DiLorenzo had great success writing this book, Alexander Marriott states that it "reached a relatively wide audience of libertarians and conservatives." » (Marriott) DiLorenzo is very compelling in his book "The Real Lincoln" because of the many quotes and questions he presents to his audience. By persuading his readers to question all their formal beliefs about Lincoln, he makes them think that Lincoln might be the monster he portrays him to be. Lincoln probably wasn't a saint like many claimed, but he was still the man who demolished slavery and kept the United States together during a difficult time. By making such a historical figure out to be a Freud, many have refuted him, an article by Ken Masugi recounts how DiLorenzo misused the quotes and made people believe they meant something they didn't mean by it . Masugi states that DiLorenzo "frequently distorts the meaning of the primary sources he cites, especially Lincoln." » (Masugi) Masugi then gives examples of how Dilorenzo overused quotes in his book. DiLorenzo's book had strengths such as its power of persuasion, but also had weaknesses such as its misuse of primary sources, and not only diminishing some of Lincoln's accomplishments, but going on to degrade his identity as a writer.