I haven't read a lot about Lincoln and his children other than the biographies all seem to focus on Lincoln's severe mourning of Willie's death (and his son Eddie who died at four years old) and of course, that these tragedies all led to his wife's breakdown. This is a short Kindle Single title that tells the story of Lincoln's life in the White House with his sons Willie and Tad. It tells how he played with them, how he loved them, how he treated them so lovingly and seriously. The glimpses are taken from Julie Tafts's recollections when she was a 16 year old who spent a lot of time at the White House with her younger brothers who were the Lincoln boy's playmates. I loved this little story and wishes there was more to it. However, we all know Lincoln's life ended up being quite the tragedy and this story ended on that sad note. The book wraps up shortly after Willie's passing. Things would never be the same for any of them. I have to say there was one line in the book that made me tear up. It said the War was the only important thing to Lincoln that he didn't lose. A sad but wonderful account of the real man behind the legend, this short is a bargain as it is offered here for .99 cents. I think that this would be a great starter for someone interested in Lincoln but who maybe doesn't want to invest in the time for a longer biography. ( )

This book was a quick read and I learned many details about the Lincoln family. I liked the behind the scenes family view. The author captured the historical time well but this nonfiction book never went in depth. It was only surface observations. A good place to start for research on the Lincoln family. The title of this book is misleading. I thought the book would be more about Julie Taft but it really is her observations of the Lincolns. So that was a little disappointing. ( )