Donald brilliantly depicts Lincoln's gradual ascent from humble beginnings in ru
ral Kentucky to the ever-expanding political circles in Illinois, and finally to
the presidency of a country divided by civil war. Donald goes beyond biography,
illuminating the gradual development of Lincoln's character, chronicling his tr
emendous capacity for evolution and growth, thus illustrating what made it possi
ble for a man so inexperienced and so unprepared for the presidency to become a
great moral leader. In the most troubled of times, here was a man who led the co
untry out of slavery and preserved a shattered Union-in short, one of the greate
st presidents this country has ever seen.
