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An Interview with Abraham Lincoln As Hall explains in the introductory note, every statement in the book is factual except for the existence of Shelby Grider, the young ex-soldier turned journalist who "interviews" Lincoln in the White House on April 1, 1865. Through Hall's literary device we are given an account of Lincoln's life and character that sweeps movingly and concisely across his humble origins, his self-education, his family life, his beliefs and motivations, and which conveys an understanding of the enormous burden Lincoln experienced in holding the nation together during its greatest crisis. Thousands of books have been written on Abraham Lincoln, but few have conveyed the essence of the man and what he means to history as poignantly and as well as this little gem from Wade Hall. A chronology at the back of the book summarizes the key events of Lincoln's life.
Excerpt Grider: Mr. President, what are your hopes for the future? Lincoln: I hope I will be able to complete my presidency by reuniting our separated people into one people and into a stronger union than before. I hope we will repair the damages done to the people and the land by this war and make it again the healthy land of liberty and opportunity for all. I hope we will welcome the freedmen and women into the fellowship of our one human family and educate and support them as they assume more and more rights and privileges of full citizenship in our one nation of free people. And I hope that brother will never again be called upon to fight his brother. |
