What author became famous for his six-volume biography of Lincoln?

The author who became famous for his six-volume biography of Lincoln was Carl Sandburg. His work consists of The Prairie Years, published in two volumes in 1926, and The War Years, published in four volumes in 1939.

Sandburg was already known as a poet, journalist, and champion of American folk culture when he turned to Abraham Lincoln. His biography combined historical narrative with vivid storytelling, speeches, anecdotes, and descriptions of the society surrounding Lincoln. The four War Years volumes focus on Lincoln’s presidency and the Civil War.

The work won Sandburg a Pulitzer Prize for History in 1940. Readers sometimes describe it simply as a “six-volume biography,” while others refer to the two sections by their separate titles. It should not be confused with Sandburg’s shorter Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years and The War Years considered as separate publications; together, they form the famous six-volume set. Sandburg’s accessible style helped make Lincoln’s life familiar to generations of general readers.