What can the reader infer based on the underlined detail of the excerpt? The American Civil War and the enigmatic man whose election in 1860 precipitated it hold an inexhaustible interest
for us. Thousands of volumes on both subjects have streamed out of publishing houses in the past century and a half,
covering every conceivable topic and vantage point, from arcana of military operations to probing, and occasionally
preposterous, efforts to explore Lincoln's psyche. Nor does this flow seem to be diminishing. We are about to launch
into a grand national celebration of the bicentennial of Lincoln's birth that may eclipse all such previous
commemorations.
The reader can infer that