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Becoming President…and Other Goings-On

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David at Lincoln MemorialThis week I officially became President! So much has been going on that I figured a quick professional update was in order.

I am now President of the Lincoln Group of DC. The previous president, John O’ Brien, shepherded us through a pandemic-induced upheaval of our usual routine, shifting us to a Zoom-based virtual format for our monthly formerly-dinner lectures in a DC restaurant. The virtual meetings actually let us reach members now spread across the country who had been missing out. Our challenge now is to resurrect our in-person dinners while maintaining a more far-reaching virtual program. John also took charge of moving us from our old website platform to a new Wix-based one, a process that is still ongoing. One of the best features of our new site, Lincolnian.org, is a news blog where we can update people on upcoming events of the group, plus Lincoln news from around the country. In addition to my own author website (this one) and my experimental/opinion webite (Hot White Snow), I’ve been writing much of the content for the Lincolnian.org blog, writing book reviews for the Lincolnian newsletter, writing occasional articles for the newsletter, and maintaining and posting on the Lincoln Group’s Facebook and Twitter pages.

As President I’ll have the privilege of working with a great group of Vice Presidents and other Board members to provide service to our members and the community. There are big plans already in the works, including the aforementioned in-person dinners, our ongoing Study Group, next year’s Lincoln Memorial Centennial commemoration, a four-part short-course on Lincoln for ENCORE in the fall, battlefield tours, possible silent auctions, and an expanded national presence. We’ll be looking for additional opportunities to collaborate with other groups, like the “Teaching Lincoln” panel in January for a private club’s Civil War Roundtable and the “Case for Honoring Lincoln” panel for the Illinois State Society, the latter of which included discussions of Lincoln’s Native American and African American policies.

That isn’t the only Lincoln organization I’ve taken on new responsibilities for. In March I joined the Executive Committee and took over as Treasurer for the Abraham Lincoln Institute, another non-profit whose mission is to promote the scholarship of Abraham Lincoln. I’ve been on the Board for the last four years and now will be managing the finances. I’m also on the Book Award review committee, which means reading a dozen or more new Lincoln books a year and winnowing them down to a single award winner. I’ll also be more involved with a third organization, the Lincoln Forum, whose annual three day symposium I’ve attended for the last seven years. As we come back from a virtual year to a planned in-person event in November, I’ve been asked to join their Board of Advisors.

And then there is the book. Midway through May I have completed the draft of my new book examining Lincoln’s commitment to science. I’m in the editing process now and will be submitting the manuscript to the publisher next month. The planned release is February 2022, give or take. Once the manuscript is accepted I’ll start to talk more about its content, reveal the cover, reveal the prominent public figure who wrote the Foreword, and other news specifically about the book. Stay tuned.

This year should also see a return to travel. With the pandemic (hopefully) receding (fingers crossed), I’m looking forward to resuming my “Chasing Abraham Lincoln” travel. This summer I have plans to visit my family in New England for the first time in over a year. I’m already booked to join my brother on a catamaran sailing excursion in the British Virgin Islands this November (returning just in time to head to Gettysburg for the Lincoln Forum).

And of course there will be book marketing in preparation for the new book’s release. Plus I’ll be finishing up a second work in progress, working on two others in progress, and starting the research for yet another book I hope to get a proposal out on before the end of the year.

Onward!

David J. Kent is the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America. His newest Lincoln book is scheduled for release in February 2022. 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.

Follow me for updates on my Facebook author page and Goodreads.

 

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Robert Lincoln – Assassination Jinx?

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Robert Todd LincolnRobert Todd Lincoln was the oldest of Abraham and Mary Lincoln’s four sons, and apparently an assassination jinx in a story that includes several presidents, Nikola Tesla, and Thomas Edison.

Robert died in 1926 after having lived to the age of 82, a longevity quite unusual for his family, as father Abraham was assassinated at the age of 56 and his mother died at 63. Robert was not only the first to be born, he was the last to die, and the only Lincoln child to even reach adulthood. Second born Eddie lived only three years, dying from tuberculosis. Then there was Willie, who died in the White House at age eleven. Thomas (Tad) managed to recover from the same sickness that took his brother in 1862, only to see his father’s life taken a few years later. Tad made it to the age of 18 before dying of heart failure, perhaps from the strain of his mother’s fragile mental state after the trauma of her husband’s demise.

Robert had many great accomplishments in his own right. He served as Secretary of War under President’s Garfield and Arthur, then minister to the United Kingdom under President Benjamin Harrison. He later became legal counsel to the Pullman railroad car company, and eventually became its president.

Perhaps the most interesting factoid is that Robert was either present or nearby at three Presidential assassinations. The first was his father’s, where he was at the White House and rushed to the Petersen House to witness his father’s last hours. Sixteen years later, while serving as Secretary of War, Robert witnessed the assassination of President Garfield at the Sixth Street train station. And if that was not enough bad luck, Robert was present at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo at the invitation of President William McKinley. After McKinley was shot and killed, Robert is said to have refused any further presidential invitations. I suspect Presidents also thought better about inviting him. *(See note)

President McKinley’s assassination happened six months into the second term of his presidency. The exposition was yet another World’s Fair to highlight rapidly changing technology and cultural exchange. McKinley had a busy schedule but managed to slip in a visit to the nearby Niagara Falls. After seeing the gorge with its beautiful falling waters (being careful to remain on the American side to avoid the inevitable political chatter), the President toured Goat Island where a statue of Nikola Tesla would be erected many years later.

