In the Shadow of Lincoln

I’ve always had things that I read or discover in passing that pique my interest and push me into reading extensively about a subject. Among my more recent interests in this vein has been Abraham Lincoln. My interest first came when I read the book Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin shortly after it was released. It was a fascinating book - one that changed my view of this incredible man and his presidency. I subsequently read both of the books by William Lee Miller about Lincoln (Lincoln’s Virtues: An Ethical Biography, and President Lincoln: The Duty of a Statesman) and these in turn prompted me to read the two-volume set of Lincoln’s collected writings. I really wanted to “watch” the man develop as both a thinker and a writer. Part of me hoped (and still does) that some of his writing style will rub off on me, as I find his style very eloquent and succinct - something rare in any day and age, especially ours. His legacies as a president, a man, and a writer cast very long shadows over Americans in almost any walk of life.