Every-day Life of Abraham Lincoln: The Man Behind the Presidency
Posted on January 29, 2013 by admin in Classics, Print & Ebooks
How do you create a memorial to someone who is already one of the most memorialized people in history? Easy, you build a tower out of all the books that have been written about him and now it rises through the middle of a spiral staircase in the lobby of the new Ford Theater Center for Education and Leadership, across the road from the Ford Theater itself. “It makes a real statement…there was a whole lot written about him and there continues to be a whole lot written about him,” said Paul Tetreault, Director of the Ford Theater, where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in 1865.
The tower contains replicas of seven thousand books, and one of them might be Francis Fisher Browne’s homage to the man, titled The Everyday Life of Abraham Lincoln, and now there’s Lincoln, a new film by Steven Spielberg, due for release after the Presidential election in November 2012.
Starring Daniel Day Lewis as Abraham Lincoln and other stellar cast members, the screen play is based on Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris and is set in May 1860, when Abraham Lincoln wins the Republican National Conference held in Chicago, much to the dismay and anger of his three rivals, William H. Seward, Salmon P. Chase and Edward Bates. The film catalogues the turbulent 1850s that led up to the election, where conflict over slavery was leading to secession and civil war. A synopsis of Lincoln won the Presidency because of his character forged by life experiences that raised him above his more privileged rivals and the gift of an extraordinary ability to place himself in the shoes of another man, to experience that mans’ feelings and understand his motives and desires. With these skills, Lincoln brought his disgruntled rivals together to create the most unusual cabinet in history to preserve the Union and win the civil war.
The Everyday life of Abraham Lincoln might not be directly related to the film, but it will be of considerable interest to the audience of that film. Most publications focus on Lincoln’s political life and the achievements and conflicts that led to his assassination in 1865, but Francis Browne shines a spotlight on the more intimate areas of Abraham Lincoln. Taken from letters and first-hand journal entries Lincoln tells us in his own words, woven magically together by a fascinated but critical observer about everything, from why he grew his beard, to his choice of the infamous stovepipe hat.
Newly released by All Classic Books, this edition is available in the traditional trade paper format, as well as e-editions for iPad, iPhones, Nook and Kindle, as well as most other electronic devices, bringing this classic to new readers who prefer instant downloads and the convenience of their e-book devices. Both editions have a contemporary cover design, with question and discussion ideas for book clubs, as well as student guides for high school and college readers, to help them understand and interpret the significance of such a work.
Reading the classics is often quite daunting to writers, but in the case of such an historic figure, the history lesson, both about Lincoln and America’s development cannot be underestimated and the value to writers goes much further to that. What better source of imagination than a story steeped in such esteemed history!
Fifteen thousand books have been written about Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States of America. That’s more than have been written about any other person in world history, except for Jesus Christ. Writers, get ready for the most compelling and comprehensive history lesson you’ll ever sign up for.
