A review by natjvand
And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle by Jon Meacham

4.0

I only knew of Lincoln what everyone does, what you learn in school. There are other (maybe "better") biographies of Lincoln out there. But what drew me to this one was the premise of seeing the man behind the legend, seeing how he tried to act in ways that were in line with his beliefs, but also growing as a person. One of my favorite quotes, and a reminder to us all as we head into election season: "In life, Lincoln's motives were moral as well as political— a reminder that our finest presidents are those committed to bringing a flawed nation closer to the light, a mission that requires an understanding that politics divorced from conscience is fatal to the American experiment in liberty under law... Lincoln's life shows us that progress can be made by fallible and fallen presidents and peoples— which, in a fallible and fallen world, should give us hope" (419-420).