Category: Book Review

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Lincoln (and Me) in New Orleans

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I’m science traveling in New Orleans. Somehow I’ve never been to the city before so am chomping at the chance to visit, in part because New Orleans played a role in Abraham Lincoln’s emerging world view. He traveled there twice, both times on a flatboat floating down the Mississippi River just before leaving the family home to set up a life as a young adult. I’ll have more on the trip when I return, but it got me thinking of a book I had read last year. I’m reposting the review of it here to whet your appetite for more. Enjoy.

Lincoln in New OrleansBook Review – Lincoln in New Orleans by Richard Campanella

An exceptionally well researched book recreating Abraham Lincoln’s flatboat trips to New Orleans. Campanella is an expert on New Orleans, and has expanded his expertise upstream to develop a detailed account of Lincoln’s two trips down the Mississippi River. No small feat given that the sum total of all the first person reminiscences of the trips by Lincoln and participants wouldn’t fill a page of text. Campanella’s recreation, like many efforts based on such scant direct information, is not however contrived in the least. On the contrary, the effort he has put into collecting and analyzing fragmented – and often contradictory or dubious – accounts is exemplary.

I would suggest the book is for the serious reader rather those with a casual interest in Lincoln, New Orleans, or the Mississippi River. It is extremely fact-dense, and the writing style is scholarly, yet accessible for thoughtful enthusiasts. Those expecting an exhilarating story of adventure won’t find it, though an adventure it does describe. To me that not only doesn’t take away from the book, it helps define it as scholarship to be taken seriously.

After a short introduction there are only five long chapters. The first explores Lincoln’s father Thomas’ own flatboat trip as a youth, along with setting the stage for Lincoln’s  desire to hit the muddy waters himself. “The 1828 Experience” is a massive undertaking; more than 100 pages of detailed research into the timing of his first flatboat trip while still living in Indiana, the building of the boat, the obstacles in the rivers and elsewhere, the arrival and lingering in New Orleans at the end, and the trip back home. Campanella teases apart the disparate accounts, provides a detailed analysis of the attack by slaves, and places Lincoln in the context of the technologically changing times.

Another chapter examines Lincoln’s second flatboat experience in 1831, including analysis of the mill dam story, the crew and timing of departures, and much more. While truncated so as not to repeat the riverine details well covered in the previous chapter, it still tallies about 40 pages. This is followed by a chapter speculating about what Lincoln may have seen and done in New Orleans, framed by extensive actual facts about what was going on there at that time. In his Conclusions chapter Campanella assesses what influences these flatboat voyages may have had on Lincoln’s views of slavery, internal improvements, and political philosophy. On top of all of this Campanella adds two appendices providing wonderful background material on commerce on western rivers and on New Orleans itself during the time period in which Lincoln was developing into the President he would become.

This is an extraordinary book of scholarship that deserves more attention that it has apparently received. It’s not for the casual reader, but it should be for everyone seriously interested in this critical period of Abraham Lincoln’s life.

More Abraham Lincoln book reviews can be read here (scroll down for more).

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David J. Kent is the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, now available. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World (both Fall River Press). He has also written two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

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Book Review – Fire in the Turtle House: The Green Sea Turtle and the Fate of the Ocean by Osha Gray Davidson

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Fire in the Turtle HouseClimate change has already shown impacts not only on the world’s temperatures but on ocean acidification, sea level rise, and effects on plant and animal migration behaviors, among others. The Dake Page periodically reviews science-related books.It isn’t clear whether the impacts noted in Fire in the Turtle House are related to climate change or some other cause, but it reflects how quickly disruptions can result in catastrophic impacts on wildlife. What follows is a short review of Fire in the Turtle House: The Green Sea Turtle and the Fate of the Ocean by Osha Gray Davidson.

The Turtle House is an area in the narrow channel separating Maui from the neighboring island of Moloka’i. Not surprisingly it is a haven for sea turtles, especially the green sea turtle that the locals call honu. And the honu are dying.

The book follows the search for the cause of rampant spread of the disease called FP, most notably characterized by the growth of tumors on the soft tissues of turtles. First noticed in the 1960s, proliferating in the 70s, and clearly epidemic by the 80s, FP has decimated green turtle populations in Hawai’i as well as in Florida. Davidson visits with the key researchers, examines the different investigations into the cause, and personalizes the scientific struggle to understand. In the end the answers are still uncertain, though viruses are clearly implicated, and dinoflagellate biotoxins, human-caused stresses from pollution and nutrient enrichment, and other factors also may be part of the complex genesis that spreads the disease.

