Looking for Lincoln: The Making of an American Icon
Product Details
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Book Description
In honor of the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth, an extensively researched, lavishly illustrated consideration of the myths, memories, and questions that gathered around our most beloved—and our most enigmatic—president in the years between his assassination and the dedication of the Lincoln Memorial in 1922. A sequel to the enormously successful Lincoln: An Illustrated Biography, Looking for Lincoln picks up where the previous book left off, examining how our sixteenth president’s legend came into being.
Availing themselves of a vast collection of both published and never-before-seen materials, the authors--the fourth and fifth generations of a family of Lincoln scholars--bring into focus the posthumous portrait of Lincoln that took hold in the American imagination, becoming synonymous with the nation’s very understanding of itself. Told through the voices of those who knew the man--Northerners and Southerners, blacks and whites, neighbors and family members, adversaries and colleagues—and through stories carefully selected from long-forgotten newspapers, magazines, and family scrapbooks, Looking for Lincoln charts the dramatic epilogue to Lincoln’s extraordinary life when, in a process fraught with jealousy, greed, and the struggle for power, the scope of his historical significance was taking shape.
In vibrant and immediate detail, the authors chart the years when Americans struggled to understand their loss and rebuild their country. Here is a chronicle of the immediate aftermath of the assassination; the private memories of those closest to the slain president; the difficult period between 1876 and 1908, when a tired nation turned its back on the former slaves and betrayed Lincoln’s teachings; and the early years of the twentieth century when Lincoln’s popularity soared as African Americans fought to reclaim the ideals he espoused.
Looking for Lincoln will deeply enhance our understanding of the statesman and his legacy, at a moment when the timeless example of his leadership is more crucial than ever.
Surprsing Facts from Looking for Lincoln
(Click on Images to Enlarge)
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| During the twenty days of his public funeral... | ...more than a million mourners looked at the face of Abraham Lincoln. |
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| There was an attempt to steal Lincoln’s body from its tomb in 1876. | For years afterward it was hidden in a basement while the public believed it was still inside its sarcophagus. |
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| Robert Lincoln was present or close at hand at three presidential assassinations--his father’s, James Garfield’s, and William McKinley’s--leading him to believe that his life was cursed. | For years after the Civil War, Lincoln was hung in effigy in some southern homes, whereas John Wilkes Booth was hailed as the courageous slayer of an American tyrant. |
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| Lincoln’s dog Fido met the same fate as his illustrious master, and was “assassinated” by a town drunk. | The Lincoln penny, issued in the Centennial year, was the first U.S. Coin to bear the image of a historical figure. |
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. The Kunhardts use the family's vast collection of Lincoln photographs, started in the late 19th century by Frederick Hill Meserve, combined with concise commentary and valuable first-hand accounts, to illustrate Lincoln's postmortem life. The Kunhardts trace the circuitous route by which the assassinated head of state morphed into a cherished figure as much of myth as of history. The profusely and beautifully illustrated volume-the companion to a PBS special to air in winter 2009-is loaded with rarities: never before seen letters, photos from the 1901 unearthing and re-interment of Lincoln's remains, and first-hand reminiscences from numerous Lincoln intimates, all of them rich with telling detail about the man. Fascinating anecdotes abound, such as Robert Lincoln's shunning of the dedication of the memorial housing the presumed Lincoln birth cabin, which he said commemorated nothing but the "degradation and uncleanliness" of his father's humble beginnings. All in all, the Kunhardts' book represents a visual and literary feast for all devotees of the sacred national idol that is Lincoln. 910 color photos and illus.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
"Enough to ignite a lifelong interest in the era that reveals the most about our history."
–William Safire, New York Times Book Review
“Powerfully illustrated . . . To leaf through its pages is to walk through the life of the nation after that night in Ford’s Theater in 1865, watching as a man became a legend . . . To remember Lincoln, the Kunhardts demonstrate, is to remember ourselves.”
–Jon Meacham, The Los Angeles Times
“The Kunhardt trio offers up yet another impeccably designed and meticulously researched package, full of never-seen-before photographs and personal anecdotes that impart a fascinating and unbiased portrait of the heroic statesman. A timely read!”
–Alexis Burling, The Washington Post
“Fascinating . . . Describes how Americans became obsessed by Lincoln from his death in 1865 to the dedication of the Lincoln Memorial in 1922 . . . The Kunhardt family not only recount this story, but inhabit it.”
–Ted Widmer, The New York Observer
“Exceptional . . . A fitting tribute to our 16th president . . . This is a work that is certain to enhance our understanding of the man and his legacy.”
–Larry Cox, Tucson Citizen
“If you want one book to read on Lincoln during his Bicentennial, this should be your top choice.”–Greg Lennes, Las Cruces Sun-News
“By thumbing through this lavishly illustrated and well-organized book, we . . . bear witness to the generations that shaped Lincoln’s legacy . . . The photo gallery of all known Lincoln portraits is not to be missed.”
