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Abraham Lincoln Book Acquisitions for 2020

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

Abraham Lincoln Book Acquisitions for 2019

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

Tesla Book Makes #1 on Illuminating Biographies of Notable Figures

Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity has made #1 in the list of 13 Illuminating Biographies of Notable Figures created by Ezvid Wiki.

Click here to watch the short video

Tesla Ezvid

Founded in 2011, Ezvid Wiki was the world’s first video wiki, and is now among the top 3,000 websites in the United States. Their YouTube channel has over 425,000 subscribers, 250 million views since founding, and they have informed over $200 million in purchasing decisions to date. They write:

In the #1 spot we have David J. Kent’s “Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity,” which tells the extraordinary tale of Nikola Tesla, the Croatian* genius who invented alternating current, wireless transmission, and the radio. During his nomadic life, Tesla encountered historical figures including Thomas Edison and Mark Twain, all while dealing with the many compulsions of his eccentric nature. Kent explores Tesla’s decidedly unusual career and his many contributions to modern science, which have fundamentally shaped the modern world.

*Note that Tesla was actually of Serbian heritage. The people who made the video and the text above copied from it likely conflated his place of birth (in an area that is now part of present-day Croatia) with his heritage.

This is just one of many acknowledgements of the book in the online and print press. Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity has seen eight printings and several foreign translations (so far) and been read in many countries around the world. I’ve been lucky enough to advise the off-Broadway play TESLA and meet Tesla royalty in Serbia and the book has received widespread accolades.

Want to know more about Nikola Tesla? Click here for previous posts about Tesla and his work.

Take a look at the Ezvid Wiki video and check out all 13 Illuminating Biographies.

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!

 

Abraham Lincoln Book Acquisitions for 2018

Lincoln book towerMy Abraham Lincoln book collection continues to grow, quickly filling the new library space I created last year. I acquired 69 new Lincoln books in 2018. This compares to 59 in 2017, 43 in 2016, and 59 and 60 books obtained in 2015 and 2014, respectively. My big year was the 98 books in 2013.

The oldest book acquired was published in 1893, while the newest book was officially published in 2019 (released in December 2018). Of the 69 books, 10 were new books published in 2018 (plus the one 2019 official date). I was able to find books from a variety of places. In addition to the usual Amazon/Barnes and Noble, books came to me from various library books sales, used book stores (including Bob’s Bookstore in Charleston, IL), and at stops during my two big Chasing Abraham Lincoln road trips. I also picked up books at the annual Lincoln Forum in Gettysburg, PA, plus won a couple of books in the Lincoln Group of DC and Civil War Round Table of DC raffles.

The list of books follows my signature block. Among them are some unique examples of Lincoln scholarship: Lincoln and the Irish by Niall O’Dowd; They Knew Lincoln by John Washington (originally published in 1942 and reprinted in 2018 with an introduction by Kate Masur); a set of five small booklets with new Introductions by preeminent Lincoln scholars; and Doris Kearns Goodwin’s Leadership in Turbulent Times. Look for my published review of Goodwin’s book in the next issue of Civil War Times magazine.

Several of the books are signed and inscribed to me by their authors. Both Anna Gibson Holloway and Jonathan W. White inscribed my copy of their book, Our Little Monitor, during the annual Battle of Hampton Roads conference this year. I’m doubly honored because Anna says it was the very first book she has ever signed for a fan. During the Lincoln Forum I was happy to have conversations with and get my copies of their books inscribed by David Blight (Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom), Kate Masur (They Knew Lincoln), and Harold Holzer (Monument Man: The Life & Art of Daniel Chester French). French, of course, is the man who created the iconic statue of Lincoln that graces the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

I’m sure I’ll continue to collect dozens of new (and new to me) Lincoln books in 2019. My new library shelves seem to be filling up rather quickly, so I may have to start planning where I’m going to put the overflow. Maybe I need to buy a bigger house.

I’m hard at work on my new Abraham Lincoln book, plus beginning the process of editing a compendium volume for the Lincoln Group of DC. If that wasn’t enough, on my most recent travel to Asia I started writing a historical science fiction novel featuring Lincoln and his science adviser, Joseph Henry. My previous Lincoln book, Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, is into a second printing and available at Barnes and Noble stores nationwide.

