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Berry and Lincoln: Frontier Merchants by Zarel C. Spears and Robert S. Barton (A Book Review)

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Abraham LincolnThis delightful book published in 1947 is considered a classic in Abraham Lincoln literature, and is fairly rarely found on the book market.  The subtitle “The Store that ‘Winked Out,’” is in reference to Lincoln’s famous quote about how at one time he was a partner in a general store and that it sort of fell out of existence (winked out).  Lincoln’s time as a storekeeper is generally given short mention in the big full life biographies of him, and usually to state that Lincoln’s partner died a drunkard and Lincoln, in his famous honesty, took on and eventually paid all debts.

Spears and Barton have dug into the scant information available and come up with a somewhat different and certainly better-rounded picture.  They fill out the portrait of William F. Berry to an extent no one has ever done, in part because Zarel C. Spears is a descendant of the Berry clan.  This historical relationship possibly influences the writing to a degree, but Spears and Berry document their story well and so it seems that their tale has considerable merit.

In short, Lincoln found himself a 22 year old stranded in the tiny hamlet of New Salem, Illinois in 1832.  Largely by chance he entered into a partnership with William Berry, another young man whom Lincoln had known from their just completed tours in the Black Hawk wars.  The partnership survived several twists and turns, and a move to a larger building across the muddy street, before “winking out” in 1834.  The store never made much money, as there was stiff competition in a town whose peak population was only around 100 people.

The authors do a good job of piecing together the limited records of the day, finding court records of notes signed and suits against those notes (notes are essentially IOUs and were commonly used in the cash-poor wilderness prior to the advent of a formal banking system).  In reconstructing the debt burden, the authors find that most of the debt was attributable to Lincoln himself.  This isn’t surprising given that he had no money at the time and thus needed to move forward on credit.  Berry actually came from a fairly influential family in the area and co-signed Lincoln’s notes and at one point actually put his house up as collateral on one debt (for $250) that had come due in order to protect his own half interest in the store.  Income to the store was meager in the best of times and both partners worked other jobs to keep their heads above water – Lincoln as postmaster and a surveyor, Berry as constable.  Berry also started college, but after one year he was back home and had died from some illness (many suspect drunkenness but the authors, while not disputing it, suggest otherwise).  In his last few weeks home before Berry’s death the store was sold at auction to pay off the debts.  Not long after Lincoln began his first of four terms in the Illinois state legislature.

The book is a fascinating and in-depth look at this little known period in Lincoln (and Berry)’s lives.  The authors do justice to both of these men, as well as give us an insight into the hardships of frontier life in the antebellum period of American history.

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We Are Lincoln Men: Abraham Lincoln and His Friends by David Herbert Donald (A Book Review)

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Abraham LincolnSteven Spielberg’s Lincoln is based in part on the marvelous book Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin, which explores Abraham Lincoln’s relationships with his political rivals. But another author explores the relationships Lincoln had with male friends, some of whom were his rivals and some of whom were intimate companions. David Herbert Donald, is a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and author of the book Lincoln, for which he won the Lincoln Prize and had a long run on the New York Times bestseller list.  With We Are Lincoln Men Donald takes us through the rather short list of people that Abraham Lincoln could have considered to be friends.  Somewhat surprisingly given his amicability and story telling powers, Lincoln did not have many close friendships in his life.  Donald brings us into the ones he had.

He begins with a review of Lincoln’s upbringing, one which really didn’t see him build any real long lasting friendships.   Donald then spends some time parsing the one man with whom Lincoln probably had his most intense friendship, Joshua F. Speed.  Some have suggested that the Lincoln/Speed friendship was more than just friends, but Donald dispels this notion and puts us within the context of the times.  Lincoln’s long law partnership with William H. Herndon – whom he called Billy – is well documented by Donald, as was Lincoln’s friendship with Illinois Senator Orville Browning.  Browning became Lincoln’s confidant, and eventually his strongest supporter in Congress.  Even here, however, the friendship could not withstand differences in the two men’s views of Emancipation and eventually they drifted apart to the point where Lincoln thrice passed over Browning for Supreme Court Justice.

The best chapter is probably the one on Lincoln’s friendship with William H. Seward.  Initially competitors – Seward was expected to get the nomination for President that Lincoln ended up winning – the two men developed into a formidable team whose mutual respect led to an intense friendship on which each depended on the other.  Seward himself is a interesting case study, and I look forward to receiving my signed copy of Walter Stahr‘s new biography of him soon.  The final chapter examines Lincoln’s relationship with his two young private secretaries, John Nicolay and John Hay.  These two began with simple devotion to the president, and grew into his most ardent supporters and to some extent confidants, before becoming in the end his official biographers.

Donald does great justice to the complex interactions Lincoln had with these men.  Lincoln was not a particularly open man, and friendships came to him with difficulty. In some cases his reserve and his policies led to discord, but in all cases there was respect.  And perhaps respectfulness is a better word than friendship to describe how Lincoln interacted with those he called “friends.”  This book is an easy and a welcome read.

