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A novel and brilliant look at how Abraham Lincoln mastered the art of leadership: acclaimed historian Michael J. Gerhardt, who appeared during the impeachment proceedings of President Trump, reveals how a group of five men mentored an obscure lawyer with no executive experience to become American's greatest leader.In 1849, when Abraham Lincoln returned to Springfield, Illinois, after two seemingly uninspiring years in the U.S. House of Representatives, his political career appeared all but finished. He attempted to revive his law practice but was dismissed from the biggest case of his career six years later. As Lincoln's spirits dimmed, his Democratic rival, Stephen Douglas, an advocate for slavery, became a senator and rising star. Distraught, Lincoln's sense of failure was so great that friends worried about his sanity.