A must read!

In my reading of poetry I have developed a peculiar habit. In the Table Of Contents I pencil in an asterisk before the titles of poems that I especially enjoyed. I find that this helps me to quickly relocate special poems later when I want to re-read them. In my copy of Sandburg's "Chicago Poems" there are many asterisks. I think that one of the things that appeal to me about these particular series of poems is their "urbanity". As the title suggests, these are often poems about "city"... about the "cosmopolis". Sandburg had a way of animating concrete and asphalt, and making us aware of the inner life of things that millions of us urbanites walk past each day. In one of my favorites entitled "Skyscraper" he says "It is the men and women, boys and girls so poured in and out all day that give the building a soul of dreams and thoughts and memories." And it ends beautifully with "By night the skyscraper looms in the smoke and the stars and has a soul." It is as though if any of Sandburg's Chicago Poems were to just remain silent for a moment, we would hear the faint night-time "humming and thrumming" of "a copper wire slung in the air." (cf. his Under A Telephone Pole).

He writes with a solemnity that avoids being morose, which is refreshing. But take note... "you will be thwarted every time, you try to catch a Sandburg rhyme." (they never rhyme). As for metre, his poems are in a free-verse very much reminiscent of Walt Whitman. The perfect poetry to read while feeding the pigeons, or otherwise commuting to and from the park.

A few weeks after September 11 2001, I came across the poem "Skyscraper" by Sandburg by chance in a huge volume of American poetry. In the millions of lines written about that horrible day, I found his words from 70 years ago to be the most moving. Here are some lines from that poem:

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BY day the skyscraper looms in the smoke and sun and has a soul.
Prairie and valley, streets of the city, pour people into it and they mingle among its twenty floors and are poured out again back to the streets, prairies and valleys.
It is the men and women, boys and girls so poured in and out all day that give the building a soul of dreams and thoughts and memories...

Hour by hour the caissons reach down to the rock of the earth and hold the building to a turning planet.
Hour by hour the girders play as ribs and reach out and hold together the stone walls and floors....

Men who sunk the pilings and mixed the mortar are laid in graves where the wind whistles a wild song without words
And so are men who strung the wires and fixed the pipes and tubes and those who saw it rise floor by floor.
Souls of them all are here, even the hod carrier begging at back doors hundreds of miles away and the brick-layer who went to state's prison for shooting another man while drunk...

Ten-dollar-a-week stenographers take letters from corporation officers, lawyers, efficiency engineers, and tons of letters go bundled from the building to all ends of the earth.
Smiles and tears of each office girl go into the soul of the building just the same as the master-men who rule the building.

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I have never studied Sandburg, but it seems to me he shares that same love of humanity and fairness that Walt Whitman was so famous for, along with the ability to craft lines as amazing as "hold the building to a turning planet". His love of his modern city seems like a remnant from another age, but his absolute belief in class equality is as relevant as any 2001 street protest.