I hesitated adding my own “how I met Lincoln” story; by comparison, it seems mundane. But in the spirit of disclosure, here it is: I drew Lincoln’s name from a hat for a random “how to write a biography” assignment in fifth grade. Turning to the school library, I encountered my first (and still my favorite) biography, The Lincoln Nobody Knows by Richard N. Current.

I never would have guessed that thirty-five years later I would know not only Lincoln but also the still-thriving dean of all Lincoln scholars, eighty-six-year-old Richard Current himself. What an honor it has been to share Lincoln with all these people—if for altogether different, highly personal, and until now rather elusive reasons.