To celebrate Lincoln's birthday this month, I thought I'd read something about his life. This book appealed to me because it is mostly about his life in Springfield, Illinois before he becomes President. The subtitle of the book is "A story of Adultery, Murder, and the Making of a Great President". It shows what Lincoln's life was like as a circuit court lawyer and how the politics of the times were rapidly changing with new political parties rising up. I like that the book includes what his neighbors thought of him. The book covers a scene in which a new lawyer comes to town and watches as Lincoln examines a "self-raker" a new farm tool on the town street.
The author goes on to say, " Lincoln possessed the mind of an engineer, having taken out a patent in 1849 for means of easing riverboats over shoals. Though he never pursued his interest in mechanical inventions professionally, some of his characteristic traits were those of a scientific mind: his dependence on logic as a means of renewal, for example; his indifference to material comforts; and his ability to entirely lose himself in thought, as though in a different world." I love this!! I never knew Lincoln had a patent. The fact that he thinks like an engineer I find flaterring having been one myself.
Another thing I found interesting in this book is all of the various political parties that are floating to the surface in 1856, most around the slavery issue and whther new states could be slave states. The "Know Nothing Party" existed based on a hatred of catholic people. Thankfuly most of the radical parties died off.
The book also tells the story of a Springfield murder mystery that Lincoln get pulled into and which side he represents. A worthy read.
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