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Abraham Lincoln Book Review – The Oliver R. Barrett Lincoln Collection

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Abraham LincolnOf the estimated 15,000 or more books written about Abraham Lincoln, I have about 700 in my collection. As I do the research for my next book I have been reading some key tomes and came across a rather unique volume called The Immortal Autograph Letters…Lincolniana Collected by the Late Oliver R. Barrett.

This is a truly amazing book, for two reasons that I will get to in a moment.  The book is really the hard bound catalog of the public auction of the Oliver R. Barrett collection, a sale held in February 1952 by Parke-Bernet Galleries.  While that may sound a little dry, I assure you the book offers a wealth of historical information that is both insightful and exciting.

Oliver R. Barrett amassed a private collection of Abraham Lincoln that was second to no one.  After his death in the latter part of the first half of the 20th Century, a public auction was held of his collection.  This hard bound version of the catalog documents every one of the 842 items sold.  In the collection there are many documents, letters, manuscripts, portraits, personal relics, and a multitude of other “Lincolniana.”  Many are handwritten letters by Lincoln himself, others are letters by Secretary of State Seward, various Generals and other key players in the Civil War, and friends.  There are even letters from Confederate President Jefferson Davis, General Robert E. Lee, and others in the Confederacy.  All of these documents, and associated photographs and relics, are presented and were sold in roughly chronological order, so one can read the summaries of each item and excerpts from important letters to experience the history of the 1850s leading up to Lincoln’s election, through the Civil War itself, and then the immediate reactions to Lincoln’s assassination.

The second feature that makes my particular copy of this book extraordinary is that one of the attendees of the auction has penciled in next to each and every item the sale price, and if known, the buyer.  To see what collectors paid for each item is a wonderful insight into the value people put on Lincoln almost 100 years after his death.  Most items sold for less than $100, but many sold in the hundreds to thousands of dollars.  The highest price paid for any one item was $35,000 for a series of 14 letters from Lincoln to his best friend Joshua Fry Speed.  The letters provide a rare insight into Lincoln’s personal feelings and friendships as Lincoln met Speed when he first moved to Springfield, Illinois to begin his law career and continued throughout his life.

The auction attendee has gone a step further and has at the end of the book written in pencil a table totaling the sale prices for each of the four sessions held over two days, and the grand total, which amounted to $273,632.50.  Keep in mind that this was in 1952 and in current dollars would amount to many millions of dollars.

I am privileged to own this first edition annotated copy.  I expected a rather dull list of items sold at auction, but what I found was an amazing insight into history.

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Sneak Preview of the New Book – Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity

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Today is a day that will live in my memory for a long time. It is the day I received the first actual hard copy of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity. In a word, the book is amazing. In a few more words, it is like nothing you have ever seen before in a Tesla biography.

Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and David J. Kent

Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity by David J. Kent

As you can see, the book is designed to be visually appealing. The cover is a vibrant – go ahead, you can call it electrifying – blue and features a photograph of Nikola Tesla and the visage of his famed Wardenclyffe tower. Look closer to see hints of lightning and radio.

The goal of the book is to reach out to those who want to learn about Nikola Tesla…or who want to learn about the history of invention in the United States…or who, well, just want to have fun with science. Inside, the book is highly illustrated. Photographs, drawings, even cartoons are laced throughout to highlight the text and bring Tesla to life. You can see the table of contents in an earlier article.

Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity by David J. Kent

Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity by David J. Kent

In addition to the wonderful graphics are many call-out quotes and stories. You can giggle along with his assistants as Tesla introduces Mark Twain to his oscillating device. Marvel at the roaring falls as Tesla and Westinghouse team up to harness Niagara. Root for him as he takes on Edison and Marconi, and even Einstein. The combination of stories and illustrations seeks to bring Nikola Tesla to the people in a way that those who understand his inventions and those who do not can both appreciate.

Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity officially publishes on June 30th. It will be available in Barnes and Noble stores and online. I hope you like it.

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Abraham Lincoln Book Acquisitions For 2023

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Books 2019The year is nearing an end, which means it is time to check in on my Abraham Lincoln book acquisitions for 2023. As with recent years, my goal has been to reduce the number of books I buy. I may have actually ended the year with less books than I started with despite acquiring 37 additional Lincoln (and Lincoln-ish) books. You can read about past years acquisitions by scrolling through this link.

So, how might I have reduced the number of Lincoln books? Mostly because many of the books in the house belong to the Lincoln Group of DC. In addition to our Zoom-based meetings, we had four in-person meetings – three dinners and a luncheon – during the course of the year. At each we either held a raffle or gave away books to our members as a perk of membership. It’s a good chance to get Lincoln books in the hands of a bunch of Lincoln aficionados. We also donated books to the annual Lincoln Forum event in Gettysburg, which allows people to scavenge the donation table. In both cases, any proceeds collected go to our organizations’ support for scholarships. I don’t have a hard count on the number of books but likely it was around a hundred that found new homes. I’ll continue the process in 2024.

Of course, none of that does anything for reducing my personal book collection since I keep the Lincoln Group books separate and they are not listed on my spreadsheet of books owned (which currently has 1,724 rows, with some rows reflecting multiple volume books). I also only count my own books, Lincoln: The Fire of Genius and Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, once even though I still have a box or three of each still available (Hint: I can sign books ordered directly from me).

