He Had Fewer Books Than You Have Browser Tabs
Lincoln's formal schooling totalled less than twelve months across his entire childhood. No single teacher, no fixed curriculum, no library card. He borrowed books from neighbours across miles of Indiana wilderness, read them by firelight when candles ran out, and returned them before the lender noticed they were gone. By the time he was in his twenties, he had read Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England so many times he could recite passages without opening the cover.