One of the main goals of the Niagara Falls trip was to visit the hydroelectric plant, which included the alternating current generators and motors designed by Tesla. It was the alternating current from Tesla’s Niagara Falls system that lit up the entire exposition, including the centerpiece “Electric Tower” and the Temple of Music. There were also electric trains, ambulances, and other vehicles moving people to and from different parts of the fair and the Falls.

After marveling at the ingenuity of Tesla’s designs at Niagara, McKinley returned to Buffalo for a reception at the very same Temple of Music. While shaking hands with well-wishers, McKinley was shot by anarchist Leon Czolgosz. It was September 6, 1901.

In an ironic twist of fate, Tesla’s rival Thomas Edison could have saved McKinley’s life. Doctors were unable to locate the bullet in McKinley’s abdomen, and an early X-ray machine designed by Edison was on display at the Fair. McKinley’s doctors, however, deemed the apparatus too primitive to be of use. Edison quickly sent his most modern X-ray machine from New Jersey up to Buffalo, but aides to the President refused to use it for fear of radiation poisoning. While McKinley at first appeared to be recovering, gangrene set into the wound and he died on September 14th, Edison’s unused machine sitting nearby.

There is another odd connection to assassination. Robert Lincoln’s life was saved by the brother of Abraham Lincoln’s assassin. Here is more on that story.

[Adapted from my e-book, Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate, available for download on Amazon.]

*Note: The original that this piece was adapted from was written several years ago. Today, Jason Emerson, offered up a clarification on the FB version of this post. I serve with Jason on the Abraham Lincoln Institute Board of Directors, and can safely say he is the reigning expert on Robert Lincoln (as well as Mary Lincoln). Here is what he wrote and readers should defer to his research over my post:

“Actually, Robert was not at the Pan American Expo when McKinley was shot, and he was not invited to be there by President McKinley. Robert was on a train on his way to the Exposition with his family (for a family outing, nothing more) and when he arrived at the Buffalo train station, he was informed of the shooting. Robert also attended presidential events with Roosevelt, Taft, and Harding in later life. It’s all in my biography of Robert Lincoln, “Giant in the Shadows: The Life of Robert T. Lincoln.””

David J. Kent is the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America. His newest Lincoln book is scheduled for release in February 2022. 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.

Follow me for updates on my Facebook author page and Goodreads.

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Leadership Practices in the Sciences

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Healthy LandsSure, I write a lot about Abraham Lincoln these days, but for more than thirty years I was a practicing scientist. One area of sciences that was severely lacking was leadership. I’m lucky enough to be related to an expert on leadership in the sciences, and he has a new book out that I want to highlight for all my science colleagues.

Leadership Practices for Healthy Lands by Don Kent, Ph.D. is the book I wish many of my colleagues had available during my career. As the title suggests, this book is a practical manual for how to ensure good decision-making that applies to, but goes beyond, the idea of healthy lands – lands that retain their inherent hydrological, geological, biological, and chemical functions. This is a book about leadership; what it is, how to develop it, how to execute it, and how to refine it to succeed in the management of groups and organizations. The work applies to retaining, or reclaiming, healthy lands, but also would apply to other scientific efforts, and even to other significant business management endeavors.

The book is incredibly well-written and comprehensive. It’s clear that significant research and experience went into its making. Readers will find background on leadership theory, discovering your purpose, and embracing change, but also practical guidance on how to build trust, promote change, and focus on the benefits of shared vision. In essence, this a master course on leadership.

Don knows a thing or ten about leadership. He was President and CEO of the Schoodic Institute at Acadia National Park, was the Chief Strategy Officer and Director at NatureServe, a Natural Heritage Administrator for the State of New Hampshire, and a long time Executive Director of nonprofit institutions, not to mention technical consultancies and Walt Disney’s Imagineering group. He’s considered a leader in wetlands and land management, having consulted and taught clients worldwide. His earlier book, Applied Wetlands Science and Technology, to which I was privileged to contribute a chapter, was such a huge bestseller that the publisher asked him to expand and update it for a second edition.

I encourage all my science colleagues to check out Leadership Practices for Healthy Lands. You can learn more about the book and the author on his website at HealthyLands.Org.

 

David J. Kent is an avid science traveler and the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America. 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.

Follow me for updates on my Facebook author page and Goodreads.

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Abraham Lincoln Book Acquisitions for 2020

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Books 2019Given COVID, the election, the post-election, and everything else that happened this year, it should come as no surprise that my Abraham Lincoln book acquisition pattern was different that in previous years. While last year I had a big jump in the number of new Lincoln books I acquired (82), this year was back around my average. Overall I acquired 55 new books this year. This is actually more than I expected. I had decided when I set my annual goals for 2020 (which mostly got tossed out as soon as COVID hit) that I would purchase fewer Lincoln books. Driving factors in that decision were a decreasing amount of shelf space, a reassessment of the amount of “stuff” I have in the house, and the knowledge that I would likely be receiving some books from publishers for review. I also planned to spend more time writing a book (more on that later).

I started the year off slowly in accordance with my plan. And then I became an official reviewer for the Lincoln Herald, a journal published by Lincoln Memorial University. They sent me two books to review, plus I reviewed a book I already had on my shelf (one review has been published; the other two will be in future issues). Starting in the summer I also received about ten books from publishers to evaluate for the Abraham Lincoln Institute annual book award competition. Another half dozen books were received late in the year. And then I discovered my health insurance company had been giving me points for something and I could cash those in for even more Lincoln books. I also decided to enter into my spreadsheet the PDF books that I had downloaded, so some of those in the list below exist only as PDFs, not hard copies. All of this added to my slightly less active purchasing obsessions, totaling 55 for the year, including duplicates.

