The book proposal

[Rob Wick]

I've finally completed the overview and annotated table of contents for my book, and I was hoping to get some feedback. This doesn't represent all of my proposal as I've omitted the cover letter, my curriculum vitae and the sample chapters (which are not completed yet). For those of you so inclined, I would truly appreciate your thoughts. As always, constructive criticism is more beneficial, but praise will never be rejected.

Best
Rob

[Gene C]

I like the title. Like the outline too. Don't know if you plan on adding any early (before Paris) personal history, but anything you can do to "humanize" her, since many people may not know who she is. Personally speaking, it seems to me many people have a hard time with history that is over 100 years old. It's no longer relevant to them. The people are just names on the page. Bring her back to life through your book, especially the first chapter.

Glad you explained why/how your book was different form anything written before. Good luck. It sounds good to me.

[Rob Wick]

Thanks Gene. When I talk in the outline of the first chapter about how she remembered Lincoln, that will include some early biographical material. Her birth in a log cabin, seeing her father and mother crying after Lincoln's assassination and seeing the veterans of the war in parades, etc. Also, when I cover her years at Allegheny College, there will be some biographical material as well. I agree too with your comments about people's remembrance of history, but I think it's possible to go back only half that time before many people's eyes glaze over.

Best
Rob

[Joe Di Cola]

Rob,

The focus on Tarbell as a Lincoln biographer will set your work apart from all others. As a Lincoln person I am most interested in what motivated her and also on the historiography techniques she chose to employ in her work.

I feel that Tarbell, even more than Herndon and Weik, prepared the way for those who followed her, particularly Sandburg and Thomas and that your volume will put her into the proper light as a pioneer in Lincoln biography.

I really like the proposed chapter titles and hope that a publisher does not insist on your reverting to dull titles.

All the best,

Joe

[Tom Bogar]

Rob,
Thought you'd like to know: I just got back from hearing Doris Kearns Goodwin speak at National Archives about her new book, and she devoted about 6-7 minutes of her 50-minute talk to singing the praises of Ida Tarbell. And based on the index in the back, she's given more coverage to Tarbell than I would have thought, in a book on TR and Taft. (It may take me awhile to get through it all, though, as the book itself is over 850 pages.)

Tom

[Rob Wick]

Joe,

Thanks for the comments. To be honest, some of the chapter titles I will likely change as I get more into the writing of each chapter. I like using quotes for chapter heads and I imagine there will be some that break through as I dig more deeply. That's how I got the title, Star Seeker After Truth.

Tom,

I'm about 40 pages into Goodwin's book and it's moving somewhat slow for me. However, that's likely because I've read Henry F. Pringle's two-volume biography of Taft and Edmund Morris's three-volume biography of Roosevelt. I don't want to skip ahead to read about Tarbell, but most of what she's written so far is just refresher. It will be interesting to see how she handles Tarbell.

By the way, do you know if C-SPAN filmed her speech?

Best
Rob

[Tom Bogar]

Rob, all of the book talks at Archives are videotaped and (pardon the pun) archived on their own online channel, ustream: http://www.ustream.tv/usnationalarchives. Some events do get picked up by C-SPAN2 or Book TV from that, but it's hard to predict which ones, or when. But at least you can see her talk (as soon as they upload it) on ustream.

Tom

[Rob Wick]

Thanks, Tom. I've bookmarked it so I can find it when it airs.

Best
Rob

[Linda Anderson]

Doris Kearns Goodwin was interviewed by Charlie Rose on 11/11. She mentions Tarbell a couple of times.

http://www.charlierose.com/schedule

[brtmchl]

I am afraid my knowledge of Ida Tarbell is only limited to knowing of her investigation into unfair business practices at Standard Oil. Which in turn would lead to The Supreme Courts decision to break its monopoly. After reading your overview Rob, I realize that I know nothing; but want to learn more. I wish you the best on this, I would really love to read this book someday. I am surprised that I have not taken a bigger interest in her biography, but now thanks to you, my interest is peaked.

I do remember one more thing. Her face was on a stamp.

[Rob Wick]

Thanks, Mike. Hopefully after the first of the year I'll have some good news. Oh, and you're right about the postage stamp. Here it is.



This picture would have been taken around the time she was working for McClure's Magazine or shortly thereafter.

Best
Rob

[My Name Is Kate]

I read your book proposal. I think it is very well-written, easy to read, concise, focused. I have no suggestions to offer on how to improve it.

I'm interested in knowing why Tarbell thought women shouldn't vote. What were Lincoln's views on women voting?

I've been procrastinating since 1986(!!) on a reference book (nothing to do with history or Lincoln) that I put together and is nearly finished, and has been for quite some time now. But after reading your book proposal, I feel more motivated to write mine, since it doesn't sound as hard to do as I thought.

[Rob Wick]

Kate,

It's hard to boil down her reasoning (even in a 12-page letter to her friend John S. Phillips, she couldn't do it very easily), but simplistically, Tarbell didn't think women having the vote would better their situations, nor did she think women could do any better in picking leaders then men could. It wasn't just in suffrage that Tarbell was contradictory. She thought a woman's first priority should be marriage, a home and raising children, yet she prayed at the age of 14 that she never have to marry. There's a book called Women Against Women: American Anti-Suffragism, 1880-1920 by Jane Camhi in which she devotes a whole chapter to Tarbell's case.

I have to admit I don't recall ever hearing Lincoln talk about the subject of women and suffrage, but there are websites which claim he made a speech as a state legislator that supported the concept. Looking through the collected works, I don't find it. Maybe someone else can.

Thanks for your kind words on my proposal. As for your project, go for it!

Best
Rob

[Eva Elisabeth]

(11-13-2013 09:10 PM)My Name Is Kate Wrote:  What were Lincoln's views on women voting?

While running for re-election to the Illinois general assembly, Lincoln wrote the following in a letter to the editor of the "Sangamo Journal" on June13, 1836: “I go for all sharing the privileges of the government, who assist in bearing its burdens. Consequently I go for admitting all whites to the right of suffrage, who pay taxes or bear arms, (by no means excluding females.)”

[Rob Wick]

Quote:While running for re-election to the Illinois general assembly, Lincoln wrote the following in a letter to the editor of the "Sangamo Journal" on June13, 1836: “I go for all sharing the privileges of the government, who assist in bearing its burdens. Consequently I go for admitting all whites to the right of suffrage, who pay taxes or bear arms, (by no means excluding females.)”

Ask and ye shall receive.

Best
Rob