In 2022 I acquired 34 books, so the 37 new ones in 2023 are in the same ballpark. Both are less than in the years before that. While I managed to purchase fewer books (22 of the 37), those were augmented by 15 books I received as gifts or in trade or from publishers wanting book reviews. The number of free books is smaller because I am no longer on the ALI book award review committee (although maybe I will be again in 2024).

Publication dates of the books acquired range from 1891 (Chittenden’s Recollections on President Lincoln and His Administration, a gift from my cousin; and yes, it is an actual book from 1891) to 2023. Most of the books are new, i.e., published in 2023, which isn’t surprising given that some are from publishers and there were a lot of good books out this year that I just had to own. There were also four each published in 2022 and 2021. Two of the books I acquired were from the Southern Illinois Press’s Concise Lincoln Library series. The series editor won a special Lincoln Forum book award in November for its collection of about 30 volumes on various topics. Even with these two new ones I still have only about half the series. Three new acquisitions are Lincoln-related novels. House of Lincoln delves into the household from a servant’s perspective. Henry and Clara follows the chaotic lives (and deaths) of the couple who accompanied Lincoln to the theater that fateful night. By far the most intriguing was One Must Tell the Bees by J. Lawrence Matthews, in which Sherlock Holmes (yes, that Sherlock Holmes) recounts his previously secret early life in the Civil War solving the riddle of who was stealing gunpowder and tracking down John Wilkes Booth. Blending that with his late in life resolution of yet another mysterious murder in England makes for a clever juxtaposition. Since I’ve always been a Sherlock Holmes fan in addition to Lincoln historian, I was delighted by this well-written and entertaining novel.

Given my science background it shouldn’t surprise anyone that some of the books this year had “science in the Civil War” themes. They include Sand, Science, and the Civil War by Scott Hippensteel, Soldiers, Spies, & Steam by Scott Mingus, and The Science of James Smithson by Steven Turner. There were also books about people who are important to Lincoln’s presidency and the Civil War. Among them are two books on Massachusetts Senator Henry Wilson, a book about James Shields (of almost-duel fame and much more), and Benjamin Butler (the Civil War general and much more). I also picked up a book called No Common Ground by Karen L. Cox about what to do with Confederate monuments. I finished the year with two books by Nancy Spannaus about Alexander Hamilton and the American System of economics. Hamilton Versus Wall Street acquired in February delves into the economic system of internal improvements that Lincoln favored (and I discuss in detail in my Fire of Genius book). Then her newest book in early December, Defeating Slavery, shows how Hamilton’s American System showed the way to ending slavery (and how the abandoning of it by Andrew Jackson and others delayed slavery’s demise and hurt the economy). Both are intensely researched and well written.

There were “big name” books also out in 2023. Long-time NPR host Steve Inskeep’s Differ We Must explores how Lincoln learned from, and dealt with, people with whom he disagreed. Some he convinced to see things his way; others agreed to disagree. Columnist Joshua Zeitz, whose previous book, Lincoln’s Boys, about John Hay and John Nicolay was highly regarded, tackled with less success Lincoln’s views on religion and morality in Lincoln’s God. One of my most recent acquisitions is Brian McGinty’s Lincoln in California, which as the title suggests digs into a topic rarely discussed. I haven’t read this one yet but it’s on the top of my list to start the new year. I also picked up books by Walter Stahr (Stanton), whose tomes on individual members of Lincoln’s cabinet have become iconic, and Sarah Vowell’s fun yet informative Assassination Vacation, an older book following her road trips to the sites surrounding assassinations of Lincoln, Garfield, and McKinley. BTW, for those not familiar with the name, you’ve probably heard Vowell’s voice as Violet in The Incredibles movies, as well as on radio and TV.

By far the most famous and sales-successful book in 2023 was Democracy Awakening by Heather Cox Richardson. HCR, as she is affectionately known by those in the know, is a professor at Boston College who became a household name thanks to her “Letters from an American” series. These daily letters, which appear on her Substack platform and Facebook, welcome millions of followers and have highlighted her exemplary career as an historian and ability to relate history to current events. Democracy Awakening continues her letters’ theme by delving into the attacks on American democracy throughout our history, up to and continuing in the current attempts to replace democracy with an authoritarian regime. The book is breathtaking in its capture of two Americas – one that sees the Constitution as applying to everyone versus one that sees America consisting of those who should lead and those who should just shut up and toil. Her second section on the existential crisis begun around 2016 is simply stunning. All of it impeccably documented. This is a must-read book.

As you can see in the list that follows my signature block below, I acquired many more notable books in 2023.

I will likely continue my attempt to reduce the number of books in 2024, although I’m sure to acquire a lot of new ones to offset the losses. I’m always doing research for possible new books I want to write, so some of the acquisitions may reflect that goal as well as my inability to stay away from the big new books of the year (one of which I know I’ll get is Harold Holzer’s latest, Brought Forth on This Continent, about Lincoln and American Immigration, due out in February). I have only a couple more weeks left in 2023 to find the shelf space. Wish me luck.

See the 2023 list showing author/title/publication date below my signature blurb below.

Fire of Genius

 

Lincoln: The Fire of Genius: How Abraham Lincoln’s Commitment to Science and Technology Helped Modernize America is available at booksellers nationwide.

