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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... better would be a quick stick of morphine into the veins and a skeleton key twisted in the lock, leaving the flame of a candle as the only other breathing thing in the room; and Abraham Lincoln was the sixteenth president of the United ...
... better . Is not this so ? And yet it is a mistake . You are sure to be happy again . To know this , which is certainly true , will make you some less miserable now . I have had experience enough to know what I say . -DECEMBER 12 , 1862 ...
... better place.” Lincoln drew his lips together, and I could see the thoughts running across his mind like a handful of photographs. He was breathing hard. And he brought his hand up to his face and started stroking his beard beneath ...
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 |