I received my copy of Mourning Lincoln today. Authored by Martha Hodes, a history professor at New York University, it looks intriguing - and she certainly cites enough good sources in a special section at the back. She also has a sort of addendum in which she explains her method of approaching the subject and what she was trying to accomplish.

She drew inspiration for the subject based on her own memories as a child of the Kennedy assassination and public reaction as well as the more recent 9/11 event as a resident of New York City. I did find one statement interesting: she wanted first-hand information from the Lincoln era, but she did not want to rely on memoirs because they were generally written in later years and the memories contained in them were likely tainted by false memories, forgetfulness, and exaggerations as the years passed by.

We will have the book for sale at Surratt House - and I wish I had known about Ms. Hodes and her work in time to invite her to speak at this year's Surratt conference. Maybe next year...

Here's the New York Times' review of Mourning Lincoln along with the review of Lincoln's Body: A Cultural History by Richard Wightman Fox.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/08/books/...ottom-well

(02-06-2015 11:45 PM)Linda Anderson Wrote:  Here's the New York Times' review of Mourning Lincoln along with the review of Lincoln's Body: A Cultural History by Richard Wightman Fox.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/08/books/...ottom-well

When referring to the president's deathbed, the reviewer notes, "20 or 30 people stayed in that room all night and another 30 or more came and went."

Thirty people in the room?

(02-07-2015 12:48 PM)ReignetteC Wrote:  

(02-06-2015 11:45 PM)Linda Anderson Wrote:  Here's the New York Times' review of Mourning Lincoln along with the review of Lincoln's Body: A Cultural History by Richard Wightman Fox.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/08/books/...ottom-well

When referring to the president's deathbed, the reviewer notes, "20 or 30 people stayed in that room all night and another 30 or more came and went."

Thirty people in the room?

That's the image that inspired one of Dr. Terry Alford's college students to write an essay on The Rubber Room for our Surratt Courier about 20 years ago. Harold Holzer and Frank Williams then picked up on the term and used it in one of their booklets a few years later.

Here in the hospital we have a "rubber room" too.

(02-07-2015 04:55 PM)LincolnMan Wrote:  Here in the hospital we have a "rubber room" too.

And I bet it pertains more to something that I just posted under the Veterans' Plight thread...

(02-06-2015 11:45 PM)Linda Anderson Wrote:  Here's the New York Times' review of Mourning Lincoln along with the review of Lincoln's Body: A Cultural History by Richard Wightman Fox.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/08/books/...ottom-well

Thank you Linda. Insightful reviews of both books. The one for "Lincoln's Body" is painful and profound.

Here's Michael Burlingame's review from the Wall Street Journal. (The comments are a bit contentious.)
http://www.wsj.com/articles/book-review-...1423260893

(02-08-2015 10:19 AM)ReignetteC Wrote:  Here's Michael Burlingame's review from the Wall Street Journal. (The comments are a bit contentious.)
http://www.wsj.com/articles/book-review-...1423260893

Is it just me, but that link wants to force me to subscribe to the WSJ in order to read the rest of the review...

(02-08-2015 12:33 PM)L Verge Wrote:  

(02-08-2015 10:19 AM)ReignetteC Wrote:  Here's Michael Burlingame's review from the Wall Street Journal. (The comments are a bit contentious.)
http://www.wsj.com/articles/book-review-...1423260893

Is it just me, but that link wants to force me to subscribe to the WSJ in order to read the rest of the review...

Same for me. Couldn't access the full article.

Laurie and Scott - try this. First copy the article's title (When Black Americans Lost Their Moses). Then paste that title into Google's search box. Then click on the article when it comes up in Google's search results. The full article should then appear.

(02-08-2015 02:14 PM)RJNorton Wrote:  Laurie and Scott - try this. First copy the article's title (When Black Americans Lost Their Moses). Then paste that title into Google's search box. Then click on the article when it comes up in Google's search results. The full article should then appear.

Thanks Roger. I had tried that previously but it didn't work. Worked fine this time though!

(02-08-2015 12:33 PM)L Verge Wrote:  

(02-08-2015 10:19 AM)ReignetteC Wrote:  Here's Michael Burlingame's review from the Wall Street Journal. (The comments are a bit contentious.)
http://www.wsj.com/articles/book-review-...1423260893

Is it just me, but that link wants to force me to subscribe to the WSJ in order to read the rest of the review...

Sorry about that. I am not a subscriber but was able to read it via a google search. I should have mentioned that. Thanks, Roger for the tips.

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(02-08-2015 12:33 PM)L Verge Wrote:  

(02-08-2015 10:19 AM)ReignetteC Wrote:  Here's Michael Burlingame's review from the Wall Street Journal. (The comments are a bit contentious.)
http://www.wsj.com/articles/book-review-...1423260893

Is it just me, but that link wants to force me to subscribe to the WSJ in order to read the rest of the review...

Sorry about that. I am not a subscriber but, strangely, was able to read the entire article.

(02-08-2015 04:06 PM)ReignetteC Wrote:  Sorry about that. I am not a subscriber but was able to read it via a google search. I should have mentioned that. Thanks, Roger for the tips.

Hi Reignette. I think this method will work with many subscription newspapers, etc. I am a huge Chicago Cubs' fan, and one of the first things I do in the mornings is read the latest Cubs' news in the Chicago Tribune. Typing an article's title into Google usually works to get the full Cubs' article. If I start by going straight to the Tribune website I cannot read the article. I think this is because most newspapers want their material indexed by the major search engines; thus arriving at an article via a search engine has a better chance of success.

For those who are thinking about purchasing MOURNING LINCOLN, LINCOLN'S BODY, and FOUNDER'S SON, first read the reviews in the New York Times. This might save you some money.