Twenty-four are new books published in 2020. The oldest copyright is 1796 for a PDF book. The oldest physical book was published in 1941. The shortest actual books were 26 pages (M.L. Houser’s Abraham Lincoln Mathematician) and 58 pages (Daniel Kilham Dodge’s Abraham Lincoln: Evolution of His Literary Style). Longest books stretched to 1066 pages (Abe: Abraham Lincoln In His Times by David S. Reynolds) and 1097 pages (a two-volume set called The Tragic Years by Paul M. Angle and Earl Schenk Miers).

There were some blockbusters, including the aforementioned Abe book by David S. Reynolds, along with Harold Holzer’s The Presidents vs. The Press and Ted Widmer’s Lincoln on the Verge. There were also more obscure books like the two by M.L. Houser, the New Philadelphia book by the McWorters, and Robin Blackburn’s An Unfinished Revolution: Karl Marx and Abraham Lincoln. There is also a graphic biography by Mark Shulman (author) and Tom Martin (illustrator) called Abraham Lincoln: Defender of the Union. I rarely buy fiction, but I so enjoyed the library copy of Stephen L. Carter’s The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln that I bought one for myself (the book explores the alternative history that Lincoln survives the assassination attempt and then is impeached in his second term for not being hard enough on the surrendering South). Also, I may have the only copy of a pre-publication book by Ed Steers that he accidentally made available on Amazon just long enough for me to buy a copy before it was shut down; the final version is due out in March 2021 from the University Press of Kentucky). The most bizarre book I acquired is Richard Salva’s The Yoga of Abraham Lincoln (and yes, it is as contrived as the title suggests).

As a huge departure for me, there are several books that I would classify as Civil War books and not expressly Abraham Lincoln. I usually avoid such books, but some came from publishers and others provided some insights I wanted to better understand Lincoln. One book that covers Lincoln and the Civil War but begins pre-Revolutionary War and expands to the present is Heather Cox Richardson’s How the South Won the Civil War. Richardson has become a social media sensation this year with her daily “Letters from an American” and social/political commentary on Facebook. The book is an excellent read and one from which all Americans would gain valuable insight.

One huge change this year – only one of the books is signed by the author, and it was purchased that way. Normally I would have ample opportunity for authors to sign the book directly to me, but this year COVID moved all the usual in-person events to virtual lectures, including the Abraham Lincoln Institute symposium normally held at Ford’s Theatre in March, the Lincoln Forum (Gettysburg in November), and the monthly Lincoln Group of DC dinner lectures. Most of these are expected to be virtual in 2021 as well, although there is hope COVID will be under control enough to hold the fall Forum in Gettysburg. At some point I hope to catch up with authors for signings.

As always, collecting these books means I do a lot of reading. While I can’t claim to have read all of them, I have read many of them and plan to read the rest over time. And, of course, acquire even more. Note to publishers: I’m always open to receiving books in return for an honest review via my various venues, including Goodreads and Amazon.

So how many Lincoln books will I acquire in 2021? As with this year the plan is to hold back on buying too many books in the early part of the year (my shelves are not getting less packed). I do expect to be on the ALI book award committee again this year (along with taking on Treasurer duties). But even more important is that I just agreed to terms with a publisher for my the book I’m writing myself, with a pretty tight deadline for turning in the manuscript, so I won’t have much time for reading during the first half of the year. I’ll have more details on this in my annual Year in a Writer’s Life post but by summer I know I’ll be ready to read a lot about Lincoln that isn’t directly related to my book.

See the 2020 list showing author/title/publication date below my signature blurb below.

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.

Check out my Goodreads author page. While you’re at it, “Like” my Facebook author page for more updates!

Here is the 2020 list! [Author, Title, Date of Publication]

