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200th Anniversary of Lincoln's Birth
During the campaign for the office of 44th President of the United States, the name and qualities of Abraham Lincoln were invoked and associated with Obama on numerous occasions. All this media attention and, coincidentally, the 200th Anniversary of the birth of Lincoln on February 12 of this year, has sparked new interest in the man and his mystique. This has resulted in a recent plethora of photographs, documentaries and books on the man.
Shepherd, Nicholas H., photographer. Abraham Lincoln, Congressman-elect from Illinois. Springfield, Ill., 1846 or 1847, daguerreotype.
Many images can be found of Lincoln on the internet including newly uploaded images from the archive of The Library of Congress set of 22 photographs relating to the life of Abraham Lincoln on Flickr. A Photography Blog, Thinkin' about Lincoln, which shows possibly the first photo of Abraham Lincoln sans beard.
The History Channel broadcast a show based off the book of the same title Stealing Lincoln's Body about the 1876 attempt by counterfeiters to steal the body of Abraham Lincoln for ransom. According to the New York Times review of the show, the documentary includes digital recreations of Lincoln based on photographs taken during his life.
The New York Times Book Review lists and critiques many of the recently published books on Lincoln in Lincoln's Monuments, an article by William Safire, the author of Freedom a novel of Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. The books reviewed are A. Lincoln: A Biography, In Lincoln's Hand: His Original Manuscripts, The Lincoln Anthology: Great Writers on His Life and Legacy From 1860 to Now.
Charles Darwin and Lincoln share this same date of birth and also the cover of the new Smithsonian Magazine and an article titled Lincoln's Contested Legacy. In this issue Philip B. Kunhardt III, co-author of the 2008 book Looking for Lincoln, explores the often conflicting myths associated with this man:
Though our understanding of him is more nuanced than it once was, and we are more able to recognize his limitations as well as his strengths, Abraham Lincoln remains the great example of democratic leadership--by most criteria, truly our greatest president.
Other books about Lincoln of interest: Lincoln's Assassins: Their Trial and Execution and Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln.
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