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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... trying to smile and look so happy while his big brown saucer eyes look so lonely and sad , and he's scared to death to be in the same room with the woman who bore him . And sometimes Mary tells Lincoln that she's already an old maid ...
... trying to find a reason that makes it all right. Dead in shock with a lightning rod run straight through their spines. But Mr. Lincoln looked strong. Like he had flicked the weight of the world right off his shoulders. “I'm sorry about ...
... tried to look at Mr. Lincoln but my nerves swelled deeper . " Let me tell you something , " Mr. Lincoln said . “ Since Willie died all I've done is walk the floors all night . Back and forth . One foot in front of the other . Counting ...
... tried to answer it with some degree of my own truth . " It's so hard , " I began . “ I mean , on one hand I do believe there is a God above who watches and protects us all . But then I see all those bodies that have no more sense of ...
... trying to kill him , and the white - haired judge who feared Satan worse than the dead of night acquitted the old man and sent him back to his farm to raise his crops and his boy , not even considering for one second the boy who had ...
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 |