The 2004 Lincoln Prize was awarded on behalf of Gabor Borritt on Feb. 12. This year, for a change of pace, the author of a work about Lincoln was named.

But only half honored. He had to share the prize with the editor of Grant's papers.

There is not a lot of information about Richard J. Carwardine on the Net. Borritt blurbed the jacket of his book Lincoln when it came out, bestowing, as it were, an advance on the prize. And when another advance reader says Lincoln has "all the qualities that make for a good read," it worries me.

John Y. Simon received the lesser portion of the prize ($20,000 of $50,000 bestowed). His yeoman's work on Grant's papers should not need to be honored by a Lincoln committee, especially after 26 volumes have appeared (starting in 1967).

Gone without a trace: the ballyhood $50,000 eprize for web-based Civil War era content. When announced in 2002, it sounded like a setup for awarding money to the Valley of the Shadow project.