A Lincoln Blog (Cabin)

When I began reading Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals, which is primarily about Abraham Lincoln, but also (and more excitingly) about William H. Seward, Salmon P. Chase and Edward Bates (his fellow Republican contenders for the nomination in 1860 and eventually members of his cabinet), I thought it would be fun to find blogs about Mr. Lincoln. In the "fun continuum", finding blogs about American presidents resides somewhere in that hazy region between dorky and hip. Like shabby chic, it's dorky hip.

Well, that part of the fun was fleeting because it took two seconds to locate a Lincoln blog written by a university professor of history in Indiana. Preferring practicality to creativity, he calls it A. Lincoln Blog.

Ironically (but unsurprisingly), the professor doesn't hold a high opinion of the book that prompted my search and led me to his site. In one of his first entries, he calls Goodwin's writing a "first-rate narrative history" that is "light on serious analysis" and doesn't show "a lot of original thinking". It's exactly what critics would say about my writing (if I wrote anything), minus the compliment.

His blog is informative and entertaining. In it, he reviews Lincoln books, highlights Lincoln in the news (Abe appears more often than you know) and offers insight about Lincoln the lawyer (the subject of his upcoming book). He also discusses issues relevant to Lincoln and Civil War historians and tackles misconceptions about the president related to hot topics like race, war, religion, civil liberties, political parties and more. In his archives, one can find top ten countdowns of his favorite Lincoln images and documents.

Ultimately, A. Lincoln Blog is a fine place on the web to gain a little more understanding about America's sixteenth president every day. Now, if I could only find something comparable concerning George Washington, Thomas Jefferson or Theodore Roosevelt, I'd be in dorky hip heaven.