Limited signed copies are available via this website. The book also listed on Goodreads, the database where I keep track of my reading. Click on the “Want to Read” button to put it on your reading list. Please leave a review on Goodreads and Amazon if you like the book.

You also follow my author page on Facebook.

David J. Kent is President of the Lincoln Group of DC and the author of Lincoln: The Fire of Genius: How Abraham Lincoln’s Commitment to Science and Technology Helped Modernize America and 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.

 

Here is the 2022 list! [Author, Title, Date of Publication]

Abbott, Richard H. Cobbler in Congress: The Life of Henry Wilson, 1812-1875 1972
Callan, J.P. Sean Courage and Country: James Shields, More Than Irish Luck 2004
Chittenden, L.E. Recollections of President Lincoln and His Administration 1891
Cox, Karen L. No Common Ground: Confederate Monuments and the Ongoing Fight for Racial Justice 2021
Dirck, Brian Lincoln and the Constitution 2012
Farrow, Anne, Lang, Joel, and Frank, Jenifer Complicity: How the North Promoted, Prolonged, and Profited from Slavery 2005
Hippensteel, Scott Sand, Science, and the Civil War: Sedimentary Geology and Combat 2023
Horan, Nancy The House of Lincoln 2023
Hord, Fred Lee and Norman, Matthew D. Knowing Him By Heart: African Americans on Abraham Lincoln 2023
Inskeep, Steve Differ We Must: How Lincoln Succeeded in a Divided America 2023
Kaplan, Fred Lincoln and the Abolitionists: John Quincy Adams, Slavery, and the Civil War 2017
Lapisardi, Emily (Ed.) Rose Greenhow’s My Imprisonment 2021
Leonard, Elizabeth D. Benjamin Franklin Butler: A Noisy, Fearless Life 2022
Mallon, Thomas Henry and Clara: A Novel 1994
Matthews, J. Lawrence One Must Tell the Bees: Abraham Lincoln and the Final Education of Sherlock Holmes 2021
McCreary, Donna D. Mary Lincoln Demystified: Frequently Asked Questions about Abraham’s Wife 2022
McGinty, Brian Lincoln & Califonia: The President, the War, and the Golden State 2023
McKay, Ernest Henry Wilson: Practical Radical, A Portrait of a Politician 1971
Miller, Lillian et al The Lazzaroni: Science and Scientists in Mid-Nineteenth Century Ameica 1972
Mingus, Scott Soldiers, Spies & Steam: A History of the Northern Central Railway in the Civil War 2016
O’Connor, Thomas H. Lords of the Loom: The Cotton Whigs and the Coming of the Civil War 1968
Page, Elwin L., Introduced and updated by Pride, Mike Abraham Lincoln in New Hampshire 2009
Richardson, Heather Cox Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America 2023
Rodrique, John C. Lincoln and Reconstruction 2013
Sher, Julian The North Star: Canada and the Civil War Plots Against Lincoln 2023
Silver, David M. Lincoln’s Supreme Court 1998
Soini, Wayne Abraham Lincoln, American Prince: Ancestry, Ambition and the Anti-Slavery Cause 2022
Spannous, Nancy Bradeen Hamilton Versus Wall Street: The Core Principles of the American System of Economics 2019
Spannous, Nancy Bradeen Defeating Slavery: Hamilton’s American System Showed the Way 2023
Stahr, Walter Stanton: Lincoln’s War Secretary 2017
Steers, Edward Jr. The Lincoln Tree: 300 Years of Lincoln Ancestry, 1500 to 1837 2023
Stewart, Whitney Hildene: The Lincoln Family Home, Values into Action 2019
Thomson, David K. Bonds of War: How Civil War Financial Agents Sold the World on the Union 2022
Turner, Steven The Science of James Smithson: Discoveries from the Smithsonian Founder 2020
Vowell, Sarah Assassination Vacation 2005
Wasik, John F. Lincolnomics: How President Lincoln Constructed the Great American Economy 2021
Zeitz, Joshua Lincoln’s God: How Faith Transformed a President and a Nation 2023
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Abraham Lincoln Book Acquisitions for 2022

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Books 2019Even when I’m trying to reduce the number of books in my house I end up with more. My Abraham Lincoln book acquisition total for 2022 is 34, and that number includes some books that are Lincoln-ish. You can read about past years acquisitions by scrolling through this link.

Recall that in 2021 I acquired a ton of Lincoln books that weren’t actually mine but belong to the Lincoln Group of DC. I’ve been working since then to remove them from my office through a combination of donations to Lincoln Group members and libraries. As a group, we even donated a box to an organization that supplies prisons with reading materials for those incarcerated. I still have a lot left, but I’ve reduced the pile enough to move the remainder out of my office. I’ve also removed some duplicates from my own collection. I’ll celebrate reclaiming my office table by starting a Lincoln-themed puzzle over the holidays.

Ah, but no matter how many I removed, I added more. My biggest acquisition was my own book, Lincoln: The Fire of Genius, which was published in September. Mostly the sales are from the usual booksellers – Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Independent bookstores (including the Abraham Lincoln Book Shop in Chicago, with whom I did a release day video interview that you can watch here), and even places like Walmart, Target, Books-A-Million, etc. You can even find it in bookstores in Canada, the UK, Australia, and elsewhere. In addition to the stores, I acquired a few boxes of Fire of Genius for sale at in-person events. I have plenty of such events coming up, as well as recordings of past events, all of which are listed on my Media page.