Abel, E. Lawrence John Wilkes Booth and the Women Who Loved Him 2018
Abel, E. Lawrence Lincoln’s Jewish Spy: The Life and Times of Issachar Zacharie 2020
Achorn, Edward Every Drop of Blood: The Momentous Second Inauguration of Abraham Lincoln 2020
Angle, Paul M. and Miers, Earl Schenck Tragic Years, 1860-1865: A Documentary History of the American Civil War 1960
Blackburn, Robin An Unfinished Revolution: Karl Marx and Abraham Lincoln 2011
Blaisdell, Bob (ed.) The Wit and Wisdom of Abraham Lincoln: A Book of Quotations 2005
Boorstin, Daniel J. The Mysterious Science of the Law: An Essay on Blackstone’s Commentaries 1941
Brands, H.W. The Zealot and the Emancipator: John O’Brien, Abraham Lincoln, and the Struggle for American Freedom 2020
Browning, Judkin and Silver, Timothy An Environmental History of the Civil War 2020
Carden, Allen and Ebert, Thomas J. John George Nicolay: The Man in Lincoln’s Shadow 2019
Carter, Stephen L. The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln: A Novel 2012
Condon, William H. The Life of Major-General James Shields 1900
Dilworth, Thomas Dilworth’s Spelling-Book, Improved: A New Guide to the English Tongue 1796
Dixon, David T. Radical Warrior: August Willich’s Journey from German Revolutionary to Union General 2020
Dodge, Daniel Kilham Abraham Lincoln: The Evolution of His Literary Style 2000
Drake, Brian Allen (Ed) The Blue, the Gray, and the Green: Toward an Environmental History of the Civil War 2015
Fry, Zachery A. A Republic in the Ranks: Loyalty and Dissent in the Army of the Potomac 2020
Greene, Julia Gates Abraham Lincoln on the Niagara Frontier 1930
Holzer, Harold The Presidents vs. The Press: The Endless Battle Between the White House and the Media from The Founding Fathers to Fake News 2020
Houser, M.L. Young Abraham Lincoln Mathematician 1943
Houser, M.L. Lincoln’s Education and Other Essays 1957
Johnson, William Bruce Lincoln’s First Crisis: Fort Sumter and the Betrayal of the President 2020
Johnson, William Bruce Lincoln’s First Crisis: Fort Sumter and the Betrayal of the President 2020
Kanefield, Teri The Making of America: Abraham Lincoln 2018
Keller, Ron J. Lincoln in the Illinois Legislature 2019
Kline, Michael J. The Baltimore Plot: The First Conspiracy to Assassinate Abraham Lincoln 2008
Levin, Kevin M. Searching for Black Confederates: The Civil War’s Most Persistent Myth 2019
Luskey, Brian P. Men is Cheap: Exposing the Frauds of Free Labor in Civil War America 2020
Mackey, Thomas C. Opposing Lincoln: Clement L. Vallandigham, Presidential Power, and the Legal Battle Over Dissent in Wartime 2020
McPherson, James M. Abraham Lincoln 2009
McWorter, Gerald A. and Williams-McWorter, Kate New Philadelphia 2018
Meltzer, Brad and Mensch, Josh The Lincoln Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill America’s 16th President – And Why it Failed 2020
Mitchell, Elizabeth Lincoln’s Lie: A True Civil War Caper Through Fake News, Wall Street, and the White House 2020
Norder, Steve Lincoln Takes Command: The Campaign to Seize Norfolk and the Destruction of the CSS Virginia 2020
Norder, Steve Lincoln Takes Command: The Campaign to Seize Norfolk and the Destruction of the CSS Virginia 2020
Power, John Carroll History of an Attempt to Steal the Body of Abraham Lincoln 1890
Rappaport, Doreen (author) and Nelson, Kadir (illustrator) Abe’s Honest Words: The Life of Abraham Lincoln 2008
Reid, Brian Holden The Scourge of War: The Life of William Tecumseh Sherman 2020
Reingold, Nathan(Ed.) Science in Nineteenth-Century America: A Documentary History 1964
Reynolds, David S. Abe: Abraham Linicoln In His Times 2020
Richardson, Heather Cox How the South Won the Civil War 2020
Salva, Richard The Yoga of Abraham Lincoln: Forerunner of the Modern Truth Seeker 2015
Shaara, Michael The Killer Angels 2003
Shulman, Mark (author) and Martin, Tom (Illustrator) Show Me History! Abraham Lincoln: Defender of the Union 2018
Snee, Brian J. Lincoln Before Lincoln: Early Cinematic Adaptations of the Life of America’s Greatest President 2016
Steers, Edward Jr. Getting Right With Lincoln: Correcting Misconceptions About Our Greatest President 2020
Stevenson, Augusta Abraham Lincoln: The Great Emancipator 1986
Striner, Richard Summoned to Glory: The Audacious Life of Abraham Lincoln 2020
Taylor, Daniel Cravens Thomas Lincoln: Abraham’s Father 2019
Temple, Wayne C.; Edited by Douglas L. Wilson and Rodney O. Davis Lincoln’s Confidant: The Life of Noah Brooks 2019
Welker, David A. The Cornfield: Antietam’s Bloody Turning Point 2020
Widmer, Ted Lincoln On The Verge: Thirteen Days To Washington 2020
Widmer, Ted Lincoln On The Verge: Thirteen Days To Washington 2020
Widmer, Ted Lincoln On The Verge: Thirteen Days To Washington 2020
Wilson, Rufus Rockwell Intimate Memories of Lincoln 1945
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Lincoln and the Calcium Light

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In late August of 1864 Abraham Lincoln was still pushing research in technological advancement that might help the war effort. This interest put him in the middle of testing a calcium light between the Old Soldiers Home and the Smithsonian.

Homer Bates is best known for his post-war book, Lincoln in the Telegraph Office, in which he recounts the many visits by the President to the War Department next door to the White House. Bates recalls an incident in which a demonstration was arranged for his benefit while Lincoln was staying at what is now referred to as President Lincoln’s Cottage. Major Thomas Eckert and Bates traveled to the Soldiers Home one night while their colleagues set up a similar array in the tower of the Smithsonian Institute castle. Smithsonian Secretary Joseph Henry was also present to witness the tests.

Calcium light

Calcium light was not exactly new technology. Sometimes called Drummond light, and more commonly referred to as limelight, calcium lights were already in use as stage lighting for theaters and concert halls, hence the derivation of the phrase “in the limelight” for people in the public eye. The intense light is created by directing an oxyhydrogen flame at a cylinder of quicklime (calcium oxide).

According to Bates,

Lincoln was greatly interested in this exhibition and expressed the opinion that the signal system of both the army and navy could and would be improved so as to become of immense value tot he Government.

The calcium light signaling method did go on to be of value to the war effort, as were several other signaling and coding inventions. Lincoln encouraged these developments, and in some cases like this, was intimately involved in the testing of advancements. Calcium lights were eventually replaced by arc lighting, which in turn was replaced by direct current and then alternating current. This development becomes one thread that ties Abraham Lincoln to Joseph Henry to Nikola Tesla (and Thomas Edison too).

