A Man for the Ages

Altogether too much that is obscurative rather than illuminating has been written about Abraham Lincoln. That pre-eminent figure of our national history-the most distinctively American Character the country has produced-has been so covered over with speeches and essays, and books and writings and utterances of every kind, that he has come to be almost like a Russian Icon where the representation of Jesus is subordinated and almost extinguished by the layers of ornamentation. Mr. Bacheller has rendered a notable service in depicting, popularly, what may be called the most American phase of Lincoln's life and character- a life and character that typifies American qualities most perfectly and are unlike those which any other country ever has produced or can produce. (from the book: A Man of the Ages: A review of Irving Bacheller's Lincoln Novel, by Albert J. Beveridge)