The Last Lincolns

[D. Wilson]

Hi friends, Has anyone read "The Last Lincolns: The Rise & Fall of a Great American Family" by Charles Lachman?
I have read the book and enjoyed it very much. I was just wondering how accurate others found it to be? I wanted to know before recommending it to others. Thank you.

[RJNorton]

Hi David. I read that book several years ago, and I would recommend it to others. For me the most interesting section was the latter part where the author discusses the descendants that I had never previously read much about. Some of these folks didn't live up to the standards one would expect, and they were involved in all sorts of disreputable behaviors. They lacked the traits that we generally associate with Lincoln.

[L Verge]

I read the book when it first came out and enjoyed it so much that the Surratt House asked Mr. Lachman to be a speaker at its next conference. He gave a very good speech and handled questions with ease (which is sometimes an excellent quality when you need to stand down some old curmudgeons trying to throw you off your game!).

[LincolnMan]

Laurie: sounds like you 've had some experience with that!

[Craig Hipkins]

A great read. I too, like Roger, did not know much about the later Lincoln's until reading this book. I found a copy of this at Ollie's about a year ago for about $5. It is worth more than that!

Craig

[Thomas Thorne]

Good Book. The last generation of Lincolns were the best argument for inheritance taxes I have ever seen. Good premise for an alternate history: the brilliant Abraham "Jack" Lincoln II 1873-1890 lives a full life and goes into politics with all his grandfather's talents.
Tom

[D. Wilson]

Thank you to all who replied. I found the book very enjoyable. I just wanted some feedback from the rest of you before I make this book a gift. I like to make sure a book is as accurate as possible before reading it and that is doubly important to me if I am going to gift the book. Thank you for responding.

[Laurie Verge]

Just another anecdote: In the late-1970s or early-1980s, the Last Lincoln, Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith was living in a nursing/retirement home in Washington, D.C. The Surratt Society was requested to send a speaker to the home to talk on Mary Surratt and the Lincoln assassination.

Joan Chaconas was then president of the group, so she took the assignment - with great hopes of meeting Mr. Beckwith. He was a no-show!