[Diagram courtesy of By Theresa knott (original); Pbroks13 (redraw) – Limelight_diagram.png, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4171671]

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.

Check out my Goodreads author page. While you’re at it, “Like” my Facebook author page for more updates!

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Coronavirus Cancellations

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Lincoln RoomWell, the worldwide coronavirus outbreak has certainly caused a lot of disruption lately. Like everyone else, I’m social distancing (even more than usual), which means tons of cancellations of upcoming appearances and presentations.

I keep a running list on my Media page, but here’s a rundown of my immediate schedule:

 

March 21st: The Abraham Lincoln Institute symposium has been cancelled. I was expecting to be on stage to introduce the first speaker. We will begin planning for next year.

April 4th: My presentation at the Rock Creek Civil War Roundtable, “Abraham Lincoln’s Long Road to Emancipation,” has been rescheduled for September 5, 2020.

April 17th: Invited speaker at the Cosmos Club Civil War Roundtable, “Abraham Lincoln and Technology of the Civil War,” is awaiting a final decision. I’ll update shortly.

April 21st: The Lincoln Group of DC dinner featuring Garrett Peck on “Lincoln and Walt Whitman” is cancelled. The speaker will be rescheduled for a later date.

May 19th: The Lincoln Group of DC dinner featuring Burrus Carnahan on “Lincoln and the Use of Presidential Pardons” will continue as scheduled.

September 5th: New date for my presentation at the Rock Creek Civil War Roundtable, “Abraham Lincoln’s Long Road to Emancipation.”

January 15, 2021: Invited to chair a panel on different methods used to teach Abraham Lincoln. Cosmos Club Civil War Roundtable. Continue as scheduled.

 

I’ll update as new information becomes available. For now, please stay home and flatten the curve. Pay attention to health officials. Stay healthy.

 

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.

Check out my Goodreads author page. While you’re at it, “Like” my Facebook author page for more updates!

 

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Abraham Lincoln Goes to the Movies – And So Can You: Special AFI Event!

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Lincoln at the movies

Abraham Lincoln is going to the movies. Granted, his last trip to the theater didn’t work out too well. But AFI – the American Film Institute – brings us a series of movies featuring Abraham Lincoln that everyone will want to see.

These are not just any Lincoln movies. “The Lincoln Cycle” is a series of newly restored, historic silent films from 1917 about the life of Abraham Lincoln. The restoration of the eight short films was done by the Library of Congress, debuted in 2018 and has been widely praised in the cinematic press. The restored films, featuring live accompaniment on a real theater organ, will be shown over two days — Saturday, March 28 and Sunday, March 29 — at the AFI Silver theater, 8633 Colesville Rd., in downtown Silver Spring, Maryland, starting at 5:15 pm on Saturday and 5:30 on Sunday. The showings will be in the AFI’s main theater, which is  widely rated as the best place to watch a movie in the Washington area.

According to AFI:

“The Lincoln Cycle comprises the surviving eight two-reel episodes of producer and star Benjamin Chapin’s 1917 life-of-Abraham Lincoln series. While Chapin gave himself screen credit for writing, producing and directing the films and portraying the 16th President (as well as his father Thomas and his grandfather, also named Abe), John Stahl credibly claimed to have been the series’ actual director, and the quality of the films’ structure and performances would seem to bear that out. Episodes from Lincoln’s youth are dramatized with vigor and sensitivity, and the portrayals by Charles Jackson as young Abe and Madelyn Clare as his mother Nancy Hanks Lincoln are revelatory. DIR John M. Stahl; SCR/PROD Benjamin Chapin. U.S., 1917, b&w, 217 min total (Part 1 approx. 106 min; Part 2 approx 111 min). Silent with English intertitles. NOT RATED”

As you can see, the films will be split over two nights. Part 1 on March 28th includes the first 4 short films. Part 2 on March 29th shows the other 4 short films. You can attend one night or both nights. Admission is $15 for each day and the screenings on both days will last about two hours. Tickets can be purchased at the AFI box office or in advance from the AFI Silver web site. The AFI Silver is about two blocks from the Metro Red Line and is near a host of Montgomery County parking garages, which are free on weekends.  There is also a wide selection of restaurants nearby for pre or post-screening dining.

For more information and tickets, click for Part 1 on May 28th and Part 2 on May 29th

Personally, I think this is an extraordinary opportunity to see these rare films and I plan to be there for both nights. I hope you’ll join me.

 

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.

Check out my Goodreads author page. While you’re at it, “Like” my Facebook author page for more updates!

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Abraham Lincoln Book Acquisitions for 2019

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Books 2019This was a big year in Abraham Lincoln book acquisitions. My average number of new books acquired has been a fairly consistent 58 books over each of the last five years. This year was 82. While that’s a big jump from my average, it still falls short of the 98 I acquired back in 2013.

Part of the reason was that I started receiving books from publishers because of my book reviews. I write two book reviews per quarter (eight per year) for The Lincolnian, the Lincoln Group of DC‘s newsletter. I’ve also had two reviews published in Civil War Times this past year and expect to have more next year. The magazines, journals, and newspapers in which I publish reviews should expand in 2020. I also received books as part of my responsibilities for the Abraham Lincoln Institute book award evaluation committee. Still, most of the books I purchase through various bookselling outlets, including the onsite bookstore at the annual Lincoln Forum.

