Think what you what of Gore Vidal (and I happen to think very highly of him indeed), but there’s no denying the man had personality. He also, famously, had a way with words, although the only book of his I’ve yet read was the Lincoln novel. By that standard, though, I look forward to reading more; it predated Team of Rivals by a few decades, but in subject matter and anecdotes is very similar. I had to remind myself several times, while reading, that this was a work of fiction – so firmly was he planted in the heads of John Hay and David Herold, amongst others. I rarely make time for works of fiction, much less review them, but Vidal’s Lincoln is deserving of a space on any buff’s bookshelf.