Abraham Lincoln: The Enigmatic President

The Demon of Unrest  A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War by Erik Larson I generally enjoy single-issue Civil War books but started this one prepared to dislike it. I feared the subtitle disguised a dry dissertation with hyperbolic “H” words. Then in the foreword, Larson equates January 6 to the Civil War. That was a bit overwrought. I settled into the book looking forward to writing an oh-so-clever, nasty review. Not to be. The book was a good example of single-issue books on the Civil War. The Demon of Unrest is about the start of the war. There are so many Civil War-era books that to write something fresh, it is almost necessary to focus on some isolated feature. There have been Civil War books on a particular speech, an issue, technology, a battle, or a single event. Biographies and general history books must omit much detail and interesting tidbits. It was a big war with lots of players. Going deep into a subject is the bailiwick of these sin...

In Lincoln's time, photography was a new science and so popular that in 1860, there were an estimated 3,000 photographers in the United States. Abraham Lincoln did not consider himself handsome, but he was not camera-shy. He had his photograph taken around 130 times, reputedly making him the most photographed American of the 19th century.  The following photograph had long been considered the last picture of the 16th president. It was not. This photo was taken by Alexander Gardner on February 5, 1865, before Lincoln's inauguration on March 4th and assassination on April 14th. It was mistakenly tagged as having been taken on April 10, 1865, but Matthew Wilson accompanied Lincoln to the Gardner shoot, and his diary says it was taken on February 5. Historian Harold Holzer has verified the February 5th date. So, what is the last photograph? John Hay and John Nicolay, in their Complete Works of Abraham Lincoln , wrote that the last photographs were taken a month later, on ...

Abraham Lincoln for Kids: His Life and Times with 21 Activities Janis Herbert This heavily illustrated book is aimed at middle schoolers and is an excellent summation of Abraham Lincoln. The book does not avoid slavery and presents the institution honestly. The writing is clear but requires a reasonable level of reading skill. More importantly, the book is interesting and fast-moving. In an earlier review I wrote, " When I write a historical novel, I find books aimed at younger readers invaluable. They provide three benefits. First, books for youths tell history as a story, just as a historical novel does. Second, they focus on highlights, which can provide an outline for a more extensive narrative. Third, they present the popular view and mythology of historic events. This is valuable because a historical novelist must know when he or she is diverting away from common perceptions. Without proper setup, running counter to the general belief can jar the reader out of the story, and...

  The story of the greatest rivalry in American History. Buy at Amazon