Of the total acquired in 2019, 18 are new books published this year. Ten books on the list are signed, most directly to me by the author (e.g., during this year’s Lincoln Forum or when they are guest speakers for the Lincoln Group of DC’s monthly dinners). While many of the books are new, most go back in time. The oldest acquired this year is a 1944 pamphlet style book by Isaac Frost comparing Oliver Cromwell and Abraham Lincoln. The next oldest is a classic book by Lincoln scholar J.G. Randall called Lincoln: The Liberal Statesman, published in 1947. There are also important reference works like Fehrenbacher’s Recollected Words of Abraham Lincoln and Boritt’s book of Lincoln quotations.

With over 15,000 books on Lincoln extant, this seemed to be the year for books on peripheral figures close to Lincoln. Newspapermen were well covered, including books on Horace Greeley, Charles A. Dana, Noah Brooks, and Lincoln’s private secretary, John G. Nicolay. Books ranged from blockbuster’s like Sidney Blumenthal’s All The Powers of Earth to the lesser known but important Timothy Good’s We Saw Lincoln Shot. Books also covered Abe’s Youth in Indiana and Lincoln and the Blackhawk War in Illinois. On the more technical side was the most recent assessment of Lincoln’s use of Euclid in his speeches by David Hirsch and Dan Van Haften called The Tyranny of Public Discourse.

Since I’m a big fan of both, one of my favorite books acquired this year is Abraham Lincoln Crossword Puzzles, although I have as yet not figured out how to do the puzzles but leave the book unblemished.

Collecting all these books means I do a lot of reading. While I can’t claim to have read all of them, I have read many of them and plan to read the rest over time. And, of course, acquire even more. Note to publishers: I’m always open to receiving books in return for an honest review via my various venues, including Goodreads and Amazon.

See the 2019 list showing author/title/publication date below my signature blurb below.

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.

Check out my Goodreads author page. While you’re at it, “Like” my Facebook author page for more updates!

Here is the 2019 list! [Author, Title, Date of Publication]

