In This Provocative Book, John Patrick Diggins, Hailed By Alan Ryan In The New York Times As One Of The Liveliest And Most Interesting Of Contemporary Intellectual Historians, Offers A Sweeping Reassessment Of American History, Emphasizing The Foundational Role Of Abraham Lincoln's Moral And Political Theory. Distressed By The Divisive Impact Of Modern Identity Politics, Diggins Argues Persuasively That In The Central Tenets Of Lincoln's Political Faith--the Redeeming Value Of Labor And The Rights To Property And Self-determination--we Find The Purest Expression Of The Values That Have United Americans And Guided American History. With His Characteristic Breadth, Diggins Ranges From James Madison To W.