Synopses & Reviews
The period leading up to the Civil War was one of great change. Congress divided itself between Northerners and Southerners, citizens on the frontier took up arms against one another, and movements for secession and abolition were more urgent than ever.
In The Hammer and the Anvil, the award-winning author Dwight Jon Zimmerman and the renowned artist Wayne Vansant vividly depict the tumultuous time through the lives of two men who defined it: Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln.
With a foreword by the Pulitzer Prize-winning historian James M. McPherson, The Hammer and the Anvil reveals that its protagonists each wrestled with the question of slavery from a young age. Douglass, a slave who was spared no brutality, once fought an especially cruel master and eventually escaped north to freedom. Lincoln, who was hired out by his father to do manual labor on neighbors farms, found this harsh life intolerable. As a senator, Lincoln sought ways to end the westward spread of slavery, believing that adding free states to the Union would diminish the power of the Southern states and lead to the gradual disappearance of the “peculiar institution.” Douglass was less patient. He had become a skilled orator and an influential editor of Northern abolitionist journals, and called on white Americans to honor their nations founding commitment to liberty.
When the Civil War erupted in April 1861, Douglass hoped that the conflict would mean the end of slavery. But Lincoln delayed emancipation, and Douglass despaired—until he met the president face-to-face and recognized that their causes were one and the same. Featuring evocative and dramatic scenes of this seminal time, The Hammer and the Anvil will engage both Civil War buffs and young people new to the study of American history.
Review
“Engaging and insightful . . . A compelling look at two of the most important figures in American history.” —Publishers Weekly
“An utterly ingenious graphic history of one of the most important stories in American history—the strikingly parallel lives of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln that eventually converged in friendship. Powerfully illustrated and written, The Hammer and the Anvil highlights for young readers, and anyone interested in graphic stories, the central debates of the Civil War era and of our own time: race, freedom, citizenship, state versus federal government, and the meaning of the American Dream.” —John Stauffer, author of Giants: The Parallel Lives of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln
“A highly original, historically accurate, and utterly irresistible take on the lives and contributions of those two giants, Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. This book raises the genre of ‘graphic history to a new level. Dwight Jon Zimmerman and Wayne Vansant have produced a page-turner that will engage young readers, and no doubt delight their parents, too.”
—Harold Holzer, Chairman, Lincoln Bicentennial Foundation
“An ingenious telling of the most important story in our nations history through the lives of the two greatest Americans of the nineteenth century, Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. Students, teachers, and general readers—even those who think history is not for them—will find this an exciting, compelling read. A brilliant work!”
—James G. Basker, President of the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
“The Hammer and the Anvil makes the extraordinary moment that brought Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln together accessible to young students. Its an eye-opener.”
—Ira Berlin, author of The Making of African America
Review
“Engaging and insightful . . . A compelling look at two of the most important figures in American history.” —Publishers Weekly
“An utterly ingenious graphic history of one of the most important stories in American history—the strikingly parallel lives of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln that eventually converged in friendship. Powerfully illustrated and written, The Hammer and the Anvil highlights for young readers, and anyone interested in graphic stories, the central debates of the Civil War era and of our own time: race, freedom, citizenship, state versus federal government, and the meaning of the American Dream.” —John Stauffer, author of Giants: The Parallel Lives of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln
“A highly original, historically accurate, and utterly irresistible take on the lives and contributions of those two giants, Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. This book raises the genre of ‘graphic history to a new level. Dwight Jon Zimmerman and Wayne Vansant have produced a page-turner that will engage young readers, and no doubt delight their parents, too.”
—Harold Holzer, Chairman, Lincoln Bicentennial Foundation
“An ingenious telling of the most important story in our nations history through the lives of the two greatest Americans of the nineteenth century, Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. Students, teachers, and general readers—even those who think history is not for them—will find this an exciting, compelling read. A brilliant work!”
—James G. Basker, President of the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
“The Hammer and the Anvil makes the extraordinary moment that brought Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln together accessible to young students. Its an eye-opener.”
—Ira Berlin, author of The Making of African America
Synopsis
The entwined lives of Lincoln and Douglass and the end of slaveryWith a foreword by the Pulitzer Prize-winning historian James M. McPherson, The Hammer and the Anvil presents in full-color illustrations the history of slavery, the Civil War, and emancipation through the lives of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. The talent behind the book includes Dwight Jon Zimmerman, an award-winning author of military history and graphic novels; the historian and consultant Craig Symonds, winner of the Lincoln Prize; and the artist Wayne Vansant, illustrator of Marvel Comics The Nam and the highly regarded nonfiction graphic history from Novel Graphics The Vietnam War. Together they tell the story of two men who defined their era. Possessed of a deep antipathy to slavery as a young man on the free-spirited American frontier, President Lincoln wrestled repeatedly with the dilemma the peculiar institution presented. Douglass, a brilliant runaway slave, sought to force America to confront its original and gravest sin. Driven by conviction to great words and deeds, each man helped to make the nation we live in today. The Hammer and the Anvil is an ideal introduction not only to two iconic Americans but also to the most compelling moments in American history.
About the Author
Dwight Jon Zimmerman is the coauthor with Bill OReilly of The New York Times bestseller Lincolns Last Days. He is the author of The Vietnam War: A Graphic History and the co-executive producer of the Discovery Channels miniseries First Command. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Wayne Vansant is the illustrator of The Nam and The Vietnam War: A Graphic History, among many other works. He lives in Mableton, Georgia.
James M. McPherson is the George Henry Davis 1886 Professor of History, Emeritus, at Princeton University. He is the author of numerous award-winning books on the Civil War, including Battle Cry of Freedom, which won the Pulitzer Prize.