Lincoln's Enduring Legacy

Coming on the heels of the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth, Lincoln's Enduring Legacy offers highly readable and accessible perspectives on Lincoln at 200 in terms of his impact on great leaders and thinkers and his place in American history. The book explores how Lincoln's words and deeds have influenced the pursuit of justice and freedom and the practice of democracy in the century and a half since he governed. Lincoln, as an abolitionist, the architect of Reconstruction, an avowed Unionist, a wordsmith and rhetorician, his age's foremost prophet for democracy, and America's greatest president remains an iconic image in American memory.

This collection of essays, edited by three productive scholars, will find an appreciative audience among historians and Lincoln devotees. Well researched and well written, it demonstrates Lincoln's Enduring Legacy, his imprint not only on important individuals but also on humanity as a whole. No one interested in learning about the 16th president will want to miss reading this significant book., Though there is no shortage of books on Lincoln's legacy, I was pleasantly surprised by the breadth, usefulness, and originality of the essays in this collection. It is a veritable smorgasbord of stimulating and provocative reflections about Lincoln's life, legacy, and leadership that will appeal broadly to scholars, students, and Lincoln aficionados alike. The work is interdisciplinary in scope. There is something in it for everybody. It touches on the fields of leadership, history, sociology, biography, political theory, and religion. Each of these readable chapters can be enjoyed on its own or within the broader narrative of the entire book., The volume of writing on Lincoln continues to grow. New works often contribute substantially, confounding those who believe that little remains to be said. This insightful collection is among those that add a great deal. These essays enhance our understanding of Lincoln, of his America, and-perhaps most important-of our America as well.

Robert P. Watson is associate professor of American studies at Lynn University. William D. Pederson is the American Studies Chair at Louisiana State University in Shreveport. Frank J. Williams is former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Rhode Island and was appointed by Congress to serve on the United States Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission.