Stefan Lorant's Life of Abraham Lincoln

[Craig Hipkins]

    One of the first books that I ever read concerning Abraham Lincoln was The Life of Abraham Lincoln by Stefan Lorant. I can remember reading this book at our town library when I was a kid and was fascinated with the many black and white photographs and satirical cartoons that are in the book. This includes the absurd illustration of Lincoln picking up Jack Armstrong over his head as if he were as light as a feather!

Lorant was a Hungarian born journalist who had opposed Hitler and had been briefly imprisoned by the Nazis before eventually emigrating to the United States shortly before the war. He had a fascination with Lincoln which shows that Lincoln's appeal is not only American but extends to all cultures of the world.

I found a copy of Lorant's Lincoln at a used book store in Oceanside California back in the late 80s. At the time I was serving in the Marines at Camp Pendleton. I still have the same copy which is now falling apart and has yellowed with age. The strange thing about this book is that I do not remember having read the book cover to cover until just recently. It is one of those books that you can pick up and read specific chapters, or merely look at the photographs and cartoons.

I just thought that I would share this with the good people of this forum! I also have included a couple of pictures of my book. They don't make good pocket editions like this anymore!

Craig