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
Results 1-5 of 14
... don't hang your head so goddamned low, Abe,you're a hero and they'll be lining up halfway down the seaboard to see you putting an end to this,and please no more of your Richard-the-Third-Throne-of-Blood- Winter-of-Discontent bullshit ...
... Don't need food,” Mary growled. “I don't need anything.” “Now,Mother.” “And I don't need anything from you,you hear?” “Please,Mary.” He hushed his voice. “If it wasn't for you ...” “Mary.” “You're a pox, Abraham Lincoln,you bring ...
... don't believe he's eaten yet.” Mary stepped back in the room. “No.” Her voice wavered. “No. I don't want anyone coming in this room. It's safe now from all evil and I don't want you or anything you've touched to contaminate this room ...
... don't know what ...” Mr. Lincoln led me by 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 ...
... don't eat these days,Mr. Jackson,and I sure as hell don't sleep.And the boy's mother is reduced to a saddened state of .. . I'm in charge of a divided nation where boys on both sides seem to have been born to just pass through too ...
Contents
11 | |
25 | |
The Idiot Brother | 47 |
The Willie Grief | 67 |
His Stepmothers Sister | 91 |
A Letter to President Lincoln from a Good Girl | 97 |
The Ward | 109 |
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 |