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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... eyes that locked off to the distance.And his boy,Willie,had died three years ago at the age of twelve,and Lincoln had been right by his bedside and the night had been dark and the wind howled just as it should have,and not too far away ...
... eyes opened wide with the fear of the messenger before he shut the door. Abe pulled himself up from his chair,ran the edge of his finger below his eyes, and walked past Stanton down the hall to the room where Mary had secluded herself ...
... eyes carrying a pierce of intentional hurt,rolling her lips into a grin and folding her 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 ...
... eyes held hard to the ground,but it was no doubt due to my bug-eyed gawking that he rolled those grays down until they met mine,and just held his stare for an endless moment. His frame was massive,and I'd have sworn to Jesus that the ...
... eyes. I started babbling about how he should be proud that he was able to have his boy for the time he did, that some things are just meant to be a certain way. And I told him that his boy had had hair the color of the earth and maybe ...
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 |