One of the reasons I acquired fewer books this year was that I was not on the ALI book award review committee this year, mainly because I wanted Fire of Genius to be considered for the award. Nevertheless, I still acquired many of the key books that came out in 2022, including some by big name authors. Early in the year I purchased CNN commentator John Avlon’s Lincoln and the Fight for Peace. I enjoyed the book and to put an exclamation point on it I actually moderated a discussion with Avlon for the Lincoln Group in March. The biggest name in Lincoln books this year is clearly Pulitzer Prize winner Jon Meacham, whose And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle topped the New York Times bestseller list. I had the privilege of meeting Meacham at a special event at St. John’s Church across the street from the White House, as well as a couple of other events. Another Jon (this was a big year for authors named John/Jon), Jonathan W. White also had a book come out that I enjoyed, A House Built by Slaves: African American Visitors to the White House. When it comes to big names in Lincoln studies, there is of course Harold Holzer, whose 2009 book The Lincoln Anthology: Great Writers on His Life and Legacy from 1860 to Now has found a place on my shelves. All of these, by the way, also were signed to me by the authors. Being president of the Lincoln Group of DC and winning an award at the Lincoln Forum has its perks.

Other notable books acquired this past year include some related to my own book research topic, including Carol Adrienne’s Healing a Divided Nation: How the American Civil War Revolutionized Western Medicine and Kenneth Noe’s The Howling Storm: Weather, Climate, and the American Civil War. I also picked up The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story, with Nikole Hannah-Jones as project leader. The book is a much-expanded version of the original New York Times series of essays that garnered a Pulitzer Prize despite (or perhaps because of) the raging controversy over misrepresentation/misinterpretation of the founding fathers’ motives and of Lincoln’s views on race. Hannah-Jones tweaked her lead essay in an attempt to correct unsupportable positions even as she stood by them, which unfortunately distracts from the rest of the book, which is a worthwhile, and largely fact-based, discussion of systemic racial discrimination that continues to this day.

I acquired two special books from Lincoln Group members. Ross Heller produced by Abraham Lincoln: His 1958 Time Capsule, which faithfully captures a campaign notebook he provided to a colleague in the year he ran against Stephen A. Douglas for Senate. The book adds in the intriguing history of the notebook’s travels and reproduction. The second is by Daniel R. Smith, Sr., whose Son of a Slave: A Black Man’s Journey in White America is a memoir of the life of a man whose father was born enslaved in 1863 and who sired Dan at the age of 70. Dan, who has been called the Black Forrest Gump because of how often he was a part of historical events, was a long-time member of the Lincoln Group until he passed away at the age of 90 just two weeks before the book was released. His widow Loretta Neumann, also a long time Lincoln Group member, was gracious enough to inscribe my copy of the book yesterday during the Group’s annual holiday luncheon. I’ll have reviews of both these books in the next Lincolnian newsletter.

As can be seen in the list below, my definition of “Lincoln” books is a bit fuzzier in some cases this year. Some are more Civil War-centric than specifically Lincoln, but nevertheless are Lincolnesque. Others may be more obliquely related to future book projects. One interesting book I picked up is called The American Vice Presidency: From Irrelevance to Power by Jules Witcover. Published in 2014, it gives fairly short (several pages) overviews of the lives of all the vice presidents up through Biden (as VP). Some VPs became president either by the death of their predecessor (e.g., Andrew Johnson, Lyndon Baines Johnson) or future election (e.g., Nixon), but their vice presidency is often overlooked. I fortuitously came upon this book just days after deciding to look deeper into a particular VP for a likely future project. Funny how that works. And of course, I also acquired books that are not at all Lincoln-related that I do not put into my spreadsheet. The spreadsheet itself is now 1639 lines, with some of those lines being multiple volume books such as the 10-volume Nicolay and Hay series.

In anticipation of 2023 acquisitions, it’s time to make some more space on the shelves.

See the 2022 list showing author/title/publication date below my signature blurb below.

Fire of Genius

 

Lincoln: The Fire of Genius: How Abraham Lincoln’s Commitment to Science and Technology Helped Modernize America is available at booksellers nationwide.

Limited signed copies are available via this website. The book also listed on Goodreads, the database where I keep track of my reading. Click on the “Want to Read” button to put it on your reading list. Please leave a review on Goodreads and Amazon if you like the book.

You also follow my author page on Facebook.

David J. Kent is President of the Lincoln Group of DC and the author of Lincoln: The Fire of Genius: How Abraham Lincoln’s Commitment to Science and Technology Helped Modernize America and 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.

