Abraham Lincoln: The Enigmatic President

Abraham Lincoln had a great interest in innovation and technology. He even presented a lecture entitled “Discoveries and Inventions.” In fact, he is the only president to be awarded a patent. The diagram above is part of his patent application.  His invention was a system of inflatable buoys designed to help boats to navigate shallow waters and cross sandbars. Lincoln's experiences with rivers and his interest in technology inspired his invention. Although Lincoln received a patent in May 1849, when he was a congressman, his device was never manufactured. The Smithsonian has a replica model of the device (below). While serving in Washington, Lincoln visited the patent office often to view “Discoveries and Inventions.” The next post will address his lecture on "Discoveries and Inventions." Read all about it!

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"Bestselling Author, James D. Best just wrote what will quickly be considered one of the BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR (Maybe the BEST!). Entitled Maelstrom , he understands me, perhaps better  than I understand myself. James D. Best explains it all, and better than ever before! GET HIS HISTORICALLY IMPORTANT BOOK, NOW. Thank you!!! President Abraham Lincoln." The greatest rivalry in American history. P.S. Thank you for using a younger photograph for your cover.

"Best’s attention to how Lincoln was forced to navigate political posturing and public opinion demonstrates the genius of the president’s decision-making ... The novel also shines in highlighting how the American Civil War foreshadowed modern warfare and how challenging it was for both sides to adapt to the era’s increasingly devastating technological advances in weaponry. The tensions and promises of a time reshaped by modern technology are palpable on the page." Kirkus Reviews

  Every Drop of Blood: The Momentous Second Inauguration of Abraham Lincoln  by Edward Achorn “Every drop of blood” is a melancholy line from Lincoln’s second inaugural address. It is an appropriate title for Achorn's book. What should have been a glorious occasion was marred by the ongoing Civil War. As the subtitle states, the book focuses on Lincoln’s second inaugural and is filled with contemporary perspectives and quotations. Supposedly, Every Drop of Blood covers twenty-four hours around the inauguration, but Achorn cheats a bit, occasionally using flashbacks to put the narration in perspective. As I mentioned in previous book reviews, I like single-issue books on the Civil War era. So much happened that any attempt to cover the entire time period must be a summary, leaving much detail on the cutting room floor. Achorn fulfills the mission of single-issue history, providing trivia, facts, and insights for enthusiasts. This is a must-read for those who seek to unders...

  The story of the greatest rivalry in American History Read all about it! Read the full review here .

Writing my previous post on Fiction’s Role in History, I ran across an Inside Higher Ed article titled Why Historical Fiction Matters . The author, Steven Mintz, lost me in the third paragraph when he wrote, The fact that many of the genre’s best-known practitioners—like Howard Fast, James Michener, Margaret Mitchell, Leon Uris, Gore Vidal and Herman Wouk—wrote for a popular audience didn’t help the classification’s reputation. The sentence displayed academic elitism, as if anything popular was common and base. I'll bet Mr. Mintz likes Shakespeare without realizing that he was the equivalent of a primetime television scriptwriter. He wrote plays that would draw an audience, the bigger the better. Shakespeare had about forty people's livelihoods in his ink-stained hands. If he wrote a flop, his cast and crew didn't eat. The comment reminded me of Raymond Chandler's quote above. Read all about it!