Lawyer Lincoln in Transit to Freedom:
What exactly is a non-fiction novel? Is it a story that is told with only factual information? This is a book that explores two rarely discussed events in Abraham Lincoln’s life. One could almost call them obscure. Both involved Lincoln defending slave-owners in court. The first story shows Lincoln at the beginning of his law career, and the second is when he was firmly entrenched in his partnership with William Herndon. Both are well presented and very informative as to the events and attitudes of the day. We gain much insight into the tone of the era and the emerging expertise of Lincoln the lawyer. We see him, even at the start of his career, to be strong-willed, inquisitive and willing to risk his future in the community for the sake of truth and justice. Lincoln’s emerging anti-slavery viewpoint is also presented. This book is well written and to the point. However, that does not mean it is without flaws. Being self-published, it contains the usual editing errors common to this type of book. I found several misspelled and missing words. Also, I did not understand the purpose of double-spaced pages. It may be easier on “old eyes,” but it gave me the impression of “padding” the text. Fortunately this style does not detract from the narrative. I enjoyed the epilogue, which is one of my favorite sections of Civil War books. This work is a good start for those just beginning to study Lincoln and those who like to read about the more obscure events in his life. As to the “non-fiction novel” of the title, I am not so sure. True, the events and characters are real. However, since there are no footnotes, bibliography or appendix, it is virtually impossible to verify the veracity of the dialogue. To this reader the title sounds like an oxymoron — real but made up. It is my opinion that we should just call this historical fiction — and good historical fiction at that. Reviewer: Joseph Truglio
Joseph A. Truglio is president and business agent for a motion picture film technicians local union and a lifelong student of the Civil War. His memberships include the Lincoln Group of New York and New Jersey Civil War Heritage Assn. He is president of the Phil Kearny Civil War Round Table in Wayne, N.J.
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384 pp., 2010, Createspace,