Preponderance of the Evidence in a Civil Trial

[RJNorton]

Steve, here is a post I made about the Fehrenbachers' book back in 2012:

Personally I consider this one of the best Lincoln quote books ever published. Although the book is arranged in alphabetical order by source, it is easy to find quotes on particular topics using the index. The authors grade each quote from "A" (most likely to be authentic) to "E" (probably not authentic). Obviously this is a judgment call on the Fehrenbachers' part, and I am sure historians and experts would probably argue with some of their ratings. Sources are given for all quotes. I really like the book as it contains Lincoln quotes from conversations, diaries, newspapermen, etc. that cannot be found in The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln. My young mentor, Dr. Thomas Schwartz, considers the book the second best place to look for a Lincoln quote after checking The Collected Works first. I put this book in a similar category to P.M. Zall's Abe Lincoln Laughing: Humerous Anecdotes From Original Sources by and About Abraham Lincoln. Zall set out to write the definitive source on Lincoln's jokes by disgarding the hundreds of stories attributed to Lincoln without reliable sources. I think both books are very valuable resources to have on a Lincoln bookshelf.

I do agree that some of the "D's" given to Herndon's recollected Lincoln stories and quotes could have been rated higher.