In Lincoln's Hand: His Original Manuscripts with Commentary by Distinguished Americans

Holzer, Harold and J. W. Shenk (Editors)

ISBN 10: 0553807420 / ISBN 13: 9780553807424

Published by Bantam Books, NY, 2009

About this Item

FIRST Edition thus, with publishers full number line in place. A FLAWLESS volume in same condition UNclipped dust jacket. Official companion volume of the Library of Congress 2009 bicentennial exhibition in Washington, D.C. Illustrated throughout with facsimile documents and b/w photographs. Each manuscript is accompanied by a reflection on Lincoln by a prominent contemporary American. A must for all history buffs. Over sized volume. 196 pages.

Seller Inventory # 003921

Bibliographic Details

• Title: In Lincoln's Hand: His Original Manuscripts with Commentary by Distinguished Americans
• Publisher: Bantam Books, NY
• Publication Date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0553807420
• ISBN 13: 9780553807424
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: New
• Dust Jacket Condition: New
• Seller catalogs:
  • American History
  • Biography/Autobiography

About this title

Synopsis

On the occasion of the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth and in conjunction with the Library of Congress 2009 Bicentennial Exhibition, In Lincoln’s Hand offers an unprecedented look at perhaps our greatest president through vivid images of his handwritten letters, speeches, and even childhood notebooks—many never before made available to the public.

Edited by leading Lincoln scholars Joshua Wolf Shenk and Harold Holzer, this companion volume to the Library of Congress exhibition offers a fresh and intimate perspective on a man whose thoughts and words continue to affect history. To underscore the resonance of Lincoln’s writings on contemporary culture, each manuscript is accompanied by a reflection on Lincoln by a prominent American from the arts, politics, literature, or entertainment, including Toni Morrison, Sam Waterston, Robert Pinsky, Gore Vidal, and presidents Carter, George H.W., and George W. Bush.

While Lincoln’s words are quite well known, the original manuscripts boast a unique power and beauty and provide rare insight into the creative process. In this collection we can see the ebb and flow of Lincoln’s thoughts, emotions, hopes, and doubts. We can see where he paused to dip his pen in the ink or to capture an idea. We can see where he added a word or phrase, and where he crossed out others, searching for the most precise, and concise, expression. In these marks on the page, Lincoln’s character is available to us with a profound immediacy. From such icons as the Gettysburg Address and the inaugural speeches to seldom-seen but superb rarities, here is the world as Lincoln saw and shaped it in words and images that resound to this very day.

About the Author

Harold Holzer is cochairman of the U.S. Lincoln Bicentennial Commission and author, coauthor, or editor of thirty-one books on Lincoln and the Civil War era, including the award-winning Lincoln at Cooper Union and most recently, Lincoln: President-Elect. His web site is www.haroldholzer.com.

Joshua Wolf Shenk is the author of Lincoln’s Melancholy: How Depression Challenged a President and Fueled His Greatness and the director of the Rose O’Neill Literary House at Washington College. His work has been published in Harper’s Magazine, the Atlantic Monthly, the Economist, and other publications, and in the national bestseller Unholy Ghost: Writers on Depression. His website is www.shenk.net.