Also, if you’re not already a member of the Lincoln Group of DC, please consider joining. In addition to the monthly dinner meetings with Lincoln scholar presentations, we have a monthly Lincoln book study group, periodic special events, tours, and more. And with a new year approaching, we’re planning to introduce even more to our members, including new activities for students and non-scholars. Take a look at our Lincoln Group of DC website and contact me or any of the other officers for more information.

Finally, a reminder that I’ve begun something I call the Abraham Lincoln Bibliography Project in which I plan to catalog the known books about Abraham Lincoln. I’ll include only actual books, not other documents and not pamphlets. As the website develops I’ll add a searchable database, book reviews, lists of books by topic (e.g., assassination, general biography, law career), and summary papers for those topics. The idea is to create a useful resource for both Lincoln researchers and the general public. Check out the blog and stay tuned.

See the 2017 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 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 2018 list! [Author, Title, Date of Publication]

Abraham Lincoln: A Living Legacy: A Guide to Three Abraham Lincoln National Park Sites 2008
The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln: A Tribute of the Nations 2009
Lincoln: Legacy of the Great Emancipator (Intro by Edna Greene Medford) 2009
Lincoln and His Critics (Intro by Eric Foner) 2009
Lincoln as Self-Made Man (Intro by Catherine Clinton) 2009
Lincoln as American Redeemer (Intro by Harold Holzer) 2009
Lincoln as Literary Genius (Intro by Ted Widmer) 2009
Abrams, Dan and Fisher, David Lincoln’s Last Trial: The Murder Case That Propelled Him to the Presidency 2018
Alter, Donald R. The Lincoln Legend and Other Programs 1956
Arnold, Isaac N. The Life of Abraham Lincoln 1893
Baker, C.T. Sand Creek Landing Greets the Lincolns: An Historical Sketch of Pioneer Days in This Community and County 1931
Blight, David W. Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom 2018
Burlingame, Michael Lincoln and the Civil War 2011
Burstein, Andrew Lincoln Dreamt He Died: The Midnight Visions of Remarkable Americans From Colonial Times to Freud 2013
Carwardine, Richard Lincoln’s Sense of Humor 2017
Carwardine, Richard and Sexton, Jay (Eds) The Global Lincoln 2011
Chapman, Ervin Latest Light on Abraham Lincoln and War-time Memories 1917
DeRose, Chris The Presidents’ War: Six American Presidents and the Civil War That Divided Them 2014
Donald, David Herbert (ed) Inside Lincoln’s Cabinet: The Civil War Diaries of Salmon P. Chase 1954
Fornieri, Joseph R. The Language of Liberty: The Political Speeches and Writings of Abraham Lincoln 2003
Fraysse, Olivier (translated by Sylvia Neely) Lincoln, Land, and Labor, 1809-60 1994
Freehling, William W. Becoming Lincoln 2018
Furtwangler, Albert Assassin on Stage: Brutus, Hamlet, and the Death of Lincoln 1991
Goodwin, Doris Kearns Leadership in Turbulent Times 2018
Gross, Ruth Belov True Stories About Abraham Lincoln 1973
Guelzo, Allen C. Abraham Lincoln as a Man of Ideas 2009
Guttridge, Leonard F. and Neff, Ray A. Dark Union: The Secret Web of Profiteers, Politicians, and Booth Conspirators That Led to Lincoln’s Death 2003
Hogan, Michael Abraham Lincoln and Mexico: A History of Courage, Intrigue, and Unlikely Friendships 2016
Holloway, Anna Gibson and White, Jonathan W. Our Little Monitor: Theh Greatest Invention of the Civil War 2018