 

Here is the 2022 list! [Author, Title, Date of Publication]

Abraham Lincoln: Selected Writings 2013
Adrienne, Carole Healing a Divided Nation: How the American Civil War Revolutionized Western Medicine 2022
Alford, Terry In the Houses of Their Dead: The Lincolns, The Booths, and The Spirits 2022
Avlon, John Lincoln and the Fight for Peace 2022
Ballard, Colin R. The Military Genius of Abraham Lincoln 1952
Brewster, Todd Lincoln’s Gamble: The Tumultuous Six Months That Gave America the Emancipation Proclamation and Changed the Course of the Civil War 2014
Brooks, Paul The People of Concord: American Intellectuals and Their Timeless Ideas 1990
Conner, Jane Hollenbeck Lincoln in Stafford 2006
Eggert, Gerald G. The Iron Industry in Pennsylvania 1994
Escott, Paul D. “What Shall We Do with the Negro?”: Lincoln, White Racism, and Civil War America 2009
Goodwin, Cardinal John Charles Fremont: An Explanation of His Career 1930
Hannah-Jones, Nikole and many others The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story 2021
Heller, Ross E. (editor) by Abraham Lincoln: His 1858 Time Capsule 2022
Henson, D. Leigh Inventing Lincoln: Approaches to His Rhetoric 2017
Holzer, Harold (Ed,) The Lincoln Anthology: Great Writers on His Life and Legacy from 1860 to Now 2009
Hord, Fred Lee and Norman, Matthew D. Knowing Him by Heart: African Americans on Abraham Lincoln 2023
Kent, David J. Lincoln: The Fire of Genius: How Abraham Lincoln’s Commitment to Science and Technology Helped Modernize America 2022
Lewis, Lloyd Myths After Lincoln 1973
Manning, Alan Father Lincoln: The Untold Story of Abraham Lincoln and His Boys-Robert, Eddy, Willie, and Tad 2016
Martin, William The Lincoln Letter: A Peter Fallon Novel 2012
McCormick, Anita Louise The Industrial Revolution in American History 1998
Meacham, Jon And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle 2022
Mearns, David C. Largely Lincoln 1961
Nelson, Megan Kate The Three-Cornered War: The Union, the Confederacy, and Native Peoples in the Fight for the West 2020
Noe, Kenneth W. The Howling Storm: Weather, Climate, and the American Civil War 2020
Rubenstein, David M. The American Experiment: Dialogues on a Dream 2021
Schwartz, Barry Abraham Lincoln and the Forge of National Memory 2000
Smith, Daniel R. Sr. Son of a Slave: A Black Man’s Journey in White America 2022
Taaffe, Stephen R. Commanding Lincoln’s Navy: Union Naval Leadership During the Civil War 2009
Trachtenberg, Alan Lincoln’s Smile and Other Enigmas 2007
Walker, David and Smyth, Damon The Life of Frederick Douglass: A Graphic Narrative of a Slave’s Journey from Bondage to Freedom 2018
White, Jonathan W. A House Built by Slaves: African American Visitors to the White House 2022
Willis, Deborah The Black Civil War Soldier: A Visual History of Conflict and Citizenship 2021
Witcover, Jules The American Vice Presidency: From Irrelevance to Power 2014

 

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Lincoln: The Fire of Genius Now Available as Kindle and Nook Books

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Countdown to release dateAs the countdown begins for the September 1st release of Lincoln: The Fire of Genius, the format options keep increasing.

On both Barnes & Noble and Amazon you can pre-order as a hardcover book.

Amazon also lets you pre-order a Kindle version of the book.

Barnes & Noble has its own e-book format and you can now pre-order Fire of Genius as a Nook book.

You can also order the hardcover and various e-book versions on the publisher’s website at Rowman & Littlefield. They will also have links to other booksellers who will carry the book.

Finally, you can go to the Goodreads listing. Under the book cover photo, click on “Want to Read” to add it to your reading list, then click on the down arrow next to where it says “Kindle $21.49” and you’ll be able to follow to a long list of booksellers where you can order the book. See this photo:

All of these booksellers offer price guarantees, which means any reductions in price between now and release date will automatically be applied to your purchase.

But wait, there’s more!

The book will also be released as an audio book and on mp3 CDs. I’ll provide updates when those become available.

And for those who like to sample before you buy, there will be that too. Amazon offers its “Look Inside” feature so you can check out the table of contents and some of the chapters. Just click on the book cover and scroll through the sample.

Barnes & Noble offers a preview as well. Look for the folded page flap with the red arrow on the bottom right corner of the book cover. Click there and a “read an excerpt of the book” will pop up for your reading pleasure.

Bookmark your preferred bookseller’s page for Fire of Genius and check back periodically to see if the format you want has become available. All should be up long before the September 1st release date.

Prefer your local independent bookstore? Check out their websites because they will offer various formats as well. Next time you’re in their store, make sure to ask them when they’ll have the book in stock. They’ll even hold one for you if you ask nicely.

One final note – Pre-ordering increases the chances of the book making it onto bestseller lists, so doing so helps the author! Plus, you’ll be assured of being one of the first to get a copy!

Want to come to a book signing? Check out my scheduled events (more being added daily).

Fire of GeniusRelease date for Lincoln: The Fire of Genius is September 1, 2022.

While you’re here, check out the various posts on Lincolnian.org related to our recent Lincoln Memorial Centennial program. For those who missed it, C-SPAN will be replaying the event at 3 pm on June 18th on CSPAN2.

