His special areas of interest are Abraham Lincoln, the Civil War era, and American political and legal history. He is the author of numerous books and articles, including Lincoln and Davis: Imagining America, 1809-1865, and Lincoln the Lawyer. He is currently working on a study of Lincoln and American race relations, which will be published sometime in 2009. Dirk is the publisher of the informative A. Lincoln Blog (http://alincolnblog.blogspot.com/) containing commentary on Lincoln appearances in contemporary media as well as historical controversies.