Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Our Ancient Faith:
The ultimate democracy fanboy.
Quick synopsis:
A look at how Abraham Lincoln treasured and communication his love for American democracy.
Fact for Non-History People:
Abraham Lincoln is in the Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Fact for History Nerds:
Lincoln is the only president who holds a patent. It was for a device that freed steamboats that ran aground.
My Take on Our Ancient Faith:
Caution readers! I am about to pontificate!
Allen Guelzo did a dangerous thing when he wrote Our Ancient Faith. He made me think. The book is not necessarily a full celebration of democracy but more of a reminder that it is a pretty good way of doing things. He illustrates his thinking by looking at one of the greatest (and in many scholars minds THE greatest) U.S. President, Abraham Lincoln. You may have heard of him!
Guelzo starts with a bunch of philosophy where he defines democracy and its component parts. Yes, I know. It sounds like a snoozefest. However, it’s quite good which is saying something because I abhor philosophy! The book is short (less than 200 pages of text), and this portion is just setting the stage for the main subject. Quickly, we are talking about our favorite ugly president (don’t get mad at me, it’s how he described himself), Honest Abe. (Note: I will be using various nicknames I found for Lincoln in the rest of this review and they get progressively more bizarre. You are welcome.)
I want to be clear that Guelzo is not painting a saintly picture of the Great Emancipator. Yes, this book does highlight the significant positive attributes of the Rail-Splitter. On the other hand, Guelzo calls out the places the Grand Wrestler falls short. Guelzo takes us to a time when our democracy was in its greatest peril and shows how the Ancient One’s love for our American system kept it from dying an ignoble death.
I would be remiss if I didn’t point out what some other reviewers have commented on. Yes, in 2024 there are a lot of BIG feelings about the government. I don’t feel like Guelzo was writing a book to tell people, “It’s fine, stop whining. You are overreacting.” Instead, I think this book is about not falling prey to cynicism as the default for our national outlook. We still need to take threats to our democracy seriously. Democracy depends on us to defend it, or it will fall. Guelzo is just giving us an example to aspire to. As far as role models go, we could do a lot worse than Uncle Abe. (Ok, that last nickname wasn’t the most bizarre, but I wanted to end this review strong and “the Tycoon” is a dumb nickname and would have ruined my flow.)
(This book was provided as a review copy by Alfred A. Knopf.)
Verdict:
A fascinating read. Buy it here!
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