John Quincy Adams: Yankee Nationalist Book

I wish this book was about what it said it was. Touted as coverage of a murder case in which Abraham Lincoln acted as counsel, it was supposed to be about how his involvement in this trial set him on a path towards refocusing his political desires and drive towards the presidency. Instead, it was about his involvement with the burgeoning redefined Republican party (which was at first quite reluctant). The discussion of the murder case was pretty much abandoned for the entire middle section of the book. And Lincoln did not even sign on as counsel (which was again reluctantly) until the last 25 pages of the book. With all of the build up of Lincoln as the great orator, his arguments in the case are almost completely missing from the book.

Two thumbs down. This book should be billed as it really is - the refocusing of Lincoln's political career which was inspired not by a murder trial in which he had minimal involvement with the defense, but through his burgeoning passion for a new political party focused on preserving the Union during a time when the South's secession seemed imminent.