Abraham Lincoln, by Lord Charnwood

Lord Charnwood published Abraham Lincoln in 1916. In order to get a clearer perspective of the Civil War, it helps to read books from multiple viewpoints. Lord Charnwood wrote only fifty years after the war, bringing an almost contemporaneous perspective to his depictions. His biography has the advantage of proximity but with enough time elapsed to dampen the passions of the moment. More important, as an English depiction, it is a simultaneously a distant point of view. It is a distance of more than nautical miles. Lord Charnwood also brings the bias of English nobility to his descriptions. This is exceptionally important in gaining an understanding of the diplomatic imperative for both sides. The Confederacy desperately sought European recognition of their legitimacy, while Lincoln did everything in his power to deny international recognition and suppress arms and funding from abroad. Lincoln’s success was arguably pivotal to eventually making victory possible.

Abraham Lincoln, by Lord Charnwood can be a tough read. A simple, declarative sentence is beyond the baron. This is partly due to the style of the times and partly the way of academics who feel a need to qualify every utterance. Once the reader adjusts to the wordily writing, nuggets of rare perspective make the effort well worthwhile. For example, Thomas Jefferson is not one of my favorite Founders and Lord Charnwood seems to have shared some of my reservations. He also makes other political observations that an American might be reluctant to express.

If you have an interest in the mid-nineteenth century, Abraham Lincoln by Lord Charnwood can be an enlightening read.

Grant Takes Command by Bruce Catton

 

When asked, what sort of man is Grant, Lincoln replied that Ulysses S. Grant was “the quietest little fellow you ever saw. The only evidence you have that he’s in any place is that he makes things git! Wherever he is, things move.

Lincoln explained that every other general briefing him before a battle told him that he was short some crucial resource to ensure victory, but, if ordered, they would proceed anyway. This essential resource was almost always cavalry. Lincoln claimed their real purpose was to shift responsibility to him. When Grant took charge, he immediately recommended reassigning twenty thousand horseless cavalrymen to the infantry. Since there was no way to acquire horses for every man designated as cavalry, these idle soldiers were only held in reserve as a handy excuse. Grant recognized the duplicity and removed the excuse before his first battle.

In this biography, Bruce Catton does an excellent job describing the man and his military philosophy. Grant reminded me of General Patton, a warrior through and through. Both believed that to decrease casualties in war, you don’t minimize the fallen in a specific battle, you win the war to stop the killing.

Catton relates a story about a grizzled sergeant leaning against a fence post when a comrade came up.  The sergeant jerked a thumb at a man in the distance and remarked: “That’s Grant. I hate to see that old cuss around. When that old cuss is around there’s sure to be a big fight on hand.”

The best westerns where friendships drive the story

 Discover the Best Books has posted my favorite westerns where the story is driven by friendships.

Check out my description of these five books and why I believe the Steve Dancy Tales fits with this group.

The Timeworn Apostate: A Short Story for the Ages

I have a new short story available on Amazon. I'm reminded of the Monty Python classic introduction: "And Now for Something Completely Different." This short story is nothing like my prior work but it has already become one of my favorites. I hope you enjoy it.

A person can have so much wealth that boredom encourages odd pastimes. John Armstrong buys other people’s dreams, then a chance encounter changes the course of his listless life.

Will his reward match his deeds?

Steve Dancy Short Stories Published

In addition to the seven novel-length Steve Dancy Tales, Amazon now offers two Dancy short stories. "Snake in the Grass" was fun to write because the story is told in third person from Joseph McAllen's point-of-view. (All of the series novels are written in first person from Steve Dancy's point-of-view.)

I hope you enjoy the stories.

Snake in the Grass

A lone wrangler with a fine herd of horses goes berserk in the middle of nowhere. Steve Dancy and Joseph McAllen must decide whether to ride off or help the crazed boy.

Relentless

In a remote wilderness, a band of outlaws chase Steve Dancy. They want his horse. They want his gear. They want his money. And they want his life.

