Each of us will answer differently, but for me a good book is one that leads me to another book. Or better yet, other books: on the same topics, by the same author, or even something completely different.
Our reading of Lincoln at Gettysburg has left me curious to learn more about Lincoln, his speeches, the Battle of Gettysburg, the Civil War, etc. And so began my serendipitous summer reading saga.
As I was reading our book earlier this year, I began to search for some book reviews about it, and then looked up some Lincoln articles by Garry Wills. These led me to the texts of other Lincoln speeches, especially his Cooper Union speech and his Second Inaugural. (Treat yourself to more of Lincoln's writing. I think you will find yourself in awe of our most literate president.)
Then I picked up the 1974 Pulitzer Prize winning book about the Battle of Gettysburg, The Killer Angels. (Some fiction for Wendy!) You will not find a more compelling historical novel. But I also wanted to know more about the details of the battle, so I read James McPherson's Hallowed Ground: A Walk at Gettysburg,which left me wanting to return to Gettysburg and follow his tour word-by-word and step-by-step.
Presently I am reading Gabor Boritt's The Gettysburg Gospel: The Lincoln Speech That Nobody Knows. If by chance you want to learn even more about the Gettysburg Address--perhaps everything there is to learn about it--then this elaborately detailed study of the events surrounding Lincoln's speech is the book for you. For instance, in our book we are told that Lincoln wisely traveled by train to Gettysburg a day earlier than originally planned. Boritt puts us on that train and gives us details about this trip: a description of the special, elegant train cars supplied by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, a listing of the important politicians and journalists on board, and the politics of this trip. Was this speech the first campaign event in Lincoln's run for re-election? I found it interesting to note that Edward Everett's daughter, Charlotte Wise, was likely the only woman on this train and that the President's valet, William H. Johnson, may have been the only African American traveling in this entourage.
And then there is the Lincoln poetry. Does anyone read poetry anymore? I'm not sure I will make it all the way through Stephen Vincent Benet's epic poem of the Civil War, John Brown's Body (another Pulitzer Prize winning work), but I will certainly be rereading Walt Whitman's homage to Lincoln: "Oh Captain, My Captain."
Will there be time to indulge in Doris Kearns Goodwin's mammoth group biography of Lincoln and his Cabinet members, A Team of Rivals?
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