Former Sen. Howard Baker aptly descibes the book in his Foreword: The Greatest Speech, Ever was written to be more than a specialized monograph about the Gettysburg Address. The author, Judge James L. Cotton Jr. digressed along the way into side excursions and back roads of Abraham Lincoln s remarkable life, exploring his hardscrabble childhood, and his courageous but controversial Emancipation Proclamation. To fully understand how the Gettysburg Address came to be, one must understand how Abraham Lincoln came to be. Part of the greatness of the Gettysburg Address is that the DNA of Lincoln s life is found in every word. Judge Cotton s extensive research into Lincoln s life located that literary DNA and brings the full display to the public in this remarkable book of the fascinating life of the greatest American president and the greatest speech, ever.Judge Cotton s book is not only a fascinating and scholarly assessment of the Gettysburg Address and its impact on America, but also an absorbing look into Abraham Lincoln s life.