In this one-volume biography, Benjamin P. Thomas presents all the significant events and achievements in the life of one of the greatest presidents, and greatest men, in American history. Aside from the usual myth-making of this American figure, e.g. his humble upbringing by a pioneer family, his diligent dedication to self-education, and his remarkable rise from small-town lawyer to presidential candidate, Thomas also gives a full account of a skillful politician and complicated man, who took on an enormous amount of personal and public responsibility during the greatest crisis in our nation's history.--From publisher description.

"The short and simple annals of the poor" -- Young man on his own -- Frontier legislator : his love affairs -- Courtship and marriage -- Lawyer-politician -- The gentleman from Illinois -- Echoes of national conflict -- Lincoln re-enters politics -- A political plunge -- Defeated for the senate -- The making of a president -- Peace or a sword -- A war for democracy -- Shadows on the white house -- McClellan in command -- "The occasion is piled high with difficulty" -- The signs look better -- "There are no Lincoln men" -- Profile of a president -- To bind up the nation's wounds.