Thirty Days With Abraham Lincoln (Thirty Days with) by Duncan Newcomer (Paperback)

A timely echo of Lincoln's voice--to remind us of what Americans, at their best, aspire to be.

Richard S. Slotkin, author of Abe: A Novel of the Young Lincoln

This is a book of reflections, informed by a lifetime of reading and scholarship about Lincoln, and also by a lifetime of immersion in the moral and spiritual work of a counselor and clergyman. But it is also a book of meditations, of invitations to a first-person experience of communion with and through Lincoln, a kind of momentary sabbath at the heart of the everyday. It is an invitation to a habit of spiritual practice appropriate to the broken soul of this almost chosen people, as they seek to repair, and perhaps ultimately to perfect, this last best hope of earth.

From the Foreword by John Burt, author of Lincoln's Tragic Pragmatism (2013).

As Lincoln himself did, these words cast a healing and inspiriting spell. In a time when we have all but forgotten what a leader is--what a hero is--Duncan Newcomer's stories help restore to us a wise and compassionate leader. Listen to these 30 reflections one at a time, read them, or listen and read all at once. They will change your life in a subtle way, quiet you, restore calm and wisdom. But they will change you.

The Rev. Dr. Eileen Sypher, Emeritus Professor of English at George Mason University

Abraham Lincoln spoke with deep spiritual values to a House Divided, a nation at war within itself. As Duncan Newcomer reminds us: "Lincoln became a prophet who cried out for a balance that could keep our house from dividing--that could keep our nation from collapsing." Once again, we are a nation at war within ourselves regarding what it means to be an American and questioning our most important founding values. "Abraham Lincoln is America's Great Soul" writes Newcomer. "To this day, Lincoln's spirit soars far beyond the boundaries of the United States to inspire men and women around the world." Thirty Days With Abraham Lincoln--Quiet Fire is a powerful and important book that takes us to the heart and soul of that spirit and inspires us to reclaim the values essential for putting our house in order once again.

Dr. John Oliver Wilson, author of The Idea of America: Our Values, Our Legacy, Our Future and Founder-Director of the Idea of America Network for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.

These are elegant, meditative reflections inspired by America's most admired president. Duncan Newcomer's Lincoln still transcends transactional politics and regularly reminds us, by his example and words, of America's higher aspirations.

Thomas E. Cronin, President Emeritus of Whitman College and author of Imagining A Great Republic: Political Novels and the Idea of America (2018)

Duncan Newcomer's life-long dedication to Lincoln has been an anchor for his life and mind. It's an aspirational American story, both Lincoln's and Duncan's. Like all spiritual extrapolations, it has the advantage of its aspirational and idealistic resonances. What Duncan has done, and is doing, will be helpful to many people.

Fred Kaplan is the author of numerous biographies, including The Biography of a Writer: Lincoln.