The book is available for pre-order on the Rowman & Littlefield website (Lyons Press is a trade imprint of Rowman). You can also pre-order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble (click on the respective links to pre-order). Release date is scheduled for September 1, 2022.

The book is also listed on Goodreads, the database where I keep track of my reading. Click on the “Want to Read” button to put it on your reading list. That will also ensure you get informed of the release date AND will let you try for one of ten free hardcover copies of the book that I’ll be giving away this summer. I’ll also be giving away as many as a hundred e-books. [The book will also be put out on audio]

You also follow my author page on Facebook.

I’ll have much more about the book over the next few months, so join my mailing list here to keep informed.

David J. Kent is President of the Lincoln Group of DC 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.

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 2021

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Books 2019The biggest feature of my Abraham Lincoln book acquisitions for 2021 is that most of the books I acquired aren’t even mine. As usual, I begin my annual “Year in the Life” posts with my Lincoln book collection. You can read last year’s post here. My shelves are getting fuller, but my garage and basement are now also filled with boxes of books, piles of books, and random books. In a sense, I’ve become a temporary storage facility.

This new role started in the spring. I had already become the holder of the Lincoln Group of DC‘s (LGDC) paper archive, big cabinets full of files, brochures, newsletters, and even some old photos, CDs, and VHS tapes. These cabinets were moved in a couple of years ago when the previous holder had to remove them from the borrowed space in a non-profit office downtown. Because of the limitations of travel due to COVID in 2020, the previous president of the Lincoln Group decided to move permanently to Denver so he and his wife could see more of their family. He was holding quite a few Lincoln books that belonged to LGDC, and since I was taking over as the organization’s president, I agreed to take them until we could get them to members. At this same time, the long-time secretary of the organization also decided to downsize, and 20-years of stored books from her basement shifted to my basement. We then had two members pass away, leaving instructions that their collections should be donated to LGDC.

All of this has led to the aforementioned boxes and stacks of books currently swamping my space. All told, there are many hundreds of books that belong to LGDC. To push the situation from the sublime to the ridiculous, or at least a bit overwhelming, I had already reached a critical point in shelf space, thus necessitating a bit of a purge of duplicate books. Those duplicates have joined the LGDC books and effectively are another donation to the Lincoln Group. The plan, if you could call it that, is to make as many as possible available to LGDC members. The continuing restrictions on in-person meetings due to COVID is making it hard to get them out to members, so they remain in my possession for the time being. That said, they will NOT be in my garage and basement for the next 20 years (or 2).

Beyond that, I have actually acquired quite a few Lincoln books this past year. While I limited my purchases of new books, I did pick up a few carefully selected used books from a variety of places, including two local used book stores, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble. As with last year, I also received books from publishers for review in the Lincolnian, the Lincoln Herald, and elsewhere. The majority were related to my role on the book award committee of the Abraham Lincoln Institute (ALI), which I’m diligently trying to finish reading before our decision during the first week in January. I also won two book giveaways on Goodreads (one of which was a Lincoln book), received one book in a giveaway by a Civil War Round Table, and got seven books from my insurance company using points accrued. Thirty-eight of the books were published in 2021, while others have more time under their covers. The oldest book was published in 1865, and its poor condition reflects that fact. I was able to get several of the new books signed by their authors at the only in-person event that actually occurred in-person this year, the annual Lincoln Forum (of which I recently was elected to the Board of Advisors).

Among the books I acquired was one I purchased because it relates somewhat to my own forthcoming book – The Science of Abolition by Eric Herschthal. Several prominent Lincoln scholars were well represented. Michael Burlingame had two books come out this year. The first was An American Marriage, which turned out to be quite controversial as it describes the marriage of Abraham and Mary Lincoln in dramatically stark terms. Later in the year he published The Black Man’s President. The title is based on a quote from Frederick Douglass and in the book, Burlingame delves into the racial sentiments and experiences of Lincoln. In my personal opinion, it is one of the most important Lincoln books in many years. Another important book is James Oakes’s The Crooked Path to Abolition, which focuses on Lincoln’s belief – and the belief of most northern Americans – that the Constitution was an anti-slavery document.

The Oakes book was discussed in LGDC’s Study Forum, our group within the group that intently studies Lincoln’s life and times through books. The Study Forum is now working on another new book I added to my collection, Michael S. Green’s Lincoln and Native Americans. Lincoln’s role in Native American relations during the war, in particular the Dakota War in Minnesota, has been a topic of heavy discussion this past year. I did a presentation in April (summarized here) and have been familiarizing myself with the issues. Green’s concise book gives a solid overview and should be read in conjunction with other books on the topic I’ve read lately. Two other notable books this year were Ronald C. White’s Lincoln in Private, which deals with the 111 fragments Lincoln wrote to himself, and Getting Right With Lincoln by Ed Steers, which examines a dozen “knowns” about Lincoln that are either myths or still highly debated.

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.

We’re now on the cusp of 2022, and contrary to previous years, I hope to offload as many books as I acquire. I hope to remain on the ALI book award committee and expect to pick up selected Lincoln books as I deem necessary, but mostly I’m looking to cull my collection. That means sorting out any duplicates I may have and disposing of them through listings on eBay and Amazon, selling to local used bookstores, and donating to the local library (or to LGDC members). I plan to do the same with the LGDC books, with the focus on getting them in members’ hands at in-person events (which omicron might put in jeopardy). I hope to end 2022 with a significant net reduction in books. That’ll be a change.

