This was a book that I had to read a bit at a time, as it is very detailed and even occasionally somewhat repetitious, but nevertheless, in spite of its rather dry and academic approach, it is a fascinating and illuminating account of the friendship between Abraham Lincoln and Joshua Speed. I got a bit irritated with the author continually stressing that the relationship was not a homosexual one (who cares, now??) but overall I enjoyed it and certainly feel that I am a little closer to understanding Lincoln’s character and especially his struggle with depression. Well worth reading.

I received a free PDF copy of Your Friend Forever, A. Lincoln by Charles B. Strozier courtesy of Net Galley and Columbia University Press, the publisher. It was with the understanding that I would post a review to Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes and Noble and my nonfiction book review blog. I also posted it to my Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Google Plus pages.

I requested this book as I have read a number of biographies about the Presidents of the United States including several on Abraham Lincoln.  This is the first book by Charles B. Strozier that I have read.

The subtitle of the book, "The Enduring Friendship of Abraham Lincoln and Josuha Speed", accurately describes the content. The primary focus is on Lincoln's early years before he becomes President. The book attempts to provide more of a pyschoanalytic look at Lincoln and the relations with Speed (stressing that they were not gay), the causes for Lincoln's dark moods and depression and his vacillation in his courting of Mary Todd.

I found the author's writing style to be on the dry side which can really hamper a history book, but the subject may be interesting enough for others to undertake reading it or find the author's writing style more to their taste that I did.

This book sheds light on part of Abraham Lincoln's life which I previously knew little about. I enjoyed reading about it in this well-researched and well-written book.