Abraham Lincoln is an iconic figure. Considered to be among the greatest, if not the greatest President, of the United States. During much of his Presidency he was considered by many to be anything but great. After all, he presided over the disintegration of a nation and had placed thousands in harms way. Having no executive experience when he took office he had to learn on the job, and for the entirety of his presidency was consumed by the need to guide the war effort. It wasn't until Grant took over the leadership of the army that he could actually let go of the reins.

This biography is not a short read -- at nearly 700 pages of text plus notes. It takes us on a journey from his birth in the Kentucky Wilderness to his years as a lawyer and budding politician to dark horse candidate for President. Ron White doesn't try to psychoanalyze Lincoln, but instead teases out Lincoln's views from the historical record -- including Lincoln's own letters and speeches.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this biography, perhaps because it is written by a practicing historian who has made Lincoln's speeches a focus of his research. There is another reason why I appreciated this book -- Ron White is trained as historian of American Christianity, and thus more than most biographers of Lincoln has the capacity to understand Lincoln's theological musings. We discover a Lincoln very different from the one we often are confronted with -- either the free thinker or the evangelical. He was neither, but he was a person who believed and was influenced by the Bible and Christian theology. It is good to remember that during his time in Washington he was a regular attendee of New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, pastored by an Old School Presbyterian who was trained by Charles Hodge.

To understand the American reality, we need to understand its seminal figures. Lincoln is one, and I can think of no better guide than Ronald White.