Brings Lincoln to life by placing him in the context of his own personal background and the larger circumstances of the country's greatest conflict. This is not only a stirring biography of Lincoln but also a history of the Civil War, with profiles of people involved in the fight against slavery, such as John Brown. Focusing primarily on the Civil War years, this book uses Lincoln's own words & the words of his contemporaries to provide a context for his actions as commander in chief. Accounts of battles, insights from soldiers, & the actions of politicians & other key figures help make this era come to life. Illustrations include photographs, maps, & prints. Chapter notes, bibliography, & index. Much more than a biography of Lincoln or a history of the Civil War, this portrait of Lincoln makes our sixteenth president accessible to young readers as a human being, rather than as a historic icon or paragon of virtue. The author, renowned for his award-winning books on great leaders, shows how a principled but imperfect man -- full of intelligence but also of sorrow, logical and determined but also cautious and prejudiced grew under the pressure of personal tragedy and national crisis to become our greatest president. The book is written in a quick-flowing, engaging style, detailed but easy to read. The author effortlessly uses eyewitness accounts -- letters, speeches, diaries, newspapers, poems, songs, memoirs -- to create setting, to show personality, political climate, to give voice to the attitudes and hopes of everyday Americans. The treatment of slavery is especially vivid. All the important events of the war are here, but the emphasis is on people, personalities, human feelings and behavior. As the historian Barbara Fields made clear in the Ken Burns documentary on the Civil War, the issues of that war are still with us. Perhaps never more than now do young people need to be exposed to the unfailing humanity, honesty, and political sagacity that allowed Lincoln to hold together a country racked by secession, racial hatred, and other divisions. Lincoln had that most precious of all human qualities -- the capacity for growth. His life reminds us that any person can learn from experience and rise above poverty, prejudice, and limitation; and that a political leader can and must embody a profound respect for the plain people and the democratic processes that elevate us all.