One book I’m looking forward to having in my hands in 2022 is my own new book. I submitted the manuscript to the publisher in late June 2021 with the expectation that it would come out in February. The continuing COVID pandemic had other plans, however, as the supply chain issues that we all hear about has affected the publishing industry as well. Books in the pipeline were delayed, and the publisher pushed my book release date to September 2022. I’ve already seen a cover and the title is now settled, so I’ll start to release that information in January as the final countdown progresses. Stay tuned!

David J. Kent is President of the Lincoln Group of DC 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.

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

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Catching Up on Lincoln, The Book

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David at Lincoln MemorialI often check The Lincoln Log to catch up on what was happening this day in Abraham Lincoln’s life. And today I can also update where things stand on my new Lincoln book.

Among other events listed for June 30, 1864 is that Lincoln abandons the idea of colonizing freed black men to Chiriqui, a coal region in what is now southwestern Panama. I discuss both colonization and the role of coal in the Civil War in my forthcoming book. I doubt whether it is truly accurate to say that Lincoln abandoned colonization on any given day, or that he even was as big a proponent of it that history has made him. I discuss that in the book too.

So what is the status of this book?

I submitted the full manuscript to the editor at Rowman & Littlefield last week. I’m currently in my “take a breather” phase, which means I’m desperately working to catch up on all the other obligations I backlogged while busy writing. With the July 4th holiday starting this weekend, the editor has told me that I won’t hear anything for a while. My guess is that by late July I’ll have the editor and copy editor’s edits (e.g., to edit sentences like this one). Barring any major disagreements, the book will be into cover design and layout by August. Our tentative plan is to release the book around February 2022. I’ll provide updates when the publisher settles on a date, and especially when the pre-ordering can begin. Some background on the book is in this earlier post. I’m hesitant to jinx myself by revealing more until the manuscript has been accepted, but expect more this summer. Stay tuned.

The aforementioned backlog included the first Lincoln Group of DC Board meeting I’ve chaired as President. While I’ve been president of scientific organizations four times in my career, this is the first Abraham Lincoln organization for which I’ve carried that responsibility. Luckily, the Lincoln Group Board is exceptionally capable of making the process as efficient as it is active. We have some big issues on the table. First, there is the return to in-person dinner/lunch lectures, which we tentatively are working on to accomplish in October with none other than renowned Lincoln expert Ron White. Second, we are beginning to plan our own Lincoln Memorial Centennial for next May. And we won’t forget all those who have been able to join us on our monthly virtual events – expect to see a continuing schedule of virtual lectures, discussions, and possibly even some hybrid events. You can keep up on Lincoln Group events and Lincoln news on our website at Lincolnian.org.

This summer should also bring more books to review for the Abraham Lincoln Institute book award. I serve on that committee and act as Treasurer for ALI. Unless there is a major COVID setback, we plan to go back to our normal in-person full-day symposium at Ford’s Theatre in March 2022. Videos of previous symposia speakers can be found on the ALI website.

I’m also looking forward to getting in some travel again after more than a year’s hiatus. More on that as it happens.

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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Big News! New Book on the Way!

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David J Kent 2019If you follow my Facebook page (which you can do here if you don’t already), you may have already heard about my big news. For those who don’t (and why don’t you?), here is both the news and some additional info. Ready? BIG NEWS! I’m happy to announce that I have signed a contract with Rowman & Littlefield to publish my next Abraham Lincoln book.

There’s a long story behind the creation of this book, and no, I won’t bore you with it. Suffice to say I’ve been researching this topic for quite some time and that it blends my two career backgrounds – Science and Abraham Lincoln. I’ll have more updates, a title reveal, cover reveal, related content, and announcement of a special guest Foreword writer as the work progresses, but here’s some info to whet your appetite.

Rowman & Littlefield is a large, high-end independent publisher founded in 1949. Since that time it has acquired dozens of imprints and publishes everything from scholarly books for the academic market and trade books for the general market. My book is a trade book, written for a widely informed reader. Rowman, or sometimes just R&L, is based in nearby Maryland and has its own book distribution company to get books into Barnes and Noble and independent stores as well as Amazon and other online sales outlets. The plan is to produce hardcover, audio, and electronic (e.g., Kindle) books immediately, with a softcover book to follow in a year or two depending on sales.

Unlike the graphics heavy design of my three previous published books, the new Abraham Lincoln book will be more traditional in design. That means mostly text with a photo spray in the middle (or possibly interspersed throughout; final design is pending). The final word count will be between 80,000 and 90,000 words.

Oh, and there will be a special guest foreword by someone most people in both the political and Lincoln worlds will recognize. More on that in future updates.

My deadline for providing the manuscript is June 1st of this year, with a planned publication date in time for Lincoln’s birthday next year.

I’ll have more updates as time goes on, including the final title, cover, release date, and how to pre-order. And yes, before that I’ll let you know more about the topic and give a preview. You’ll get some hint by clicking around the articles I’ve posted on this website.

Back to writing!