Holmes, Fred L. Abraham Lincoln Traveled This Way: The Log Book of a Pilgrim to the Lincoln Country 1930
Holzer, Harold Monument Man: The Life & Art of Daniel Chester French 2019
Jepsen, Thomas C. My Sisters Telegraphic: Women in the Telegraph Office, 1846-1950 2000
Johnson, David Alan The Last Weeks of Abraham Lincoln: A Day-By-Day Account of His Personal, Political, and Military Challenges 2018
Kauffman, Michael W. American Brutus: John Wilkes Booth and the Lincoln Conspiracies 2004
Kauffman, Michael W. In the Footsteps of an Assassin: An Illustrated History and Guided Tour of the Lincoln Assassination and Escape Route of John Wilkes Booth 2012
King, C.J. Four Marys and a Jessie: The Story of the Lincoln Women 2005
Larson, Kate Clifford The Assassin’s Accomplice: Mary Surratt and the Plot to Kill Abraham Lincoln 2008
Lehrman, Lewis E. Lincoln & Churchill: Statesmen at War 2018
Maihafer, Harry J. War of Words: Abraham Lincoln & The Civil War Press 2001
McGinnis, Ralph Y. and Smith, Calvin N. (Eds) Abraham Lincoln and the Western Territories 1994
McPherson, James M. (Ed) “We Cannot Escape History”: Lincoln and the Last Best Hope of Earth 1995
Morris, Roy Jr. The Long Pursuit: Abraham Lincoln’s Thirty-Year Struggle With Stephen Douglas For The Heart and Soul of America 2008
Nathan, Adele Gutman The First Transatlantic Cable 1959
Neely, Mark E. Jr. The Boundaries of American Political Culture in the Civil War Era 2005
Neely, Mark E. Jr. Lincoln and the Democrats: The Politics of Opposition in the Civil War 2017
Nicolay, Helen The Boys’ Life of Abraham Lincoln 1933
Niebuhr, Gustav Lincoln’s Bishop: A President A Priest, and the Fate of 300 Dakota Sioux Warriors 2014
North, Sterling Abe Lincoln: Log Cabin to White House 1956
O’Dowd, Niall Lincoln and the Irish: The Untold Story of How the Irish Helped Abraham Lincoln Save the Union 2018
Ostendorf, Lloyd Abraham Lincoln: The Boy, The Man 1962
Pitch, Anthony S. They Have Killed Papa Dead! The Road to Ford’s Theatre, Abraham Lincoln’s Murder, and the Rage for Vengeance 2018
Pratt, Harry E. Concerning Mr. Lincoln: In Which Abraham Lincoln is Pictured as he Appeared to Letter Writers of his Time 1944
Puleo, Stephen The Caning: The Assault That Drove America to Civil War 2012
Randall, J.G. Lincoln and the South 1946
Ross, Ishbel The President’s Wife: Mary Todd Lincoln 1973
Segal, Charles M. (Editor, Compiler and Annotator) Conversations with Lincoln 1961
Simon, John Y., Holzer, Harold, and Vogel, Dawn (Eds) Lincoln Revisited 2007
Speed, Joshua Fry Reminiscences of Abraham Lincoln, And Notes on a Visit to California 2014
Starr, John W., Jr. Lincoln and the Railroads 1927
Stephenson, Nathaniel Wright Lincoln 1922
Striner, Richard Lincoln’s Way: How Six Great Presidents Created American Power 2012
Tackach, James Lincoln and the Natural Environment 2019
Tucker, Wilson The Lincoln Hunters 1958
Turner, Justin G. and Turner, Linda Levitt Mary Todd Lincoln: Her Life and Letters 1987
Villard, Harold G. and Oswald Garrison Lincoln on the Eve of ’61: A Journalist’s Story by Henry Villard 1941
Washington, John E. with introduction by Kate Masur They Knew Lincoln 2018
Weaver, John D. Tad Lincoln: Mischief-Maker in the White House 1963
White, Ronald C. Jr. A. Lincoln: A Biography 2009
Abraham Lincoln 1958

 

2018-2019 Travel Preview (and Mini-Recap)

David J. KentUsually I do a Travel Preview post in early January. I skipped the preview in January 2018 because I suspected my “travel year” would shift…and it did. Thus, this travel preview covers 2018-2019, roughly mid-year to mid-year.

