What are you reading now?

[Gene C]

Just finished "The True Story of Abraham Lincoln" - by Elbridge S Brooks, written in 1896. On the inside front cover it says "A merry, merry Christmas to Harold from Aunt Harriette. I thought it was cool, I have someone's Christmas present from over 115 years ago. Mr Brooks had seen Abraham Lincoln in a parade when he was on his way to Washington when he was elected president, and again when his coffin passed through the city on his way back to Springfield.

this is an illustrated children's book with about 230+ pages. Unfortuantely, Mr Brooks wasn't very kind to Thomas Lincoln.
"He was lazy as loafing, as shiftless as could be, and as poor as poverty. He was of the class long know in the South as "poor whites" was a carpenter without any trade, a farmer without any crop, a man without ambition, energy, or what you boys call "sand". He could not read; he could not write; and he did not care to learn. He loved to sit around and tell stories rather than work, and though he has some affection and some friendly ways, he was, after all, a hard drinker, a ready fighter and an uncomfortable sort of a father. He was of the class long known in the South as "poor whites" - and, of these, he was one of the poorest."

Mr. Brooks also got this wrong - " Sarah, the eldest child, was only twelve; Abraham was but ten, and little Dennis Hanks was eight. (Dennis was older than Abraham by several years)

Here is what Mr Brooks had to say about young Abraham Lincoln getting a flat boat aground on a dam at New Salem, when he was on his trip to New Orleans, " At a place called New Salem the flat-boat ran aground; but Lincoln's ingenuity got it off. He rigged up a queer contrivance of his own invention and lifted the boat off and over the obstruction, while all New Salem sat on the bank, first to criticise and then to applaud. Just what this invention was I cannot explain. But if you ever go into the patent office at Washington, ask to see Abraham Lincoln's patent for transporting river boats over snags and shoals"

Mr. Brooks had a lot of good things to say, this is only a sample. "Politics sometimes means low measures, underhand ways, doing things one may well be ashamed of - anything to secure sucess. But good politics means honorable measures, uprightness, truth, noble ambitions, persistence, patriotism and good character. Any boy may aspire to be such a politician - prefering defeat to dishonor, and feeling jubilant over success honestly obtained. Abraham Lincoln was this last kind of a politician. He worked hard for success; but he never stopped to do a mean, a questionable or an unfriendly act. He raised himself to success from poverty, and, because he was such a man, he won the respect and love of all."

There are several similiar statement throughout this book. All in all, it was an intersting book, focusing on the developing character of Mr. Lincoln from a child to an adult, overcoming difficulty and adversity.