LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Two hundred years after his birth in a log cabin in Kentucky, Abraham Lincoln continues to fascinate. Abraham Lincoln is invoked by politicians of both parties, observes historian Ronald C. White Jr. His moral clarity, his extraordinary gifts with language, his decisive role in preserving the Union and what some consider his ultimate martyrdom combine to make of Lincoln a mythic figure with a firm hold on our collective imagination. In conjunction with the bicentennial of his birth, a slew of new books on the 16th U.S. president have appeared. Among the best-reviewed is the biography "A. Lincoln" (Random House) by historian Ronald C. White Jr., who drew on new research for his portrait.
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Ronald C. White Jr. is author of new Lincoln biography, "A. Lincoln"
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Lincoln "embodies the best of America," White says
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Historian sees some comparisons with President Obama: demeanor, writing ability
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Lincoln's character, moral vision still pertinent, White says
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