That’s not to say that I’ve been homebound. In January we flew down to Ft. Myers, FL for a long weekend touring Sanibel Island, checking out Thomas Edison’s winter retreat, and notching my 49th aquarium at the Mote Marine Lab in Sarasota (my 50th came last month in Copenhagen). February was spent doing local trips, mostly Abraham Lincoln oriented. March I drove down to Newport News for the annual “Battle of Hampton Roads” weekend. April I made an unplanned trip to Massachusetts when my Dad went into the hospital, as well as a quick drive to Fredericksburg for a CPRC conference. In May I did Part 1 of my “Chasing Abraham Lincoln” tour through Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, and Michigan. And then there were scads of local Lincoln Group of DC-related events, including a Lincoln-Douglas-Douglass debate at the National Archives (check the link for this once-in-a-lifetime event).

But now the fun begins. In early July Ru took a year off from her job with the goal of exploring more of the world. We began by flying to Copenhagen in late June and spent two weeks cruising around the Baltic Sea on a relatively intimate yacht of only 200 passengers, many of whom we came to know quite well. Stops included the Danish island of Bornholm, the Polish city of Gdansk (where the end of communist USSR began), the Curonian peninsula of Lithuania, the gorgeous old Estonian city of Tallinn, and then spent two days (ironically, the 4th of July) in St. Petersburg, Russia. From there we stopped in Finland’s capital Helsinki (where I had been several times when I lived in Brussels) and the oddly confusing but beautiful Finnish/Swedish Mariehamn in the Aland Islands (technically they belong to Finland, but speak Swedish, and have an autonomous government; you figure it out). The end in Stockholm was bitter-sweet.

Two days back from that trip, Ru flew to Beijing for a month, with side trips to Shanghai and Hong Kong. Meanwhile, I did Part 2 of my Chasing Abraham Lincoln tour, this time a 2905+ mile drive to, from, and around Illinois. My three main goals were to see: 1) the seven Lincoln-Douglas debate sites (plus a live debate between Lincoln [George Buss] and Douglas [Tim Connors]); 2) Rock Island, where a famous Lincoln court case involving a steamboat and a railroad bridge took place; and 3) the Illinois and Michigan Canal area, a key internal improvement project promoted by Lincoln. All these are research for my forthcoming book. Along the way I stopped in tons of tiny towns boasting some connection to Lincoln, all with the requisite Lincoln statue.

Next up is a road trip to Massachusetts and Maine to visit family in August, a September road trip from Crater Lake in Oregon to Glacier National Park in Montana, a trip to Gettysburg for the annual Lincoln Forum meeting followed by another road trip to Massachusetts for Thanksgiving. We’ll likely squeeze in some shorter trips to New York City, Chicago, Charleston (SC), Richmond, and other locations that don’t take too much planning.

Immediately after Thanksgiving we’ll fly to Hong Kong to board the sister of our Baltic yacht, which will take us around several Philippine islands, then to the two parts of Malaysia on Borneo, a day in Brunei, then end in Singapore. Since we’ve now both been to Hong Kong (separately), we’ll focus a few days of extra time on Singapore and probably a trip up to Kuala Lumpur. Who knows, maybe we’ll get to Indonesia while we’re there.

Into 2019 the plans are still fuzzy, but in the works are possible trips to Antarctica, Galapagos Islands, Rio, Machu Picchu, Costa Rica, and more. One relatively sure thing is a month in Paris – the plan is to rent an apartment in the spring so I can do research on a yet another book in the works, with side trips to Brussels, Lyon, Lille, and perhaps other European locales. A friend just mentioned that her family is going to Iceland next month, and since Iceland is on my “must-see” list, it’s a good bet we’ll try to get there in 2019. We also had to pass on a September trip to Petra, so I’m hopeful we can squeeze that visit in within the next year or two along with Egypt, Israel, and environs. And then there is the long-awaited African safari we’ll try to coordinate with my brother and his wife.

I’ve been to over 50 countries (depending on how you count), but there are still so many places I want to see. So many cultures, so little time (and money).

Of course, I’m also working on several books and I’ve yet to figure out how to write productively while traveling. I did have a productive writing and editing day on the Baltic trip during our one day at sea (i.e., not in a port). The December trip is longer and includes four individual days at sea, so there is some hope. But I’m going to have to be more efficient with my writing time (including the time used to write this preview).

Which is what I’ll do right now, as soon as the washer repairman finishes diagnosing my temperamental machine. At least I got this post written while he worked.

