By Kelly A. Shue
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

Renewing conversations surrounding President Abraham Lincoln’s life and character, the National Parks Service recently transferred the beloved President’s bloodstained clothes and other items from the Ford’s Theatre museum to a Park Service storage center in Maryland.

At the heart of these discussions is Riderwood’s Stanley Levy, a lifelong lover of history and author of A. Lincoln: The Man, a comprehensive depiction of Abraham Lincoln’s  family life, career as a lawyer, views on slavery, and political career.

“I’ve been interested in American history for a long time,” says Levy. “And Abraham Lincoln is an important, powerful figure in our country’s development and future. Over time, I became more and more interested in his life, and my family encouraged me to write a book.”

The story of an ordinary man
While working at the time, it took Levy almost ten years to complete his book. “I would go back over my writings, redo passages; it took some time,” he says.

The result, A. Lincoln: The Man published by Book- Surge Publishing, provides an inspiring look into Lincoln’s life prior to becoming President. It includes his early days, his marriage to Mary Todd Lincoln, his road to the White House, and the impact that the loss of two sons had on his extraordinary life.

“If there’s one message for people to take away from their reading of the book, it’s that Lincoln was a human being who put his pants on one leg at a time,” says Levy. “Many people feel he was a god. He wasn’t. He was a decent  human being who found himself in the right place at the right time. He was held in high esteem because he pulled himself up from his bootstraps, out of utter poverty, overcoming illiteracy, and becoming a lawyer on his own merits and skill.”