Table of Contents
Prologue: The Uncoiling of the Serpent 1
Part 1 Who He Was and Where He Came From 5
1 The Dark and Bloody Ground 7
2 The Hoosier Years 11
Part 2 Making His Way 21
3 New Salem 23
4 Politics 33
5 Vandalia 39
Part 3 The Issue's Dark Side 47
6 Death in Alton 49
Part 4 Political Enemies and Female Enigmas 61
7 Springfield 63
8 Young Hickory 73
9 The Ballyhoo Campaign 85
10 Lincoln in Love 105
Part 5 On the National Stage 117
11 The Steam Engine in Breeches and the Engine that Knew No Rest 119
12 "Who Is James K. Polk?" 129
13 Laying Congressional Pipe 143
14 Seeing Spots 153
Part 6 Eclipse 165
15 Lincoln's Other Life 167
16 What He Had Become 183
17 Tempest 193
Part 7 Clash of the Giants 201
18 Lincoln Emerges 203
19 Political Earthquake 221
20 At the Crossroads 233
21 Axe Handles and Wedges 239
22 A House Divided 249
23 The Debates 265
Part 8 On the Glory Road 285
24 Spreading the Gospel 287
25 Cooper Union 295
26 Reaching for the Brass Ring 309
27 Chicago 319
Part 9 From Ballots to Bullets 339
28 The Four Legged Race 341
29 Firebell in the Night 359
30 Getting There 377
31 The War Comes 397
Epilogue: Twilight of the Little Giant 413
In Appreciation 419
Notes 422
Sources Cited 455
Index 464