Overall this book is well written. It does seem to veer off on tangents, such as stories about Stellar sea cows from a century before, Pfeisteria-based fish diseases, and other sidetracks that eventually are laced back into the turtle narrative with varying success. On a personal note, it was interesting to see mention of names like Archie Carr and Joanne Burkholder and others familiar to my own marine biology days.

One drawback to the book is that it was published in 2001 and thus is somewhat dated. It would be nice to know where the status of the investigation, and hopefully treatment, of FP stands now. Still, I would recommend this book for those who are interested in learning how science works in the complex real world, and how human factors can surreptitiously drive what appear to be nature impacts.

More science-related book reviews can be read here.

[Cross-posted from The Dake Page]

David J. Kent has been a scientist for thirty-five years, is an avid science traveler, and an independent Abraham Lincoln historian. He is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity (now in its 5th printing) and two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate. His book on Thomas Edison is due in Barnes and Noble stores in spring 2016.

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Book Review – Lincoln’s Body: A Cultural History by Richard Wightman Fox

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Lincoln's BodyHistorian Richard Wightman Fox employs a unique concept in discussing Abraham Lincoln: Lincoln’s body. His body – the physical, the figurative, the aura, and the memory – is used to trace how he was perceived at the time and during several periods since then to the present day. In doing so, Fox has successfully provided a mirror into not only Abraham Lincoln, but ourselves.

The book is split into three main parts ostensibly covering three broad concepts and also three broad time periods. The Public Body (1840-1865) focuses mostly on how Lincoln’s physical attractiveness (or lack thereof) was used both to promote and dismiss him during his political lifetime. These chapters also discuss his initial martyrdom, impact of the lack of any “last words,” and bodily degradation during the funeral.

The second part, The Enshrined Body (1865-1909), examines the memorialization of Lincoln, the use of him as a symbol, and the “reinterpretation” of him such that he was either for or against political goals, including “black emancipation” and “white reunion.” This section gets us up to the centenary of his birth.

In the final part, The National Body (1909-2015), Fox looks at the various stages of development of what could best be termed the Lincoln “cult” and “anti-cult.” He looks at the development of two memorials that solidify the “cult” (Lincoln Memorial and Sandburg’s Lincoln), and also at Lincoln has been depicted on the screen. Most importantly, Fox does an excellent job looking at Lincoln’s role (and sometimes lack of role) in the Civil Rights era. His discussion of Martin Luther King is one of the best parts of the book. Finally, this part spends considerable time on the more recent cinematic (and Disney) treatments of Lincoln, with a clear appreciation of the Spielberg/Kushner/Day Lewis movie, “Lincoln.”

The writing is fluid and readable. The use of the “body” thread throughout the book is well done – enough to carry the theme without making it groan from its own weight. But the real value of the book is in how Fox reflects the body of Lincoln in all its senses back on our changing views of liberty, race, and democracy over the course of the 150 years since Lincoln’s body made that last long railroad trip back to Springfield.

David J. Kent has been a scientist for over thirty years, is an avid science traveler, and an independent Abraham Lincoln historian. He is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and the e-book Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time. He is currently writing a book on Thomas Edison.

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Book Review – Tesla’s Signal by L. Woodswalker

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Tesla's SignalAs a writer it’s always interesting to read other people’s writing, especially when they are people I know. Of course, interesting could mean either good or bad depending on the quality of the writing, but it seems I’ve been lucky because the books I’ve read by friends and acquaintances have been wonderful. That includes works by Thomas Waite, R.C. (Chuck) Larlham, Sam Hawksworth, and the many Abraham Lincoln scholars I’ve met.

The most recent is L. Woodswalker, author of Tesla’s Signal. I first met Laura at a Tesla Memorial Conference at the New Yorker Hotel and then at subsequent Tesla events, including this one at the Chester County Library (Laura is in the second photo, another Tesla author Howard Lipman is in the third photo). I was presenting my book, Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity (now with 50,000 in print) and Laura mentioned that she was working on a science fiction novel based on Tesla’s life. That book came out this past month and I had the privilege of being one of the first to read it. Here’s my review as posted on Goodreads and Amazon:

Marvelous science fiction. L. Woodswalker authors a cleverly written exploration of alien invasion that masterly weaves real history with fantasy and surreality in a series of intricately woven story lines. Those who are familiar with Nikola Tesla will recognize the deft intertwining of Tesla’s real inventions, quirks, and personality traits with extrapolations to what they have become in the minds of many a Tesla aficionado. Those unfamiliar with Tesla will still find themselves rabidly engaged in the requisite alien races, the fight between good and evil, and some surprising romantic tension spliced into exciting action. All together here are the makings of a great SF novel. Well done!

