With Malice Toward None A Life of Abraham Lincoln by Stephen B. Oates

 This is a well-written coverage of Lincoln's life with insight into his personality and his struggles and achievements. In one volume it gives one a feel for the times with an insight into Lincoln who was against slavery his entire life. He wasn't an abolitionist but felt the the country could not remain divided over slavery. He had hoped that if confined to the southern states it would eventually die out.