Live from Military History Fest, Illinois, February 19, 2011

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David Farnsworth of Casemate Publishing, which distributes our titles, shot over this great photo of author Dan van Haffen "hard at work promoting his newly released book" (with co-author David Hirsch) entitled Abraham Lincoln and the Structure of Reason (Savas Beatie, 2010).

Other than what can only be characterized as a gratuitously harsh "hit review" (wonder who arranged that?) in an online Civil War publication, every review has been uniformly positive and excited about what these two authors have accomplished. Some clicks don't like outsiders treading around their manure pile . . .

A few select observations:

" . . . a book for Lincoln enthusiasts." --The Daily Herald

"The Hirsch-Van Haften book is an impressive contribution to Lincoln scholarship. It helps us understand how Lincoln developed and applied his magnificent analytical and persuasive talents in his more famous speeches and writings." -- The Iowa Lawyer, February 2011

"Abraham Lincoln and the Structure of Reason is an excellent addition to any philosophy or historical studies collection -- highly recommended." -- The Midwest Book Review

"All students of Abraham Lincoln and our democracy are indebted to David Hirsch and Dan Van Haften. This is a brilliant study and this book should be added to the library of every serious scholar of American Civil War history."  -- The Lone Star Book Review

"This is a serious and complex book . . . and will appeal to Lincoln scholars and mathematicians, but is an informative read for our Civil War community." -- Suncoast Civil War Roundtable

"No one has examined Euclidian logic alongside Lincoln's rhetorical and written construction as thoroughly as Mssrs. Hirsch and Van Haften, and the results are startling. We continue to shed our shopworn image of Lincoln as a low-gear country lawyer as we learn more about his cases, and now with this study we see a wholly new angle of his brilliance -- which nevertheless must keep us wondering, How did Lincoln do it? Picking apart his Cooper Institute speech for its inner structure, for example, they reveal how deeply Lincoln had imbibed the classical principles of organization, and how it made him the lawyer and politician he was. Hirsch and Van Haften also offer a guidebook not just for attorneys bent on the same self-improvement, but the simple tools for anyone to do as Lincoln did: learn how to learn, and then demonstrate the rightness of your position."

-- James M. Cornelius, Curator, Lincoln Collection, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum