From New England Puritan stock on his father's side and Virginia Cavalier gentry on his mother's, Abraham Lincoln was linked by blood to the central conflict of the age, and an enduring theme of his life, posits David Reynolds, was his genius for striking a balance between opposing forces. A winner of the Lincoln Prize and the inspiration for the 2022 Apple+ documentary Lincoln's Dilemma, this biography explores the complex events and influences that enabled a backwoods lawyer to reshape his nation and his era.

"In the realms of the frontier, education, religion, law, marriage or politics, Reynolds deepens our understanding of Lincoln's life." —Washington Post