The Lincoln Country: From These Humble Beginnings…to Immortality
Abraham Lincoln Crossword Puzzles 2014
Bartelt, William E. and Claybourn, Joshua A. (Eds) Abe’s Youth: Shaping the Future President 2019
Bartelt, William E. and Claybourn, Joshua A. (Eds) Abe’s Youth: Shaping the Future President 2019
Bayard, Louis Courting Mr. Lincoln (A Novel) 2019
Bayne, Julia Taft Tad Lincoln’s Father 2001
Bennett, Jr., Lerone Forced Into Glory: Abraham Lincoln’s White Dream 1999
Blumenthal, Sidney All the Powers of Earth 1856-1860: The Political Life of Abraham Lincoln, Vol. 3 2019
Blumenthal, Sidney All the Powers of Earth 1856-1860: The Political Life of Abraham Lincoln, Vol. 3 2019
Blumenthal, Sidney All the Powers of Earth 1856-1860: The Political Life of Abraham Lincoln, Vol. 3 2019
Bordewich, Fergus M. America’s Great Debate: Henry Clay, Stephen A. Douglas, and the Compromise that Preserved the Union 2012
Boritt, Gabor S. (ed) Of the People, By the People, For the People and other Quotations 1996
Brands, H.W. Heirs of The Founders: The Epic Rivalry of Henry Clay, John Calhoun, and Daniel Webster, The Second Generation of American Giants 2018
Brown, Thomas J. The Public Art of Civil War Commemoration: A Brief History with Documents 2004
Carden, Allen and Ebert, Thomas J. John George Nicolay: The Man in Lincoln’s Shadow 2019
Cartmell, Donald The Civil War Up Close 2005
Casson, Herbert N. Cyrus Hall McCormick: His Life and Work 1971
Chadwick, Bruce Lincoln For President: An Unlikely Candidate, An Audacious Strategy, and the Victory No One Saw Coming 2009
Conwell, Russell H. Why Lincoln Laughed 1922
Coulson, Thomas Joseph Henry: His Life & Work 1950
Delbanco, Andrew The War Before the War: Fugitive Slaves and the Struggle for America’s Soul from the Revolution to the Civil War 2018
Donald, David Herbert and Hozler, Harold (Eds) Lincoln in the Times: The Life of Abraham Lincoln as Originally Reported in the New York Times 2005
Efflandt, Lloyd H. Lincoln and the Black Hawk War 1991
Eifert, Virginia S. The Buffalo Trace 1957
Fehrenbacher, Don E. Lincoln in Text and Context: Collected Essays 1987
Fehrenbacher, Don E. and Fehrenbacher, Virginia (Compiled and Edited by) Recollected Words of Abraham Lincoln 1996
Fleischner, Jennifer Mrs. Lincoln and Mrs. Keckley: The Remarkable Story of the Friendship Between a First Lady and a Former Slave 2003
Foot, Isaac Oliver Cromwell and Abraham Lincoln: A Comparison 1944
Freehling, William W. The South vs The South: How Anti-Confederate Southerners Shaped the course of the Civil War 2001
Gates, Henry Louis Stony the Road: Reconstruction, White Supremacy, and the Rise of Jim Crow 2019
Good, Timothy S. We Saw Lincoln Shot: One Hundred Eyewitness Accounts 1995
Grafton, John (Compiler and Historical Notes) Abraham Lincoln Great Speeches 1991
Guarneri, Carl J. Lincoln’s Informer: Charles A. Dana and the Inside Story of the Union War 2019
Guelzo, Allen C. Abraham Lincoln: Redeemer President 1999
Handlin, Oscar and Lilian Abraham Lincoln and the Union 1980
Harris, Laurie Lanzen How to Analyze the Works of Abraham Lincoln 2013
Hirsch, David and Van Haften, Dan The Tyranny of Public Discourse: Abraham Lincoln’s Six-Element Antidote for Meaningful and Persuasive Writing 2019
Hirsch, David and Van Haften, Dan The Tyranny of Public Discourse: Abraham Lincoln’s Six-Element Antidote for Meaningful and Persuasive Writing 2019
Horner, Harlan Hoyt Lincoln and Greeley 1953
Jefferson, Thomas (edited and notes by David Waldstreicher) Notes on the State of Virginia 2002
Johannsen, Robert W. (Ed.) The Lincoln-Douglas Debates of 1858 1965
Kalten, D.M. The Duel: Abraham Lincoln and Rebecca 2016
Kantor, MacKinlay Andersonville 1955
Kimmel, Stanley Mr. Lincoln’s Washington: A Panorama of Events in Washington from 1861 to 1865 Taken From Local Newspapers and with over 250 Illustrations 1957
Klingaman, William K. and Klingaman, Nicholas P The Year Without Summer: 1816 and the Volcano That Darkened the World and Changed History 2013
Knoles, George Harmon (Ed) The Crisis of the Union 1965
Larson, John Lauritz Internal Improvement: National Public Works and the Promise of Popular Government in the Early United States 2001
Lonn, Ella Salt as a Factor in the Confederacy 1965
Lorant, Stefan Lincoln: A Picture Story of His Life 1979
Lowry, Thomas P. Don’t Shoot That Boy!: Abraham Lincoln and Military Justice 1999
Lundberg, James M. Horace Greeley: Print, Politics, and the Failure of American Nationhood 2019
McCormick, Cyrus The Century of the Reaper 1931
Meltzer, Milton (ed) and Alcorn, Stephen (illustrator) Lincoln in His Own Words 1993
Myers, James E. The Astonishing Saber Duel of Abraham Lincoln 1969
Nevins, Allan and Irving Stone (Eds) Lincoln: A Contemporary Portrait 1962
Olmstead, Frederick Law (with Arthur Schlesinger, Editor) The Cotton Kingdom: The Classic First-Hand Account of the Slave System in the Years Preceding the Civil War 1969
Patterson, Matt Union of Hearts: The Abraham Lincoln & Ann Rutledge Story 2000
Paull, Bonnie E. and Hart, Richard E. Lincoln’s Springfield Neighborhood 2015
Phillips, Ulrich B. Life & Labor in the Old South 1963
Puleo, Stephen American Treasures: The Secret Efforts to Save the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Gettysburg Address 2016
Randall, J.G. Lincoln: The Liberal Statesman 1947
Randall, J.G. Constitutional Problems Under Lincoln 1964
Reninger, Marion Wallace My Lincoln Letter 1953
Rhoads, Mark Q. Land of Lincoln: Thy Wondrous Story: Through the Eyes of the Illinois State Society 2013
Roske, Ralph J. and Van Doren, Charles Lincoln’s Commando: The Biography of Commander W.B. Cushing, U.S.N. 1957
Shaw, Robert (photographer) and Burlingame, Michael (text) Abraham Lincoln Traveled This Way: The America Lincoln Knew 2012
Sideman, Belle Becker and Friedman, Lillian (Eds) Europe Looks at the Civil War 1960
Soodhalter, Ron Hanging Captain Gordon: The Life and Trial of an American Slave Trader 2006
Spielvogel, J. Christian Interpreting Sacred Ground: The Rhetoric of National Civil War Parks and Battlefields 2013
Splaine, John A Companion to the Lincoln Douglas Debates 1994
Stephenson, Nathaniel Wright Abraham Lincoln and the Union, A Chronicle of the Embattled North 1918
Tagg, Larry The Battles that Made Abraham Lincoln: How Lincoln Mastered His Enemies to Win the Civil War, Free the Slaves, and Preserve the Union 2012
Taylor, John M. While Cannons Roared: The Civil War Behind the Lines 1997
Temple, Wayne C. “The Taste Is In My Mouth A Little…”: Lincoln’s Victuals and Potables 2004
Temple, Wayne C.; Edited by Douglas L. Wilson and Rodney O. Davis Lincoln’s Confidant: The Life of Noah Brooks 2019
Varon, Elizabeth R. Armies of Deliverance: A New History of the Civil War 2019
Weber, Karl (Ed.) Lincoln: A President for the Ages (Companion Essays to the Movie) 2012
Weiner, Greg Old Whigs: Burke, Lincoln, and the Politics of Prudence 2019
Wert, Jeffry D. Civil War Barons: The Tycoons, Entrepreneurs, Inventors, and Visionaries Who Forged Victory and Shaped a Nation 2018
Wilson, Steven President Lincoln’s Spy 2008
Winkle, Kenneth J. The Young Eagle: The Rise of Abraham Lincoln 2001
Zimmerman, Dwight Jon; Illustrated by Wayne Vansant The Hammer and the Anvil: Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, and the End of Slavery in America 2012
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The Exhaustingly Exhilarating Lincoln Forum

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I have just returned from the annual Abraham Lincoln Forum in historic Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The 3-day conference of non-stop meetings, presentations, and hallway socializing is somehow both exhausting and exhilarating. I came away with a great deal more knowledge, a renewed impetus for research, and a “to-do” list the length of my arm.

