Thursday, April 25, 2024
Miles from the Mainstream
D. R. ZUKERMAN, proprietor
Was Honest Abe Depressed?

OCTOBER 23, 2005 --

The New York Times Book Review, October 23, carried a review of "Lincoln's Melancholy" by Joshua Wolf Shenk. The
book's subtitle is "How Depression Challenged a President and Fueled His Greatness."

The reviewer, Patricia Cohen, takes issue with author Shenk's emphasis on optimism in our America. (Apparently, however, there are great sums of money to be made, today, in trying to overcome depression.)

Ms. Cohen dismisses the value of a psychological profile of Lincoln.

LPR was interested in her observation that "while depressives may be politically acute, creative and spiritual, they don't have a monopoly on these attributes."

Ah, but are they found on the TV talk shows, in the op-ed columns -- on lecture tours?

To receive a regular paycheck -- and particularly one for telling people what you think -- may be just the right antidote for many cases of depression in the U.S. today.

(By the way, copies of some LPR photos, as blank cards, may be available. Inquiries are invited.)