LAND OF LINCOLN: ADVENTURES IN ABE'S AMERICA by Andrew Ferguson

This is a fun memoir of a modern-day search for the real Abraham Lincoln. In childhood, Andrew Ferguson had been a Lincoln buff but had developed other interests in adulthood. The enigmatic and “shut-mouth” Lincoln provided pundits an open field for speculation. As a result, a plethora of interpretations have been tossed around that purport to explain his personality, beliefs, motivations, administration, family, and even sexual orientation. Glorifying tributes stand beside hate filled censures. Ferguson trekked across the country to get a fix on the man. He traversed the Lincoln Heritage Trail with his family, visited major and not-so-major memorials, interviewed Lincoln collectors, gawked at Lincoln impersonators, and talked to guides, academics, and park rangers. Lincoln remained elusive, but Ferguson’s wit and lively writing style kept the quest entertaining and educational … although the reader may learn more about modern-day Americans than they learn about our sixteenth president.

The Lincoln Myth by Steve Berry

When writing a historical book, sometimes you need a recess from hard history. I thought The Lincoln Myth by Steve Berry would provide an appropriate break. Instead of relaxing, I found the book annoying. The Lincoln Myth interlaces Mormon history and a trendy premise about Abraham Lincoln into a modern-day thriller. The premise probably came from The Real Lincoln by Thomas J. DiLorenzo, a popular 2009 book that contended that the South had a right to secede, and the Civil War was unnecessary. DiLorenzo went further stating that eliminating slavery was not a goal of the conflict and only afterwards used as a justification. I believe this premise an over-simplification, but I’ll postpone explaining why until I review The Real Lincoln.

 

What drew me to the book was the Lincoln and Constitution history interwoven into the story. I wrote my own Lincoln mystery/thriller (The Shut Mouth Society) and a novelization of the Constitutional Convention (Tempest at Dawn), so I found it jarring to read Madison’s convention notes and finding material I knew wasn’t present. Berry had a viewpoint with little evidence to support that his viewpoint was correct, so he altered existing documentation and invented entirely new documentation. I objected less to the invented documentation because it disappeared with a novelist sleight of hand. Perfectly legitimate. Altering Madison’s notes, however, seemed lazy and unnecessary to support his plot. Berry was making a political point by modifying the historical record. If omitted, the plot could have moved along the same path without a jarring interruption that defiled Madison's notes.

 As a thriller, The Lincoln Myth succeeds but not as well as Berry's other novels.

Arizona, The Grand Canyon State

 

Monument Valley

We lived in Arizona for twenty-four years and loved the state, but grandchildren are a strong pull, so seven years ago we moved to Omaha, Nebraska. 

Arizona has only two seasons; winter and Hell. Like pre-air-conditioning pioneers, we spent much of our summers atop the Mogollon Rim in a rustic cabin nestled in the largest ponderosa pine forest in the world. A ninety minute drive along the stunning Beeline Highway and we could shed at least twenty degrees. Bliss … until we took a vacation in San Diego. Soon, we swapped our cabin for a condo above a surf spot called Old Man’s. Perfect.

After our move to Omaha, we converted our summer retreat to a winter escape. We also acquired a new nickname. In Arizona we call winter visitors snowbirds. Californians somewhat disparagingly refers to Arizonians as Zonies. Having grown up in Hermosa Beach, I understood. In high school, I had a tee-shirt that said: “There’s no life east of Pacific Coast Highway.”

Our primary residence is still in Omaha, but after fifteen years in San Diego, we’ve returned to the Grand Canyon state to escape Inclement weather. Despite rusty surfing skills, we had a fabulous time at the beach and in the water. Unfortunately, politicians have turned the Golden State into a tarnished silhouette of its former splendor.

We forgot how much we loved Arizona until we returned. We’re reconnecting with old friends, cool haunts, and outstanding eateries. It’s been a little over a month and we still have not made a day trip to some of the state’s grand adventures. Many believe Arizona is nothing but desert, weird plants, and nasty creatures. (If it doesn’t bite and it’s not poisonous, then it’s not native.) Not true. As the nation’s sixth largest city, Phoenix is cosmopolitan with all the amenities one would expect. Other than Tucson, the rest of the state is, well, kinda empty. But not all deserts. The state boasts 1.8 million acres of pine forest and the desert part is beautiful enough that Arizona Highways never had any trouble filling their four-color magazine with tourist-baiting photographs.

All in all, we’re happy with our decision … and I can’t wait to take an excursion down to Tombstone.