Price May Alleviate the Blues

I was sailing around the bargain tables at River City Books the other day and my eyes nearly popped out of my little skull. There it was, in hardcover, for just $5.99: Lincoln’s Melancholy by Joshua Wolf Shenk. “Lincoln’s Melancholy” is one of the best biographies I can remember reading. It’s a portrait of Abraham Lincoln’s life struggle with depression. I know, I know. Contemporary biographers often try to “diagnose” or insert dubious character traits based on sketchy details in an effort to draw false attention to their work. Let that thought slip right from your mind when it comes to this book. Shenk’s done the research and his examination is nothing short of incredible. Years of copious research resulted in an engrossing, nuanced profile that reveals the depression that profoundly influenced Lincoln’s life and character — an element of the great president’s makeup that may very well have been the most important one.

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