Go to the main blog and scroll up and down to see posts on the Baltic, Chasing Abraham Lincoln, and other trips as they happen (or happened). Or keyword search at the top of the page for specific locations and evens. You should also go to Ru’s blog to see how she is documenting her year of discovery.

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 (2013) and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World (2016) and two 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!

 

 

John Quincy Adams Died in Lincoln’s Presence – A Book About Both

John Quincy Adams was the sixth president of the United States. What many people do not know is that after his presidency he was elected to the US House of Representatives, where he served for 18 more years. He died on February 23, 1848 on the House floor during Abraham Lincoln’s one term as a US Congressman. Lincoln served on Adams’s funeral committee.

Fred Kaplan is known for his biographies, Lincoln: The Biography of a Writer and John Quincy Adams, American Visionary, as well as biographies of Mark Twain, Gore Vidal, Henry James, and others. His most recent book is called Lincoln and the Abolitionists: John Quincy Adams, Slavery, and the Civil War. I recently read Lincoln and the Abolitionists and provide the following review, also posted on Goodreads.

Lincoln and the Abolitionists: John Quincy Adams, Slavery, and the Civil War by Fred Kaplan (Harpercollins, 2017, 357 pp)

As a Lincoln scholar, this was a tough book to read for a variety of reasons. Kaplan is obviously enamored of John Quincy Adams, the subject of one of his previous biographies. The book contrasts Adams’s attitudes and actions regarding slavery with Lincoln’s, finding Lincoln sorely lacking because he wasn’t an active abolitionist. The author also seems to channel Wendell Phillips, the northern abolitionist that mirrored the extremism of the southern pro-slavery firebrands. Phillips also happens to be one of Lincoln’s greatest critics, and at times it appears Kaplan is Phillips in his treatment of Lincoln.

Much of the first half of the book focuses on John Quincy Adams, while the latter half focuses on Abraham Lincoln. This is entirely appropriate as the two are found in two different eras of political strife, with Adams literally dying in the House chambers while Lincoln likely sat in the back of the same room as a single-term Congressman. Adams likely listened to Lincoln’s extended speechifying in the House during his “spot” resolution discussions, which attacked President Polk’s decision to invade Mexico. Adams would have agreed with Lincoln’s views, including the argument that the rationale for the Mexican War was to gain territory in which to expand slavery.

Kaplan’s writing almost deifies Adams’s contribution to the abolition debate, not the least of which included pressuring despite the “gag rule” that forbade even the discussion of how to end slavery. In contrast, Kaplan barely gives Lincoln credit for any contribution to the end of slavery. Kaplan paints Lincoln as “an anti-slavery moralist who believed in an exclusively white America” and Adams as “an antislavery activist who had no doubt the US would become a multiracial nation.” He threads this rather tenuous premise throughout the narrative, using it repeatedly to drive his opinion that Lincoln was a reluctant emancipator who did nothing until he was pushed to do so by others and by circumstances. He carries this premise and repeats it ad nauseam throughout the book. Lincoln is to blame, in Kaplan’s opinion, for the war, for slavery continuing, and for taking the chance that the South might come back into the Union after the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, thus potentially returning the Union to a pre-war status, i.e., with slavery intact.

There is certainly room for debate on the various issues discussed, but while Kaplan says in his preface that the book honors both Adams and Lincoln, he clearly honors one and holds back credit for the other. The perspective is worth reading, but should not be taken at face value; additional knowledge of events must also be brought in to make the discussion more fact-based.

Regarding fact, Kaplan makes many errors of fact, from minor (Lincoln’s first inaugural was on March 4, 1861, not March 6) to horrendous (he discusses for several pages that Tennessee had not left the Union [It did]). He also claims “Confederates had been driven out of Louisiana early in the war” which isn’t true; only part of Louisiana returned to Union hands. He discusses in depth how Lincoln actively replaced Hamlin with Johnson, which is overstating the case tremendously as Lincoln’s role was likely very limited. He states that Lincoln “called Hannibal Hamlin to Springfield” and told him he wanted him as a running mate, which isn’t true. Lincoln didn’t meet Hamlin until after the two of them had been separately nominated at the Republican convention in Chicago (where neither of them was present). Other errors are laced throughout the book.

