By Thomas Best
Well, my talks on my wife’s and our spectacular trip of a life-time to the American Southwest are over. I hope you enjoyed these episodes. So where and I going next? I have lately been busily engaged in a lot of reading; therefore, I thought I would share some interesting perspectives on some wonderful new books.
The first book I want to address is from one of my favorite authors, Joh Meacham. The author of a number of historical biographies and topics, for which he has won the Pulitzer Prize, his latest venture is a wonderfully composed and thought-provoking biography of someone he admires as much as I do—Abraham Lincoln. The book is entitled: “And There was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle.
Meacham’s decision to focus on the theme of the “American Struggle” is an appropriate approach for better appreciating Lincoln’s personal and public struggles of the 19th century. Without being “preachy,” Meacham shines a light on topics that offer practical insight and relevance to modern Americans who worry about our current political partisanship, the fight over state versus federal powers, how to deal with contemporary racism, and developing and using strong leadership skills. Lincoln’s spirit here is perceived as elevating, unafraid, and transformative. Certainly no “saintly” figure whose place in history we would gladly adopt, Lincoln’s life story reinforces our societal call for being better educated on a broad range of crucial topics, willing to carefully study complex issues before making decisions, and standing by your most valued principles. Indeed, we tend to think of our “rough and tumble” lives as more troubling or precarious than that of previous generations. I may agree on some pivotal events as being more difficult to address within in our modern times (e.g., Lincoln didn’t have FDR’s worldwide chaos and warfare or the fear of the development of nuclear weapons to address). However, Lincoln, without much precedent-setting knowledge, was heavily engaged in a massive struggle to save our fragile young nation from permanent fracture. He was attempting to find the right course of action to deal with the scourge of slavery and likewise fight a bloody civil war with the number of injured and dying beyond that generation’s comprehension.
If you are fascinated with Lincoln, get this biography. I loved it.
Thank you for your interest.
