Land of Lincoln

THE SCRAPBOOK is feeling like a proud papa these days–or maybe a doting uncle. That’s because our friend and colleague Andrew Ferguson has just published Land of Lincoln: Adventures in Abe’s America (Grove/Atlantic, $24), and in THE SCRAPBOOK’s considered opinion, if there’s one book every STANDARD reader must devour this summer, it’s Land of Lincoln. Why do we say this? First, WEEKLY STANDARD readers already know Andy’s hallmarks. He’s a writer of exceptional skill, incapable of producing a dull sentence. He carries wisdom, erudition, and startling insight with a lightness and finesse that must be read to be believed. There’s his understated wit, discerning eye, and instinct for the absurd. His reporter’s antennae are exceptionally well-tuned; Andy never fails to capture the felicitous detail. And all these talents are on display in Land of Lincoln. So what, you ask, another Lincoln book? To which we reply: This is not just any Lincoln book. Like many Americans, Andy Ferguson (born and raised in Illinois) grew up with a fascination for the sixteenth president, whose life and death are so central to the story of America. But what intrigues him about Lincoln is not so much the familiar facts–the log cabin birthplace, the Gettysburg Address, the homely face and mordant jokes–as the shadow Lincoln casts over his countrymen. Since the assassination at Ford’s Theatre in 1865, Lincoln’s drama has been cast and recast, the essentials of his life have been plumbed and reinvented, the meaning of Lincoln–to politics, history, folklore, psychology–has evolved with every succeeding generation. So Andy embarks on a road trip in search of Lincoln’s America. Or America’s Lincoln. We meet collectors who accumulate sacred relics, scholars who try to make Lincoln “relevant,” Abe Lincoln impersonators, management gurus, and a galaxy of people whose vision of Lincoln gives meaning to their lives. Land of Lincoln is about a journalist’s quest, but it’s also a matchless portrait of our times, certain places, the national character (both hilarious and poignant), the complex life of a deceptively simple man, and the meeting of the present and past in our country. THE SCRAPBOOK cannot think of a better introduction to the great subject of Abraham Lincoln, or a funnier, more trenchant and affecting postcard from America.