Land of Lincoln: Adventures in Abe’s America

Earlier than he grew up and have become one among Washington’s most revered reporters and editors, Andrew Ferguson was, of all issues, a Lincoln buff. Like so many sons of Illinois earlier than him, he hung images of Abe on his bed room wall, memorized the Gettysburg Tackle, and browse himself to sleep at evening with the Second Inaugural or the “Letter to Mrs. Bixby.” Ferguson finally outgrew his obsession. However many years later, his latent buffdom was reignited by a curious headline in an area newspaper: Lincoln Statue Stirs Outrage in Richmond. “Lincoln?” thought Ferguson. “Outrage? I felt the primary stirrings of the deadly query, the query that, as soon as raised, by no means lets go: Huh?” In Land of Lincoln, Ferguson embarks on a curiosity-fueled coast-to-coast journey via up to date Lincoln Nation, encountering every part from hatred to adoration to opportunism and all method of response in between. He attends a nationwide convention of Lincoln impersonators in Indiana; seeks out the premier collectors of Lincoln memorabilia from California to Rhode Island; attends a Dale Carnegie-inspired management convention primarily based on Lincoln’s “administration model”; drags his household throughout the three-state-long and now defunct Lincoln Heritage Path; and even manages to carry one among 5 authentic copies of the Gettysburg Tackle. Alongside the way in which he weaves in sufficient historical past to hook readers of presidential biographies and standard histories whereas offering the participating voice and magnificence of one of the best narrative journalism. In the end, Land of Lincoln is an entertaining, sudden, and big-hearted celebration of Lincoln and his enduring affect on the nation he helped create.