The schedule was shown in my pre-forum post, and the presenters didn’t disappoint. We heard about how the North felt they were an army of deliverance, how soldiers and Lincoln dealt with the constant reminder of death, and the intriguing story and legacy of how the first battle of the ironclad ships changed naval warfare. During the final day breakout sessions I participated in discussions on the Civil War Navy led by Craig Symonds and Anna Holloway. I even picked up a tip or two to discuss in my new book. I also had keynote speaker Sidney Blumenthal sign my copy of his book, my review of which will appear in the next Civil War Times magazine.

But the Forum is more than just scholarship, though there certainly is no shortage of that. It’s a chance for colleagues to compare notes, researchers to begin new collaborations, and friends to catch up since last meeting (which for many is, in fact, the last meeting of the Forum a year before). I found myself having deep discussions with some of the record number of fellow Lincoln Group of DC members in attendance (hence the long to-do list for follow up). With other DC-area colleagues I plotted future collaborations. I talked with photographer David Wiegers about future Lincoln statues to visit (and bought a calendar of statues in foreign countries). I even got to listen to a little blues guitar and harmonica by the inestimable Joe Fornieri.

One surprise happened during the first session. As we took a short break I notice that Michael Hardy was sitting in the row behind me. Mike runs the Facebook page “Liking and Learning About Lincoln,” which not only has shown incredible growth in the past year, under his guidance has continued to raise the amount members donate to the Lincoln Forum scholarship programs. Mike proceeds to tell me that he thinks about me every day, which I admit sounded a little weird until he reminded me of a conversation we had last year. I mentioned that I hadn’t written my Lincoln book for the deep scholars like Harold Holzer; I had written it to reach the public that might not pick up a scholarly tome. Mike took this to heart and uses that principle in deciding what to post on his page – the goal is to expand the knowledge among the populace. I wholeheartedly agree, and am humbled to do my small part in that regard.

One other surprise deserves mention. This past year the Forum arranged to have a sculpted bust of Lincoln donated to the town of Lincoln, Argentina. I have an personal affinity for Argentina, having spent some time there visiting a close friend a few years ago. Thanks to the Forum, that sculptor (and the original clay model upon which the bronze was cast) was on hand to explain his art while actually working on a new Lincoln bust while we spoke. As can be seen by the photos, sculptor Frank Porcu is amazingly talented and I thank him for taking the time to talk with me.

I have already put the Forum on my calendar for next year (yes, I have a 2020 calendar hanging on my wall quickly filling up). In the interim I plan to finish my next Lincoln book, give a few talks of my own, and continue traveling. On this last point I found my only disappointment of the last few days – an unexpected email informed me that my lower Caribbean cruise due to start in one week had been cancelled (ironically for a sailing vessel, because of necessary repairs to a propulsion engine). While not nearly as exciting or warm, I have plenty to do at home, including reading several new Abraham Lincoln books in competition for the Abraham Lincoln Institute annual book award to be given next March.

Time to get busy.

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.

Check out my Goodreads author page. While you’re at it, “Like” my Facebook author page for more updates!

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On the Way to the Lincoln Forum

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George Buss David KentA funny thing happened on the way to the Lincoln Forum. After a career as a scientist, I became a Lincoln historian. And in a few days I’ll have the chance to join 300 of my colleagues at the annual Abraham Lincoln Forum.

The Lincoln Forum is a national organization for people “who share a deep interest in the life and times of Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War era.” While my occupation was scientist, my avocation – now my focus – was Abraham Lincoln. From reading Jim Bishop’s The Day Lincoln Was Shot and Carl Sandburg’s Prairie Years and War Years as a boy to collecting various artifacts as a teenager to my 1300-volume book obsession as an adult, I’ve always been a bit of a Lincoln geek. [For the record, that’s a good thing.]

For many years I attended the annual SETAC scientific meeting, which inconveniently put itself on the same week as the Forum. In 2014 SETAC was a week or so earlier, thus allowing me to also go to the Forum for the first time. The same happened in 2015 – after winning a prestigious SETAC award in Salt Lake City I returned in time to attend the 20th Anniversary of the Forum in Gettysburg. Now my focus is completely on the Forum and this year (2019) will be my sixth straight year in attendance. I’ve met a lot of great people each year, including Lincoln reenactor George Buss and a field of scholars led by the incomparable Harold Holzer and Frank Williams.

Lincoln Forum 2019

As the schedule above shows, this year’s Forum should continue to raise the bar on Lincoln scholarship. Among the speakers will be the authors of books I’ve recently read (e.g., Brian Dirck’s The Black Heavens, Sidney Blumenthal’s All The Powers of Earth) or read within the last couple of years (e.g., Anna Holloway and Jonathan White’s Our Little Monitor). Many of the other books to be discussed are on my further list of books to review in my roles as a columnist in The Lincolnian, reviewer for Civil War Times and other magazines, and a member of the book award committee for the Abraham Lincoln Institute.

If you’re going to this year’s Forum, feel free to look for me during meals and happy hours (or just roaming the hallways between sessions). I’m looking forward to catching up with old friends, making new friends, and discussing Lincoln with perhaps the single largest regular gathering of Lincoln scholars and aficionados in the world.

See you at the Forum!

[Photo: Selfie with George Buss/Abraham Lincoln]

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.

Check out my Goodreads author page. While you’re at it, “Like” my Facebook author page for more updates!