Given the plethora of Lincoln biographies and campaign chronicles, it would be difficult to find a niche for this British...

READ REVIEW

LINCOLN AND THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR

Given the plethora of Lincoln biographies and campaign chronicles, it would be difficult to find a niche for this British import, a concise account of the Civil War and Lincoln's connection with it, even if it were not seriously weakened by degrading references to the Negro. Of antebellum restrictions on the Negro's opportunity to learn to read, the author says, ""The children seldom complained of not having lessons, and grown Negroes in those days were often very like children;"" of the Negro after emancipation, she states, ""Surprisingly few...were elected to State Conventions. But those few...had not the knowledge or experience to use their power wisely;"" of the Ku Klux Klan, she avers, ""...the secret societies did help to get matters under control."" This is not factually accurate or fair, and it is only regrettable that British children are being presented with such a distorted picture, whatever general merits the book may have as a narrative of the war.

Pub Date: Feb. 6, 1967

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Roy

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1967

Close Quickview