I picked up this book at the SLC airport, tough call between this and a book about Led Zeppelin (which I still want to read) but these days it seems important to learn about presidential politics, and this account about the machinations that got Lincoln nominated, against most expectations, as the Republican candidate (back in the opposites universe when Republican's were not only anti-slavery but founded as such) is surprisingly entertaining, with it's description of the old-timey uncouth Western (back when Illinois was the west) environs, and populous interest in politics (80% voter turnout!). The cast of mostly white male characters with their ambitions, disappointments, and grudges seem all too familiar, as does the coterie of sulking followers. It's amazing how things turned out, and you have to wonder how it might have turned out differently.