Mr. Lincoln's Wars: A Novel in Thirteen StoriesIn this highly ambitious collection, Adam Braver explores Abraham Lincoln's inner life and personal turmoils -- while also reflecting on the indelible impact Lincoln had on the nation during the last year of his presidency. Braver brings the president to life, not just as the strong and resilient leader of history books but also as a grief-stricken father, heartbroken over the loss of his young son. Across a rich canvas of truth and imagination, Mr. Lincoln's Wars reveals a president within the White House walls. We see Lincoln as he explores the meaning of loss through a chance encounter with the father of a slain soldier. And a good-hearted young Union soldier is quickly turned into a killer in the name of President Lincoln. Finally, there is the assassination and the autopsy, as seen through the eyes of John Wilkes Booth, Mary Lincoln, the assistant surgeon general, and one of Lincoln's closest friends. Brilliant in its depiction of the country during the waning days of the war, this book is an insightful and moving exploration of the myth of celebrity and the passions it arouses. More than anything, Mr. Lincoln's Wars introduces a talented new writer whose storytelling ability knows no bounds. |
From inside the book
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... arms tight against his chest, looking out the window down to the gardens, at the rows of plants that were shaded in black from the quick close of the winter sky, and the gray outline that traced the edges of the leaves, bringing them ...
... arms across her breasts . The mansion hall dimmed in green shadows , leaving no trace of light from the day . His eyes skipped along the hallway walls and settled on a mirror , then jumped from the fright . Mary saw him looking away ...
... arm back and forth and slip a sleeve on, posing their appendages to make them look as halfway presentable to death as they were to life. And in the case of the Lincoln boy, just like the others, I had anonymously dressed Willie for the ...
... arm to a set of back - door steps , and instructed me to sit down beside him . He called me by my full name . A dancing light tapped up and down my spine . And a cold line of sweat wept straight across my forehead . I tried to look at ...
... arm , then turned and walked down the alley into the sun . Walking a little bit taller . I never did call on him . Didn't see him again until he lay dead on the table . And I sliced the seam of his pant leg and laid it flat , just the ...
Contents
11 | |
25 | |
The Idiot Brother | 47 |
The Willie Grief | 67 |
His Stepmothers Sister | 89 |
A Letter to President Lincoln from a Good Girl | 97 |
The Ward | 107 |
On to the Next Field | 131 |
Crybaby Jacks Theory | 149 |
The Sad and Familiar Ballad of Captain | 181 |
The Necropsy | 195 |
A Rainy Night in Springfield Illinois1849 | 289 |
A Word on Researching Mr Lincolns Wars | 305 |