For me, Abraham Lincoln has always felt rather like a cypher - this extraordinary man from less than ordinary circumstances caught up a Nation and floated to the top (or they caught him and put him in that dangerously conspicuous target range). He's had so much written about him, there are organizations devoted to gathering everything he said, did and in which he was mentioned or involved. So one more book about Lincoln may just be redundant. . . is Steve Inskeep's new book in that category?

ABSOLUTELY NOT. This author has mined a specific area of Lincoln's reasoning process and found 16 moments and the events and people who pushed him to exercise and utilize that process. Steve Inskeep has had a career reporting on the world of politics, and so has eyes and ears tuned to those who navigate that world - willingly or unwillingly. American politics was the world Lincoln was yanked out of in a theatre - he'd been a veteran politician for around 33 years. Lincoln last walked the earth the author now walks 159 years ago - can the author accurately cast his net back over 159 years of context to explain the inner mind of a man who was famous for what he didn't say? After reading this book - he has done it: Lincoln through a different lens showing me connections and events I didn't know about that led to consequential outcomes I do know about.

The author's first clue to a reader starts with the title of his book: Lincoln was all about admitting and permitting differences between him and his opposing parties - his gift was making sure observers, listeners, voters were clear about what those differences were. Vision is always assisted by clear contrasts, and this author uses his 16 examples of Lincoln catching and examining for himself and others moments of differing - times when differing moved him to intentional action: to move deeper into his position; to move closer to his opponent's; to take action demonstrating his position; or creating a circumstance requiring his opponent to take action; and at times saying and doing nothing in response.

The author focuses on sixteen persons who are varied and wide-ranging in their relationship and role to Lincoln to better illustrate this reasoning process:
Joshua Giddings - Provocateur
Stephen Douglas - Partisan (a judge, political opponent)
Owen Lovejoy - Extremist
Joseph Gillespie - Nativist
Thurlow Weed - Fixer
Duffy Green - Conspiracy Theorist
William Florville - Outcast (his long-time barber)
William Henry Seward - Editor (Lincoln cabinet, put AK on US maps)
Jessie Fremont - Emissary (wife of John C. Fremont; she was influencer on antislavery and women's issues)
George B. MacLellan - Strategist
Lean Bear - Cheyenne Leader
George H. Pendleton - Dissident
Frederick Douglass - Activist
Mary Ellen Wise - Soldier (after spouse died, dressed as him - fought for the remainder of pay denied after her gender was revealed)
John A. Campbell - Justice
Mary Todd Lincoln - First Lady & his wife

Differ We Must: How Lincoln succeeded in a Divided America is a thoroughly engaging read - not a biography, although it has enough backstory to establish context for each of the sections in which differing issues the above people engaged with Lincoln are considered. Warts and all, the author builds a persuasive case in each section.

Lincoln was a different kind of president, handling one of our most complicated periods with less support and resources afforded persons holding that same office since 1861. Studying his successes (and failures) isn't a waste of time. Thanks to this author for a different kind of book about Lincoln - it's time to consider Lincoln's motivations - the whys with who and how, and ponder what can be our take-aways for now?

I highly recommend this read about Abraham Lincoln - for those who don't know much about the man, and for those who think they know it all - here's an opportunity to visit or revisit one who gave his mind, service, and both his and his family's life for this country.

*A sincere thank you to Steve Inskeep, Penguin Group, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and independently review.* #DifferWeMust #NetGalley

Differ We Must is an excellent book for what it is. If someone is looking for a biography on Lincoln, this isn't their book. If someone is looking for a "leadership lessons" type book, this isn't that either. This is a glimpse of Lincoln's public life through a collection of interactions he had with others. It shows how his engagements with both opponents (like Stephen Douglas and John Campbell) and allies (like Frederick Douglas and William Seward) shaped both his and their thoughts and actions. In a climate where the world is growing ever more polarized between the left and the right, Lincoln's life and example of one who was able to brilliantly navigate an even more polarized past is a timely reminder.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for a digital e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. I love Steve Inskeep's journalism style, and to me, it carries through with his writing. This book explored Lincoln, but from the perspective of the influence, history, and scope of his past colliding with his present. Lincoln can often be portrayed as someone who is 'above' the normal emotions or struggles of a public figure. Inskeep does a fabulous job of showing the humanity and challenges that this historical figure experienced. We get insight into why he acted or thought the way he did, and I loved how the chapters were designed to show us opposing views (something Inskeep does well as a journalist). I really enjoyed this book!

DIFFER WE MUST by Steve Inskeep is another look at how history repeats and attempts to compare current times in the US with the Civil War era. Inskeep, author of Imperfect Union and Jacksonland and co-host of NPR's Morning Edition, takes a deep dive into "How Lincoln Succeeded in a Divided America." Inskeep portrays how encounters with sixteen people (including Thurlow Weed and William H. Seward, plus even Mary Todd Lincoln) influenced the great man's life and thinking. This text is written in a rather scholarly way and Inskeep does an admirable job of providing backstory. Unfortunately, though, there is so much background to each encounter that it takes a dedicated reader to arrive at Inskeep's key point about the interaction. Had these accounts been fictionalized or written in a livelier manner, DIFFER WE MUST would better hold readers' interest. This is an impressive piece of scholarship: almost a third of the text is devoted to notes and an extensive bibliography.

Read only because it's Steve Inskeep and he narrates my drive to work most mornings, therefore I love him. And I will read any/every book written by NPR correspondents because I have a problem.

However, I did find it interesting to read about Lincoln even though I've never taken much of an interest in his life. I never knew all of the things that had to go perfectly "right" in order for John Wilkes Booth to get to the president's box in Ford Theatre, or that Mary was as apprehensive about being First Lady as she was. It reminded me of reading about Michelle Obama's time as First Lady and how she didn't always love the role.

Thanks, NetGalley!

This book was fascinating! I loved reading about the different people Lincoln had to interact with and how it was influenced by / how it influenced events happening. It gave me a well rounded view of Lincoln's life and insight into why he made decisions that he did. It is important to view historical figures as people with changing thoughts and feelings, and I believe Steve Inskeep did a good job of that in this book. I was expecting it to be a little more focused on the meetings, rather than more comprehensive biography that mentions the meetings. I was pleasantly surprised by how the meetings did fit seamlessly in to his life story however, it didn't feel choppy or forced. It was a biography guided by these meetings, while also being pretty comprehensive.

Steve Inskeep is one of my favorite NPR correspondents, so when I saw that he had written a book about one of our nation's most-beloved presidents, I knew I had to read it. Inskeep tells the story of Lincoln through sixteen encounters (some well-known, others not so much). I enjoyed the reading experience of learning more about such a phenomenal leader. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced e-reader copy in exchange for an honest review.