First published 1977
Abraham Lincoln walks the muddy streets of New Salem, Illinois, splitting rails by day and reading law books by candlelight. The lanky young man watches his country struggle with questions that will define its future. Slavery divides the nation while westward expansion brings new conflicts. Lincoln debates in country stores and courthouses, his voice growing stronger as America's crisis deepens. Political tensions rise between North and South. Lincoln runs for office, loses, runs again. He marries Mary Todd despite their stormy courtship. The railroad lawyer becomes a congressman, then returns to Illinois as the slavery question tears the country apart. Lincoln challenges Stephen Douglas for the Senate in debates that make him famous. When Southern states threaten secession, the Republican Party turns to this prairie politician. Lincoln must guide America through its greatest trial, holding the Union together while ending the institution that contradicts the nation's founding promise that all men are created equal.
Genres: biography, historical-fiction, 20th-century, 19th-century, american-history
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: historical-fiction, political-drama
Setting: New Salem, Illinois, America
Period: 19th-century
Hardcover · Scribner