I should note that I’ve been a scientist for my entire life and grew up as an avid science fiction and science fantasy fan. The focus of my own published writing means I read a lot more non-fiction these days, but I was happily surprised at how much I liked this book. The writing is tight and the blending of Tesla’s reality and fantasy is exceptional.

If you like Tesla, this will be a fun read. If you like alien beings, this will be a fun read. And even if you’ve never heard of Tesla and never met an alien being, it will still be a fun read. Find it on Amazon.com.

Meanwhile, I managed to meet my writing goal for my forthcoming book on Thomas Edison, so I’m comfortable taking some time off to go science traveling. More on that in my next post.

David J. Kent has been a scientist for over thirty years, is an avid science traveler, and an independent Abraham Lincoln historian. He is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and the e-book Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time. He is currently writing a book on Thomas Edison.

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Book Review – Abraham Lincoln: Philosopher Statesman by Joseph Fornieri

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Philosopher StatesmanAn exceptional scholarly treatment. Author Fornieri examines the age-old question of what makes Abraham Lincoln great. His answer lies in the belief that Lincoln was a philosopher statesman, which he defines as being understood in terms of six dimensions of political leadership.

The six dimensions are Wisdom (i.e., theoretical wisdom), Prudence (i.e., practical wisdom), Duty, Magnanimity, Rhetoric, and Patriotism. Fornieri devotes entire chapters to each of these individual dimensions and provides substantial and substantive examples.

As might be expected, there is significant overlap between the various dimensions and the examples used to explore them. As suggested by the title, the writing is often philosophical and deeper than most treatments of Lincoln. The book is short – only about 170 pages of text – but as dense as a book twice its length.

While probably not amenable to a general audience, the book is highly recommended for Lincoln scholars, both professional and avocational.

David J. Kent has been a scientist for over thirty years, is an avid science traveler, and an independent Abraham Lincoln historian. He is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and the e-book Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time. He is currently writing a book on Thomas Edison.

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Book Review – Emancipation, the Union Army, and the Reelection of Abraham Lincoln by Jonathan W. White

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Jonathan W. WhiteThis book is an exceptional work of scholarship. Author Jonathan W. White explores in depth an area of the Civil War largely overlooked, or worse, taken for granted – the soldier vote in 1864. Unafraid to challenge the conventional wisdom, White painstakingly digs into the records to determine exactly how the soldier vote was influenced by various factors, political and otherwise.

That conventional wisdom notes that 78% of the soldier vote went to Lincoln in the 1864 election, and from this assumes that soldiers largely had shifted to the Republican party way of thinking and accepted emancipation as a valid military goal. White shows that the reality is much more nuanced. In fact, the 78% vote is most likely due to other factors.

Those factors are discussed in its five chapters and include intimidation in the Union ranks, resignations and desertions of those who disagreed with emancipation, and disaffection with the long war itself. In short, the composition of the army changed after the Emancipation Proclamation, as Democratic supporters either left the service or found it prudent to avoid voicing their opinions, which would get them charged with disloyalty to the Union.

White’s scholarly research is indefatigable, as the extensive endnotes and lengthy bibliography of primary materials is testament. His unearthing of diaries and letters from individual soldiers, as well as his considerable use of court-martial records, is second to none. The sourcing alone is worthy of acclaim. In fact, the book was awarded the prestigious 2105 Abraham Lincoln Institute book award.

The book is highly recommended to all Lincoln and Civil War scholars.

David J. Kent has been a scientist for over thirty years, is an avid science traveler, and an independent Abraham Lincoln historian. He is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and the e-book Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time.

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Lincoln and the Power of the Press: The War for Public Opinion by Harold Holzer

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Power of the Press - Harold HolzerHarold Holzer shows why he is considered the leading Abraham Lincoln expert as he adds to his tremendous legacy of scholarship. The focus of this latest book is Lincoln’s relationship with the press. It’s important to know that the newspapers of the day were highly partisan and often closely aligned with a particular party or candidate. They were also fiercely antagonistic to each other and to the opposing party. If a politician didn’t have a good relationship with the press, they had no compunction to viciously and directly attacking him, and in many cases, making things up.