Which is a bit confusing because otherwise the book is well researched and documented. Likely Kaplan had a greater understanding of Adams because of his previous biography, but he also wrote a The Biography of a Writer about Lincoln, so the errors are a mystery. The organization of the book also makes it a tough read. Kaplan hops around in time and space, not only from page to page but paragraph to paragraph. This makes it sometimes difficult to follow the thought processes. At one point, for example, he starts to talk about the Matson case, in which Lincoln co-counseled with noted racist (and family friend) Usher Linder on the side of a man trying to retain his slaves. But after a few lines indicating he would discuss it, he veers off on a tangent, then returns to it a few pages later, only to give a quick introduction and veer off again before finally coming back to the case several pages down the road.

So would I recommend the book? Yes, and no. I do think he provides some interesting perspectives and good background, especially about John Quincy Adams, Wendell Phillips, and a cast of lesser known characters important to the slavery discussion. But I would caution that prior to digging in, readers should have a broader understanding of Lincoln’s attitudes and roles, and be careful of significant errors of fact. As I know less about Adams I can’t determine if there are errors or premise conflicts in the sections dealing with him. But readers without a good understanding of Lincoln should be wary of taking the ideas presented in the book at face value. Those with knowledge might find that knowledge challenged, though not always correctly or persuasively.

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

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Abraham Lincoln Book Acquisitions for 2017

Another year and another set of acquisitions for my Abraham Lincoln book collection. This was a decent year for new books – 59 new additions. In contrast, last year I only acquired 43 new books, but 2017 was in line with the 59 and 60 books obtained in 2015 and 2014, respectively. My big year was the 98 books in 2013. So this year was about average, but acquisitions didn’t stop at books. I also purchased four new 7-shelf bookcases to set up a new office library.

Basement library

Nine of the new books were published in 2017. By far the most important one was my own book, Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, which came out in August and has been enjoying good sales in Barnes and Noble stores nationwide.Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America

Other 2017 released books include the second volume of Sidney Blumenthal’s “Political Life of Abraham Lincoln” called Wrestling With His Angel (which I reviewed in the Lincolnian) and on Goodreads. There were also new books by Lincoln scholars Brian Dirck, James Conroy, Guy Fraker, and Jonathan W. White.

Two books looked at the importance of legendary photographers Alexander Gardner and Mathew Brady to our memory of the Civil War. Shooting Lincoln by J.C. Pistor came out this year while Richard Lowry’s The Photographer and the President came out in 2015. Both delve into the rivalry between Gardner and Brady and their relationship with helping make Lincoln great as well as document the destruction of the war.

On the flip-side, the oldest new acquisition was Henry Ketcham’s The Life of Abraham Lincoln, published in 1901. Close behind was Emanuel Hertz’s 1939 book, Lincoln Talks: A Biography in Anecdote.

Other great books include Charles Strozier’s Your Friend Forever: The Enduring Friendship of Abraham Lincoln and Joshua Speed, and the four-volume set of Legal Documents and Cases coming out of the Papers of Abraham Lincoln Project, edited by Daniel Stowell. I was also fascinated by Robert O’Harrow Jr.’s The Quartermaster about Montgomery C. Meigs.

As Vice President of Programs for the Lincoln Group of DC, I’ve had the privilege of inviting many of these authors to speak to us in person. Between the Lincoln Group, the Lincoln Forum, and other Lincoln organization events I’ve been lucky enough to get many of my acquisitions signed by the authors. Sixteen of my new acquisitions are signed, most directly to me.

I will admit that finding books is getting harder. New books tend to be expensive and older books tend to be either impossible to find or in terrible condition or priced out of my reach. With over 1100 titles in my collection, the number of books available that I already have also puts a cap on new acquisitions.

One last note: I’ve begun something I call the Abraham Lincoln Bibliography Project in which I plan to catalog the known books about Abraham Lincoln. I’ll include only actual books, not other documents and not pamphlets. As the website develops I’ll add a searchable database, book reviews, lists of books by topic (e.g., assassination, general biography, law career), and summary papers for those topics. The idea is to create a useful resource for both Lincoln researchers and the general public. Check out the blog and stay tuned.

