Although Abraham Lincoln was a complicated man, Russell Freedman digs through layers of hero worship and reveals the unpolished, moody, intelligent, and tenderhearted man who was one of America's most important presidents.

Freedman understands child readers as well as he understands history and writing. Although he covers hefty political and social material, he does not mire himself in detail. He knows when to add an explanation and when to keep his sentences short and to the point.

The issues surrounding slavery in nineteenth-century America are not always fully explained in children's literature. Young readers often understand only that people were for or against it. Freedman accurately portrays the thorny problems that challenged Abraham Lincoln and the country in the mid-1800s. Children will come away from reading this book understanding some of the personal, economic, and political ramifications of slavery and liberty.

In his final chapter, Lincoln's assassination is described vividly but without exaggeration. Details of the final acts of Lincoln's life and of his burial are quietly moving.