Meeting Mr. Lincoln: Firsthand Recollections of Abraham Lincoln by People, Great and Small, Who Met the President - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1566631998 ISBN 13: 9781566631990

Publisher: Ivan R. Dee, 1998

Synopsis

Imagine walking into the White House between 1861 and 1865. Would you have been allowed to see the president? With no titles or accolades attached to your name, would he have talked with you? And if so, how would you have felt afterward about his dignity, intelligence, and character? Scores of individuals met President Lincoln and recorded their impressions. In this charming and affecting book, Victoria Radford has selected the most interesting of these recollections, which together add luster to the image of an American icon. “The people who met Abraham Lincoln found in some way a different man than expected,” Ms. Radford writes. “Some people were surprised by his appearance, that this haphazard and untidy man was indeed president. Some were surprised at his generosity, that he would take the time to see them and listen to their stories. Some were surprised by his kindness, that he would offer help and kind words whenever he could. Some were surprised by his compassion and mercy, and some by his simple dignity and grace. And many were surprised at how they felt in Lincoln's presence, that his sincerity and ease of manner set them at their ease, so that they forgot they were even talking to a president.” Even Lincoln buffs will find Meeting Mr. Lincoln a surprise and delight. Illustrated with photographs and engravings.

About this title

Review:

"Much has been said and written in regard to Mr. Lincoln's character for kindness," wrote John M. Bullock, who had gone to the White House to plead on behalf of his dying brother, a Confederate prisoner of war.

Before approaching the President I felt a natural diffidence, not to say awe, of the man who was Chief Executive of the nation, commander-in-chief of the army and navy, as well as the man who held the life of my brother in his hand.... The closer I approached the great man, however, the less I feared him, the higher my courage rose; and before the interview was over I was as much at ease with President Lincoln as if talking to my own father.

This is just one of over two dozen firsthand appraisals of Abraham Lincoln collected by Tennessee schoolteacher Victoria Radford. Through other people's eyes, his compassion, dignity, and respect for his fellow men are revealed, even in the midst of leading the United States through the brutal Civil War. Meeting Mr. Lincoln is a slim volume, barely over 100 pages, but a fascinating bit of history.

About the Author:

Victoria Radford studied at the University of Virginia and Vanderbilt University, and now teaches English at a middle school in Nashville, Tennessee. Her first book is the culmination of several years of research.

About this edition

• Publisher: Ivan R. Dee
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 1566631998
• ISBN 13: 9781566631990
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 128
• Editor: Radford Victoria