Beginning Nov. 20 at noon in the classroom at the presidential
library and continuing every other month through 2013, different
books covering diverse topics of history will be examined and
discussed by anyone wishing to participate. A list of the books to
be discussed is included below so participants may obtain and read
the book prior to each discussion.
On Nov. 20, a book that explores the irony of being enslaved in a
free state will be examined. To kick off the New Year, readers will
dip into the tale of two "frenemies" -- Abraham Lincoln and Horace
Greeley. The next book will examine Abraham Lincoln's relationship
with the medical field, both in his position as commander-and-chief
during the Civil War and in his role as father and husband.
Throughout 2013 the book discussions will plunge into the
frontier where war, betrayal and conflicts with Native Americans led
to the birth of Illinois; descend into a theater of war so important
that if lost, a struggling new nation wouldn't survive; delve into
one author's search for religious roots and how that search led to
the history of a Protestant sect of Christianity and its struggle
with persecution and survival; explore the life of a man with many
roles -- son, soldier, ambassador, secretary of war, titan of his
times and stewardship of his father's legacy; and finish with a city
saga that begins with an aviation disaster, contains a race riot and
a crippling transit strike, and ends with a sensational child murder
and the birth of a modern city.
Those who would like to receive notices concerning future book
discussions should email
www.presidentlincoln.org for more information about exhibits,
events and programs at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library book discussion schedule
Discussions in the library classroom at noon on the dates below.
Free and open to the public.
- Darrell Dexter. "Bondage in Egypt: Slavery and the
Underground Railroad in Southern Illinois." Cape Girardeau, Mo.,
Southeast Missouri State University, 2012.
[to top of second column]
Borchard. "Abraham Lincoln and Horace Greeley," (Concise Lincoln
Library). Carbondale, Southern Illinois University, 2011.
Glenna Schroeder-Lein. "Abraham Lincoln
and Medicine," (Concise Lincoln Library). Carbondale, Southern
Illinois University, 2012.
- Gillum Ferguson. "Illinois in the War of 1812." Urbana,
University of Illinois Press, 2012.
- Earl Hess. "The Civil War in the West." Chapel Hill, N.C.,
University of North Carolina Press, 2012.
- Frank Cicero Jr. "Relative Strangers: Italian Protestants in
a Catholic World." Chicago, Academy Chicago, 2011.
- Jason Emerson. "Giant in the Shadows: the Life of Robert T.
Lincoln." Carbondale, Southern Illinois University, 2012.
- Gary Krist. "City of Scoundrels: The 12 Days of Disaster
that Gave Birth to Modern Chicago." New York, Crown Publishers,
[Text from file received from
the Illinois Historic