The book is broken into two main parts. The first spends a lot of time tracking the three main editors of the influential New York press – Horace Greeley of the Tribune, Henry Raymond of the Times (both of whom supported Republicans), and the openly racist James Gordon Bennett of the Herald (who supported Democrats). While these three often are the main foils, Holzer has no shortage of other key papers and editors to add to the mix. In this first, pre-war, part, Lincoln usually is trying hard to get the big eastern papers to notice him, then mostly an unknown lawyer and one-term congressman in “the west” (i.e., Illinois).

The second part focuses on the direct interactions between Lincoln and the press, again focusing on the three main editors but amply filled in with myriads of other newspaper accounts across the now-split nation. Holzer’s adept story telling follows the action as each editor reports, and often makes, the news. Holzer brings to life key incidents in which Lincoln used the press to his advantage, for example, to prepare the nation for the Emancipation Proclamation in a famous letter to Horace Greeley, as well as many lesser known examples.

For a long book – 565 pages of text, with another 100 or more pages in extensive notes – it moves along crisply, at least for people with some degree of knowledge about Lincoln and the times. I suspect some readers may find it a bit too long, but that would short-change the wonderful value this book provides. Harold Holzer’s book is as powerful as the press were during the Civil War. It’s well worth the read.

David J. Kent is a lifelong Lincolnophile and is currently working on a book about Abraham Lincoln’s interest in science and technology. He is also the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and an ebook Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time. His next book is about Thomas Edison.

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Book Review – Abraham Lincoln and the Structure of Reason by David Hirsch and Dan Van Haften

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Structure of ReasonThe main thesis of this book is that Abraham Lincoln’s greatness came from his mastery of the “six-books of Euclid” geometry, and the subsequent application of the six elements of Euclid into his logic, reasoning, and speeches.

Hirsch (a lawyer) and Van Haften (and engineer) demarcate many of Lincoln’s speeches, letters, and lectures into Euclid’s six elements: Enunciation, Exposition, Specification, Construction, Proof, and Conclusion. They use voluminous quotes and passages from Lincoln’s writings and employ an equally voluminous and liberal system of endnotes.

Overall, the authors have done an excellent job of documenting Lincoln’s use of logic and reasoning, as well as how the elements of Euclid can be used to parse out his speeches and letters. In my view they were somewhat less successful in teasing out whether the structure of Lincoln’s writings is the result of his active employment of Euclidean principles or that his natural inclination toward logically oriented demonstration simply backfits well into demarcation according to those principles.

While the use of long passages gives us much context into the topics being discussed by Lincoln, the authors offered little analysis other than the demarcation. This is especially true in the many appendices in which entire Lincoln speeches and letters are categorized into the six elements but no additional analysis discusses how these elements were defined by Lincoln. In fairness, some of these (e.g., the Cooper Union speech) were discussed more in depth in the book’s chapters, but the discussion throughout could have used more analytical discussion.

I also found the book to be, in essence, two books. The first is the Euclidean influence on Lincoln as I’ve focused on in this review, but a significant part of the book is about the legal profession and how Euclid’s elements may help lawyers better themselves with respect to courtroom presentation and brief writing. In these chapters, which make up much of the book, Lincoln is brought in anecdotally but isn’t the main focus. Therefore, those interested in Lincoln may drift off during the non-Lincoln legal process discussions. Each chapter ends with a section called “From Lincoln to Now” in which the authors record changes in technology and legal procedures through the present. This section may or may not be of interest to Lincoln readers.

The Euclidean influence on Lincoln is fascinating and the authors often provided useful insights for my own research on Lincoln’s interest in science and technology. The text itself can be rather dry and technical, so this book is a better fit for serious Lincoln scholars than the general public. While readers may or may not agree that the authors have met the expectations set by their preamble, I personally liked the book.

David J. Kent is a lifelong Lincolnophile and is currently working on a book about Abraham Lincoln’s interest in science and technology. He is also the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and an ebook Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time.

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Book Review – Moonlight: Abraham Lincoln and the Almanac Trial by John Evangelist Walsh

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Walsh Almanac TrialMost people only think of Abraham Lincoln as our 16th President, but prior to that Lincoln had a long career as a lawyer. Much of his legal work was mundane, but he did occasionally get involved in some high profile cases that showed his logic and guile.

