In a thoughtful mix of history and politics, this book traces Abraham Lincoln's climb from the backwoods to the White House and calls for a renewal of the Lincoln ethic of relentless striving. Lincoln believed in a small but active government in a nation defined by aspiration, argues Rich Lowry, longtime editor of the National Review. All his life, Lincoln preached a gospel of work and discipline toward the ends of self-improvement and individual advancement, and Lowry posits that our "Lincolnian" republic requires that we preserve a fluid economy that makes it possible for individuals to thrive.

"A quick, smoothly readable account of Lincoln the political striver, the embodiment of the Declaration's 'central idea ... that every man can make himself'."—Kirkus Reviews