Book Review: LINCOLN: A PHOTOBIOGRAPHY
*NOTE: This review has been created for a class at TWU.
Image courtesy of: http://www.amazon.com

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Freedman, Russell. 1987. LINCOLN: A PHOTOBIOGRAPHY. New York, NY: Clarion Books. ISBN 0899193803

2. PLOT SUMMARY:
U.S. President Abraham Lincoln's biography is told in both pictures and words by Russell Freedman in LINCOLN: A PHOTOBIOGRAPHY. In seven chapters, Freedman details Lincoln's life, beginning with a general introduction discussing how Lincoln's image was captured by both those who knew him and modern day historians, and how we are still fascinated by the president who is now "admired as a folk hero." Using photographs, drawings, primary documents, and text, Freedman describes Lincoln from childhood to his death. The end of LINCOLN: A PHOTOBIOGRAPHY contains a section of quotes by the great man, a travel itinerary for those interested in following in his footsteps, a resource list of books about Lincoln, and a detailed index for easy reference.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS:
Accuracy is the most important criterion in judging a nonfiction title, and Russell Freedman's "photobiography" of Abraham Lincoln is both meticulously researched and highly accurate. Freedman has written over 50 books for young people, and LINCOLN: A PHOTOBIOGRAPHY is a Newbery Medal winner. In researching Lincoln's life, Freedman traveled in Lincoln's footsteps, gathering information from experts on Lincoln's life and work from around the United States. As a bonus for readers, the author shares his sources in the Acknowledgements section at the back of the book, along with a list of books about Lincoln with reading suggestions. Freedman also includes a list of historic sites that "played an important part in Lincoln's life, career, and death." The list includes a description and contact information so that we, too, can "walk in Lincoln's footsteps."

Yet accuracy is just scratches the surface of what LINCOLN: A PHOTOBIOGRAPHY has to offer. Apart from the first chapter, the book is organized in chronological order, beginning with Lincoln's birth and childhood, and ending with the President's untimely death. The first chapter, however, really grabs the reader's attention. Entitled "The Mysterious Mr. Lincoln," this chapter not only gives a short history of how Lincoln was viewed during his day up to the present noting the elusiveness of both man and myth, and clearly showing Freedman's passion for his subject matter. "Abraham Lincoln wasn't the sort of man who could lose himself in a crowd," writes the author, "After all, he stood six feet four inches tall, and to top it off, he wore a high silk hat."

Throughout the rest of the biography, Freedman uses a variety of techniques to engage the reader. In Chapter Two, lively comparisons evoke vivid images of Lincoln as a child. He is described as "a tall spider of a boy," growing fast and "shooting up like a sunflower." Later in the chapter, well-quotes from Lincoln's relatives further enhance the description, and the use of dialect puts the reader right into the time and place of Lincoln's childhood. The author quotes a cousin who describes Lincoln as "the gangliest awkwardest feller," who "would carry a book out to the field with him, so he could read at the end of each plow furrow, while the horse was getting its breath." Quotes are used again with great effect in the final chapter of Lincoln's life entitled, "Who is Dead in the White House?" Here, Freedman quotes Lincoln himself, saying, "I long ago made up my mind that if anyone wants to kill me, he will do it. If I wore a shirt of mail, and kept myself surrounded by a bodyguard, it would be all the same. There are a thousand ways of getting at a man if it is desired that he should be killed."

In other parts of LINCOLN: A PHOTOBIOGRAPHY, the attractive design engages the reader. As the author mentions in the first chapter, Lincoln was the most photographed man of his time, but Freedman doesn't simply sprinkle his text with photographs. Instead, he puts them in thought-provoking compositions, as in Chapter Four, where, along the bottom of the two-page spread, four photos of Lincoln from late 1860 to early 1861 show his transformation by growing a beard. The progression is both intriguing and humanizing. Photographs are not, however, the only type of visual element used in the book. Text is accompanied by manuscripts, engravings, and political cartoons. In Chapter Five, a political cartoon ridiculing Lincoln's clandestine arrival in Washington illustrates the following anecdotal description: "Word of Lincoln's secret night ride spread fast...They taunted him Lincoln as a hick with a high-pitched voice and a Kentucky twang, an ugly gorilla and baboon."

Finally, Freedman fills his "photobiography" with fascinating facts so numerous, there isn't space to list them all here, but one that sticks in this reader's mind is the fact that Lincoln had a house full of pets, including a goat, which slept on his son Tad's bed. Taken in total, all these techniques, the use of quotes, a variety of visual elements, the inclusion of anecdotes, fascinating facts, and lively comparisons, combine to create a biography of a great man that is engaging, thought-provoking, and humanizing. LINCOLN: A PHOTOBIOGRAPHY sets the bar high for juvenile biographies and works of non-fiction.



4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
Booklist Editor's Choice: "A realistic, perceptive, and unromanticized photobiography of Lincoln, including a sampler of quotations from his writings and speeches."

School Library Journal: "Well-organized and well-written, this is an outstanding example of what (juvenile) biography can be. Like Lincoln himself, it stands head and shoulders above its competition."

5. CONNECTIONS
*Explore Lincoln's life and times further with the aid of the PBS series "The American Experience." Compare and contrast the video documentary "Abraham and Mary Lincoln: A House Divided" with Freedman's book. Lesson plans to go with the film can be found at: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/lincolns/tguide/index.html

*LINCOLN: A PHOTOBIOGRAPHY is a great mentor text for students writing biographies of role models in their lives. Using it, along with other great biographies such as DARE TO DREAM: 25 EXTRAORDINARY LIVES (ISBN 1591022800) by Sandra McLeod Murphy, which offers engaging, short sketches easily accessible to reluctant readers and THE MAN WHO MADE TIME TRAVEL (ISBN 0374347883) written by Kathryn Lasky and illustrated by Kevin Hawkes, which exemplifies how to create a picture book biography, students can gather information on someone in their lives whom they admire to create their own biographical sketches. A starting point might be the list of monthly character traits used in many schools. Students could brainstorm people they know who share each character trait. Then, in mini-lessons, the teacher could demonstrate the craft of "showing, not telling" in writing. Students could then narrow their topic down to one character trait and role model, choosing someone whom they could interview. After conducting interviews with the role model and those who know the role models, students create either a "photobiography," biographical sketch, or picture book biography. Once the biography projects are complete, students invite the role models to a reading and present the projects to the role model as a gift. At Taylor Middle School, we do this project every year in December with the 7th grade students, and it is motivating for the students and memorable for the role models.