Quick Review: Time Magazine special on Lincoln

To mark President's Day and the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birthday, there are probably lots of thick books you can buy. But the neatest bargain I've seen recently is probably in your grocery store's magazine area. Time Magazine has put out one of its special paperback books, this one running 122 color pages and called, "Abraham Lincoln: An Illustrated History of His Life and Times," costing only $11.99. For someone who doesn't want to spend a month reading the subject, this edition is full of rare photos (Lincoln in a white suit, for example) and great illustrations, matched by some great research and writing that made me sit up and take notice. A number of facts come out, such as Lincoln's skills as a legislator (which were used with others to move the Illinois capital to Springfield and get a major state construction package, although the latter failed because of a national economic collapse). There are early insights into what may have formed his views on slavery and how his love life caused him to fall into two major depressions. It also explains how someone from Lincoln's background could become a lawyer without going to law school and just how well he became at the profession. And, forget all the movies you saw...he had a high squeaky voice. For the armchair historian on a budget, or for anyone wanting an photo/text source that makes Lincoln human and accessible, this is a great way to mark the occasion on a quick read. As a fan of these Time/Life special projects, this is also one of the best they've put out in quite some time.