There is no greater high for a writer, in my mind, than praise from people, friends and strangers, who have read your books, loved them, and told you so. I have been blessed in that way, with letters and e-mails, entirely unsolicited, from many readers over the years. Here is a sampling of recent comments about One Man Great Enough that have absolutely made my day.
“Over this past weekend, I finished reading One Man Great Enough. As I put the volume down, I felt as if I were emerging from a darkened theater after viewing an unusually riveting film…I can think of no better way to kick off the Lincoln bicentennial than to read — and reread — this deeply affecting book.”
“I am reading your book, and what a read it is!… [It] tells a story, and does so with a kind of camera-like reality line…. And the language, my oh my! A joy to read.”
“I have just finished reading One Man Great Enough and I must confess it is one of the greatest books I’ve read for many years. You have mastered the art of capturing the imagination of your readers and pulling them into the story with such gentleness yet force that we live in those bygone days even when we put the book down for a while…. It was like sipping a great wine.”
“I have always revered Abraham Lincoln almost as one would a deity. Your book brings President Lincoln to life and in doing so he is not diminished in any way.”
“I have about 200 Civil War bios — mostly about Lincoln. Yours is a first — entirely different from all of them. It should be the first to read for all students of history and will be hard to put down. You covered Lincoln like no one else.”
“I can’t begin to tell you how much I enjoyed One Man Great Enough. Wow, what a fine, fine book…. You did such a wonderful job finding and selecting quotations to go in the book, and the analysis your provided was everywhere excellent.”
“I am in the middle of reading this fantastic book. I can hardly put it down! Mr. Waugh is a storyteller genius with an obviously very credible background.”
“When I get a book like this, I savor it, so it takes a while to read it. I find myself going back and rereading passages. I am enjoying every second of it. Thank you for writing it.”
“I particularly like your ‘story book’ style of writing (my words) that make history more like a story instead of just a lot of staid facts.”
“What a treat it was to read One Man Great Enough, which I’ve just finished! It’s very well written; your concise style gives a real feeling of movement. And the book is a welcome relief from the typical gigantic historical-figure biographies that are so common today.”
“This book answers so many of my questions. I have quite a collection of Lincoln books, but this one answers things that I have not found in any of the others.”
“It is refreshing for an amateur historian, or history buff, to read the work of a pro. There isn’t much about Lincoln that I haven’t at least skimmed, but you managed to turn him over and expose some new elements — new to me, at least — of the great man.”
“I have just finished reading your book on Lincoln’s road to civil war…. I could not put it down. I have read numerous books on Lincoln, his cabinet, etc., but I have never read one that so clearly defined Lincoln’s special abilities and character. I am thankful to you for letting Lincoln speak through his own words and for quoting his friends and contemporary news accounts so frequently throughout the book.”
“Just finished your book on Ol’ Abe — One Man Great Enough. A most wonderful and enlightening read. It really brought home the ‘feeling’ on what Lincoln had to endure from early hardships to political defeats in life, until his elected presidency.”
“I just finished reading your book, One Man Great Enough. It was so well written, informative, and so contributed to the entire body of information on the topic. I just read as a hobby on U.S. Presidents. This one is to be bought and saved!”
"This is the most fascinating. engaging book I have read in many months. More than anything I have ever read about Abraham Lincoln and the roots of the Civil War, this has broadened and deepened my understanding. That is a real gift to me — and I am confident, to thousands of others who will read your book."