See the 2017 list showing author/title/publication date below my signature blurb below.

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

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

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Here is the 2017 list:

Physical Evidences: Investigation & Reconstruction of Physical Events 2017
Acord, David What Would Lincoln Do? 2009
Adams, Carl Nance: Trials of the First Slave Freed by Abraham Lincoln 2016
Bain, David Haward Empire Express: Building the First Transcontinental Railroad 1999
Bartelt, William E. There I Grew Up: Remembering Abraham Lincoln’s Indiana Youth 2008
Berton, Pierre Niagara: A History of the Falls 1992
Blumenthal, Sidney Wrestling With His Angel: The Political Life of Abraham Lincoln 1849-1856 2017
Brame, Charles w/illustrations by Soller, Edgar B. Honestly Abe: A Cartoon Expose of Abraham Lincoln (Revised and Enlarged Edition) 2000
Brogan, D.W. Abraham Lincoln (Great Lives) 1935
Chadwick, Bruce 1858: Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, and the War They Failed to See 2008
Conroy, James B. Lincoln’s White House: The People’s House in Wartime 2017
Cornelius, James M. and Carla Knorowski Under Lincoln’s Hat: 100 Objects That Tell The Story of His Life and Legacy 2016
Cox, Hank H. Lincoln and the Sioux Uprising of 1862 2005
Crofts, Daniel W. Lincoln & the Politics of Slavery: The Other Thirteenth Amendment and the Struggle to Save the Union 2016
Davis, Rodney O., and Wilson, Douglas, L. The Lincoln-Douglas Debates (The Lincoln Studies Center Edition) 2008
Denney, Robert E. Civil War Medicine: Care & Comfort of the Wounded 1994
Dirck, Brian Lincoln in Indiana 2017
Farber, Daniel Lincoln’s Constitution 2003
Foner, Eric Reconstruction: America’s Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877 1988
Fraker, Guy C. Looking for Lincoln in Illinois: A Guide to Lincoln’s Eighth Judicial Circuit 2017
Furguson, Ernest B. Freedom Rising: Washington in the Civil War 2004
Grieve, Victoria Ford’s Theatre and the Lincoln Assassination 2005
Hacker, Barton C. (Ed.) Astride Two Worlds: Technology and the American Civil War 2016
Hertz, Emanuel Lincoln Talks: A Biography in Anecdote 1939
Hirsch, David and Van Haften, Dan The Ultimate Guide to the Gettysburg Address 2016
Irmscher, Christoph Louise Agassiz: Creator of American Science 2013
Keeler, William Frederick, with Robert W. Daly (Editor) Aboard the USS Monitor: 1862: The Letters of Acting Paymaster William Frederick Keeler, US Navy to His Wife, Anna 1964
Kent, David Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America 2017
Ketcham, Henry The Life of Abraham Lincoln 1901
Kigel, Richard Becoming Abraham Lincoln: The Coming of Age of Our Greatest President 2017
Lee, Richard M. Mr. Lincoln’s City: An Illustrated Guide to the Civil War Sites of Washington 1981
Leidner, Gordon Conversations with Lincoln: Little-Known Stories From Those Who Met America’s 16th President 2016
Lowry, Richard S. The Photographer and the President: Abraham Lincoln, Alexander Gardner, & the Images That Made a Presidency 2015
Martin, Fred J., Jr. Abraham Lincoln’s Path to Reelection in 1864: Our Greatest Victory 2013
McCutcheon, Marc The Writer’s Guide to Everyday Life in the 1800s 1993
Oehlerts, Donald E. (Compiler) Guide to Wisconsin Newspapers, 1833-1957 1958
O’Harrow, Robert Jr. The Quartermaster: Montgomery C. Meigs, Lincoln’s General, Master Builder of the Union Army 2016
Paludan, Phillip Shaw Victims: A True Story of the Civil War 1981
Phillips, Donald T. Lincoln on Leadership for Today 2017
Pinkney, Andrea Davis Dear Mr. President: Abraham Lincoln Letters from a Slave Girl 2001
Pistor, J.C. Shooting Lincoln: Mathew Brady, Alexander Gardner, and the Race to Photograph the Story of the Century 2017
Schwartz, Thomas F. Lincoln: An Illustrated Life and Legacy 2009
Searcher, Victor Lincoln Today: An Introduction to Modern Lincolniania 1969
Silverman, Kenneth Lightning Man: The Accursed Life of Samuel F.B. Morse 2003
Sloan, Eric A Museum of Early American Tools 1973
Snow, Richard Iron Dawn: The Monitor, the Merrimack, and the Civil War Sea Battle That Changed History 2016
Stowell, Daniel (Editor) The Papers of Abraham Lincoln: Legal Documents and Cases (4 vols) 2008
Strozier, Charles B. Your Friend Forever, A. Lincoln: The Enduring Friendship of Abraham Lincoln and Joshua Speed 2016
Stuckey, Sterling Slave Culture: Nationalist Theory & The Foundations of Black America 1987
Swanson, James L. and Weinberg, Daniel R. Lincoln’s Assassins: Their Trial and Execution 2001
Titone, Nora My Thoughts Be Bloody: The Bitter Rivalry That Led to the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln 2010
Tooley, Mark The Peace That Almost Was: The Forgotten Story of the 1861 Washington Peace Conference and the Final Attempt to Avert the Civil War 2015
Trindal, Elizabeth Steger Mary Surratt: An American Tragedy 1996
Tyler, David B. The Wilkes Expedition: The First United Sates Exploring Expedition (1838-1842) 1968
Varhola, Michael J. Everyday Life During the Civil War: A Guide for Writers, Students and Historians 1999
Ward, Geoffrey C. Lincoln’s Thought and the Present 1978
White, Jonathan W. Abraham Lincoln and Treason in the Civil War: The Trials of John Merryman 2011
White, Jonathan W. Midnight in America: Darkness, Sleep, and Dreams During the Civil War 2017
White, Richard Railroaded: The Transcontinentals and the Making of Modern America 2011

