Lincoln – The Presidential Archive
By Chuck Wills
(January 2009 Civil War News)

Illustrated, bibliography and resource list, 160 pp., 2007. DK Publishing, 375 Hudson St., New York, NY 10014, $40 plus shipping.

Reviewer: John Deppen
John Deppen is past president of the Susquehanna CWRT, a member of General John F. Hartranft Camp #15 of the SUVCW and a living historian who portrays Maj. Gen. Winfield Scott Hancock.  His articles and reviews have appeared in Military Heritage, Gettysburg Magazine, Civil War News and The Daily Item in central Pennsylvania.

Review:
Lincoln – The Presidential Archive is a dichotomous book. On the one hand, the narrative consists of a very pedestrian account of Lincoln’s life, while on the other hand the numerous illustrations and removable replicas of historical documents are a truly fascinating archive of Lincoln’s life and times.

Author Chuck Wills unearths no new material and makes no new revelations. In fact, were it not for the photographs and the pull-outs, the book would be of little scholarly worth.

The depth of Wills’ research into Lincoln and the Civil War is revealed in his account of the second day of Gettysburg, where he writes, “Were it not for a heroic stand by a single Maine regiment, the Confederates might have outflanked the Union positions. But the Maine men held.” Even a casual observer will recognize the source of this assertion.

The pull-out material is far superior to Wills’ words. Along with copies of letters, telegrams, legal documents and, of course, an advertisement for “Our American Cousin,” — what Lincoln volume is complete without one? — there is a copy of a page from Lincoln’s “childhood sum book.”

Perhaps more than any other single document, this simple page reminds readers that Lincoln was a human being, and not a demigod. Lincoln once was a boy like other boys, who scribbled and scratched in his school book and struggled with arithmetic. As a poor student of mathematics myself, I felt sincere sympathy for Lincoln when I held this page in my hands.

The publication seems unsure of its audience. Most people familiar with Lincoln will learn nothing new from the text, but many may experience intangible revelations by looking at and holding the high-quality reproductions of Lincoln’s original handwritten copy of the Emancipation Proclamation, or his telegram of support to Lt. Gen. Ulysses Grant in early 1865.

Taken as a whole, Lincoln – The Presidential Archive is mildly superior to similar publications. For those who enjoy their history “hands on,” investing in Wills’ book is worth considering.