ABSTRACT
Conversations with Lincoln is, obviously, based on memory, the memories of the different people who were with Lincoln when he talked on matters large and small, by day or night, in a multitude of circumstances and under a variety of conditions. Salmon P. Chase, Lincoln's Secretary of the Treasury, put his finger on the perplexing problem of remembering when, trying to recall some aspects of his own life, he wrote: "It is curious how men best acquainted with each other mistake as to matters of personal history." The actuality having occurred only once, vanishes, never to be repeated or recaptured. It is within this framework that we must consider Conversations with Lincoln, where some accounts attempt to reproduce dialogue verbatim, others to present discussion essentially in paraphrase. Paul Tobenkin's constant interest in this project and his generous advice continued until his final illness in June 1958.