Lincoln book hits #1 on Barnes and Noble

My newest book, Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, recently hit #1 on the Barnes and Noble website in its subcategory.

Lincoln bestseller on Barnes and Noble

This is no small achievement. The book has benefited from a wide public interest in Abraham Lincoln, and although it has slipped back to a few spots since then, the book continues to be received well.

Most gratifying is that so many of my fellow Lincoln scholars and aficionados have found the book appealing. My goal was to maintain scholarly integrity while making Lincoln’s story accessible to the a broad, general audience. Based on the response, it seems I have achieved that objective.

There is plenty of other Lincoln book related news in the wings, most of which I can’t yet talk about. But I hope to have some updates in the not too distant future.

Preview the book here, and click on the links below to purchase.

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

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

Follow me by subscribing by email on the home page. Share with your friends using the buttons below.

First Box of Lincoln Books Has Arrived!

My first box of Lincoln books is here! More to arrive shortly. Order now.

Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America

If you haven’t yet, check out my preview of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America.

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

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

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Abraham Lincoln Now on Goodreads – Plus, Books in the Mail

Lincoln: The Man Who Saved AmericaMy Abraham Lincoln books are in the mail. And on Goodreads.

July has always been a good month. In July 2013, I received nine boxes of books containing my copies of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity. In July 2016, my second book, Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World was released. And now, on July 31, 2017, my third book for Fall River Press, Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, is officially published. I’ve ordered personal copies from the publisher and should have them by the end of the month.

I have now listed the book on Goodreads, so please drop by, read the preview, and add it to your “to-read” list. I’ll be hosting Goodreads book giveaways shortly, so make sure to come back to Goodreads soon for a chance to win a free signed copy.

The book is also listed on the Barnes and Noble website. You can pre-order the Nook version of the book now, and you should be able to pre-order/order the hard copy very soon. You can also order a signed and inscribed personal copy from me through my website. [While you’re there, check out my Tesla and Edison books, plus my two e-books]

Writing a book is a long experience – researching and writing a book takes a while, but then you have to wait for months before it finally sees the light of day. It’s July. It’s time. It’s exciting.

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

David J. Kent is the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, scheduled for release July 31, 2017. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World (both Fall River Press). He has also written two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

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