There have probably been more books written on Abraham Lincoln certainly than any other President. And also certainly it is because he was are most important President. I have read quite a number of these books and they are never boring. I share his birthday so it has always been part of my personal connection, but as a man and a leader he is not a more important one to follow and learn from.

In this book we are given a most human side of the man as a father to four boys. The book also looks closely at his own relationship to his father and the contrast with how he viewed and dealt with his own sons in that respect. A very readable and insightful work we get an intimate look at the stages and differences he had with each of these boys and are given a lot to consider as to the meaning of each.

The wrenching heart break of the tragic loss of two of these boys is laid out as well as his own murder and the effect on the two survivors. Manning does a very good job in showing the complexities of Lincoln and these relationships and how they speak of the complete character of Lincoln, and ultimately how it shaped our future as a nation. ( )