More than 600 letters and interviews providing information about Abraham Lincoln's pre-political         and pre-legal careers are included in this volume, a priceless collection         never before available in one place.       Women to whom Lincoln proposed         marriage, political allies and adversaries, judges and fellow attorneys,         longtime comrades, erstwhile friends--all speak out here in words first         gathered by William H. Herndon, Lincoln's law partner, between 1865 and         1890. Historian David Herbert Donald has called Herndon's materials "the         basic source for Abraham Lincoln's early years."       Some of those Herndon questioned         were illiterate; others could read but barely write. Completion of this         undertaking took the editors to three major collections for the mammoth         task of transcribing documents that often were nearly illegible.       Invaluable to Lincoln scholars         and intriguing to anyone curious about Lincoln and his times, the book         includes an introduction, scholarly annotations, a registry of the informants,         and a detailed topical index.