As the Republican National Convention opened in 1860 in Chicago, New York Senator William Seward was the overwhelming favorite for the presidential nomination, with notables like Salmon Chase and Edward Bates in the running. Few thought Abraham Lincoln stood a chance. Lincoln had not held public office since one term in Congress a decade earlier. The Lincoln Miracle: Inside the Republican Convention That Changed History (Grove Atlantic, 2023), written by Boston College graduate Edward Achorn, chronicles the tense political drama as it unfolded and tells the behind-the-scenes story of Lincoln’s history-changing nomination to lead the Republican Party. Achorn explores the genius of Lincoln’s quiet strategy, the vicious partisanship tearing apart America, the fierce battles raging over racism and slavery, and booming Chicago as a symbol of the modernization transforming the nation. Achorn is also author of the book, Every Drop of Blood: The Momentous Second Inauguration of Abraham Lincoln, among other titles.