Synopses & Reviews
In a startlingly innovative format, journalist Stephen A. Wynalda has constructed a painstakingly detailed day-by-day breakdown of president Abraham Lincolns decisions in officeincluding his signing of the Homestead Act on May 20, 1862; his signing of the legislation enacting the first federal income tax on August 5, 1861; and more personal incidents like the day his eleven-year-old son, Willie, died. Revealed are Lincolns private frustrations on September 28, 1862, as he wrote to vice president Hannibal Hamlin, The North responds to the [Emancipation] proclamation sufficiently with breath; but breath alone kills no rebels.”
366 Days in Abraham Lincolns Presidency includes fascinating facts like how Lincoln hated to hunt but loved to fire guns near the unfinished Washington monument, how he was the only president to own a patent, and how he recited Scottish poetry to relieve stress. As Scottish historian Hugh Blair said, It is from private life, from familiar, domestic, and seemingly trivial occurrences, that we most often receive light into the real character.”
Covering 366 nonconsecutive days (including a leap day) of Lincolns presidency, this is a rich, exciting new perspective of our most famous president. This is a must-have edition for any historian, military history or civil war buff, or reader of biographies.
Review
"With calendar-style organization showing Lincoln’s attitudes and responses to the course of events, Wynalda’s vignettes accessibly introduce the Civil War’s key historical character."
Synopsis
For the first time ever, the intimate thoughts and political decisions of Abraham Lincoln's entire presidency--day by day.
About the Author
Stephen A. Wynalda is a journalist, civil war buff, and freelance writer. His fiction has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize. He lives in Camby, Indiana.Harry Turtledove, acclaimed widely as the master of alternative history, has taught at UCLA, Cal State Fullerton, and Cal State Los Angeles. His novels include The Guns of the South, How Few Remain, Fort Pillow, and Sentry Peak, all of which deal in one way or another with the American Civil War and its aftermath.