Author John Evangelist Walsh brings to light one such case in his book Moonlight: Abraham Lincoln and the Almanac Trial. Moonlight is about one of the few murder trials that Abraham Lincoln ever served as defense counsel. Tried in a single day in 1858, just a few months before beginning his campaign for the US Senate in Illinois, Lincoln successfully defended William “Duff” Armstrong on the charge of killing a man in a fight. A co-defendant, James Norris, had been tried separately and had been convicted; he was already serving an eight year sentence. The trial came to be known as the “Almanac” trial because of Lincoln’s adept use of an almanac to demonstrate that the moon was perhaps not so directly overhead as the key witness had suggested. The insinuation, of course, is that the witness could not have been so sure about his description of the incident as he had come across on direct testimony.

Possibly the most interesting thing about the trial was the fact that Lincoln wore a white suit, a far cry from his normal rumpled black suits of fame. There was some rumor that the almanac had somehow been tampered with, a rumor long since shown to be specious. In short, the almanac evidence actually didn’t negate the witness’s testimony, merely created some uncertainty in an otherwise certain insistence of events by the witness. And “reasonable doubt” is all that a defense attorney must elicit from the jury. Lincoln did that and Armstrong, the son of a longtime friend of Lincoln’s, went free.

The book itself is fairly short, and actually not very robust as a work of scholarship. The writing is uneven and the author doesn’t really delve too deeply into events. Overall it seems like Walsh could have put a little more effort into the volume. Still, it gives a lightweight glimpse into a famous trial…a glimpse if not satisfying in its own right, may be just enough to wet the taste for a greater exploration of Lincoln’s casework.

David J. Kent is a lifelong Lincolnophile and is currently working on a book about Abraham Lincoln’s interest in science and technology. He is also the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and an ebook Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time.

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Three Books about Abraham Lincoln and His Books

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Abraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln grew up reading everything he could get his hands on in the largely illiterate western frontier of 19th century America. So it’s no small irony that estimates of books written about Abraham Lincoln run over 15,000 volumes. Some day I’ll count up the number of books about Lincoln I’ve read (I’m guessing over 200) but for now I’ll give you three quick reviews of books related to Lincoln’s own love of books. All of these and more can be found on my Goodreads page under “read” books.

Abraham Lincoln and His Books: With Selections from the Writings of Lincoln and a Bibliography of Books in Print Relating to Abraham Lincoln – William E. Barton (1920)

Interesting small book from 1920 on books Lincoln read, as well as books about Lincoln, with an early bibliography. Also includes several of his speeches and other writings.

A Shelf of Lincoln Books: A Critical, Selective Bibliography of Lincolniana – Paul M. Angle (1946)

Published in 1946, this volume is necessarily outdated, but should definitely not be overlooked. Paul M. Angle was one of the preeminent Lincoln scholars of his day. He has carefully selected about 80 of the thousands of Lincoln books extant at that time, with an eye for those that offer the greatest contribution to Lincoln scholarship and have stood the test of time. Thus, Angle eliminates those books that “were little better than worthless when they were published,” and focuses on those with lasting value.

Despite selecting the best books, Angle is direct in his critiques for any inadequacies he sees in each volume. He notes that many of his comments may reflect a “magisterial tone,” but it is exactly that tone and his authoritative evaluation of each book’s strengths and weaknesses that make this “Shelf” so valuable in its own right.

There is a need for an updated bibliography of Lincoln books, but such an update should start with this volume by Angle.

100 Essential Lincoln Books – Michael Burkhimer (2003)

Very useful book published in 2003. The essential books are listed chronologically, starting with Carpenter’s “The Inner Life of Abraham Lincoln: Six Months in the White House” (1866) and ending with Miller’s “Lincoln’s Virtues: An Ethical Biography” (2002). Burkhimer writes in 2-3 pages a combination of summary, highlights, and essay for each of the 100 books he deems “essential.”

His selection is obviously somewhat arbitrary, and the early books sometimes are chosen not because of their staying power but because they were the big (and often, only) books of the day. More culling was necessary for recent decades because the number of books being published about Lincoln has increased rather than drifted off. Given the number of Lincoln books published in the decade since this publication (including, for example, Doris Kearns Goodwin’s stellar “Team of Rivals”), there is a definite need for updating. This book, however, is a wonderful resource for those interested in filling in their Lincoln reading list, as well as for providing insights into the value of each of the books cited.

David J. Kent is an avid science traveler and the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, in Barnes and Noble stores now. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World and two specialty e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

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