–Alfredo Sosa, Christian Science Monitor
“An amazing exploration of one of our most photographed and beloved presidents.”
–New Orleans Times-Picayune
“A museum within covers.”
–Asheville Citizen-Times
“If Abraham Lincoln is one of our most fascinating presidents, the Kunhardt family is among our foremost Lincoln historians.”
–Uptown Magazine
“An essential volume . . . Every page here has images and words worth thinking about . . . An important and fascinating examination of Lincoln’s legacy as accepted and as forgotten.”
–Rob Hardy, The Commercial Dispatch
“A visual and literary feast . . . Beautifully illustrated . . . Loaded with rarities: never before seen letters . . . and first-hand reminiscences from numerous Lincoln intimates, all of them rich with telling detail about the man.”
–Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Lavishly illustrated with haunting, amusing and powerful images, this is the ultimate hardcover keepsake for Lincoln’s bicentennial.”
–Terry Golway, Newark Star-Ledger
“Fascinating . . . An engrossing invitation to scrutinize its every page and image, the Kunhardts’ work is sure to be one of the most popular books in the bicentennial effusion of Lincoln volumes.”
--Booklist
“Will surprise even the most knowledgeable Lincoln fans . . . [a] treasure trove.”--Guy Powers, Detroit Free Press
“You can really lose yourself in the pictures.”–Joe Mysak, Bloomberg
“The Kunhardt family has done it again with their latest tour de force--Looking for Lincoln. For five generations, the Kunhardts have been immersed in the study, writing, and collecting of Lincoln and Civil War era photographs and prints. While this book is chock full of iconography, it is not just a picture book--but a superlative narrative in text and illustrations that gives us a first-rate study of Abraham Lincoln in his bicentennial year.”
--Frank J. Williams, Founding Chair of The Lincoln Forum and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Rhode Island
Customer Reviews
"My God that's John Booth." Harry Hawk, actor on stage when Lincoln was shot
After being thoroughly absorbed in Doris Kearns Goodwin's "Team of Rivals" for two months, I was suffering from Lincoln withdrawal. Then I found this wonderful book, just the thing for someone in my condition. It picks up right where Goodwin left off, to the day, the infamous day of April 14, 1865. Not only that, its rich treasure of photos and illustrations brings to life all the characters I've been reading about. What a stroke of luck to have found it!
This work is divided into five parts: 1. Black Easter; 2. We Who Knew Him; 3. Betrayal; 4. Looking Back; and 5. His Unfinished Work. In addition, there's a wonderful gallery of photographs of Lincoln from 1846 to 1865. Every reader is guaranteed to learn something new from this work. The text by Philip, Peter, and Peter (Jr) Kunhardt is clear, unobtrusive, engrossing, and thorough. Original texts from newspapers, testimony, letters, and first-hand accounts are presented in chronological order, from April 14, 1865 to the date the last survivor of "the Emancipator," Robert Lincoln, his son, died on July 26, 1926 at the age of 82. To his dying day, Robert regretted not going along to the theatre with his parents that fateful awful night. He said no when his father asked him to accompany them. Little facts like this are everywhere to be found in this rich work.
For the professional historian, much of what's here is probably known. But for me, I had no idea that there was an attempt to steal Lincoln's body on November 7, 1876, or that Teddy Roosevelt's ring contained a strand of Lincoln's hair. On and on this book goes, giving one more fact after another in a generously large format that doesn't spare quality in its production. I love this book. I think anyone who's read "Team of Rivals" or who cares about Lincoln will love it too.
Long Overdue
The author Fred Reed should be canonized for this work. Surely he deserves sainthood. The book is what every collector of Lincoln numismatics has been waiting for. Breath taking photographs of rare items, ample and exciting information, a book you can't keep your hands off of. The best word to describe the book in total; INTOXICATING! Thank you Mr. Reed.
The rest of the story
This is a different take on the Lincoln story, following his life's work through the people and events that he influenced. It starts with his death and reflects his life through milestones in the lives of other people in the years following his demise. Thus, among many other stories, we find out what happened to Lincoln's barber, to Billy Herndon, Lincoln's law partner and eventual biographer, we read excerpts from the book written by his former secretaries, Nicolay and Hay, and follow his wife, Mary, and his son, Tad, to their sad ends.
The book, which calls on the authors' vast collection of Linolniana, is effectively laid out and attractive. It is literally "heavy" reading, as its size and weight can be tiring to hold, but the binding and glossy paper add to its quality. There are a few minor mistakes--Lincoln's sister does not lie next to her mother, but in a churchyard a mile away--that are alarming, but on the whole, it is an interesting and pleasant read that adds dimension to the Lincoln story.
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