Philip B. KunhardtCritiques

I have read many books on Lincoln and the Civil War. This book is among the most accurate and complete among them all. The photos are marvelous, and the narrative provides a full understanding of the man and his marvelous work to save the union and restructure the political and social fabric of the country. We remember that Lincoln was a constitutionalist but also a visionary on the changes in the polity that had to occur before the original dream of the authors of the Declaration of Independence could be realized.

Delightful look back at history of humour from Life maga

Read while on the Miller Farm in southern Illinois. Interesting, nice pics, good background info about Lincoln I did not know.

fun! an interesting picture of the 50s. i'm sure kids would love it. the pictures would be great for writing assignments

I loved almost everything about this book. I found the grouping of the Presidents to be a unique and fascinating method of looking at them. It worked quite well and made the reading more interesting than the usual chronological ordering. Many of the pictures and snippets of information were also new to me and I found them to be most entertaining and informative. This book was a great addition to my collection.

Even if this book had no text, I think that anyone truly interested in Lincoln would want it on their bookshelf. The father and grandfather of the two authors Frederick Hill Meserve collected thousands of photographs related to Abraham Lincoln. Three hundred of them have been gathered in this book, some published for the first time. Particularly interesting is a series of portraits of Lincoln from 1846 to 1865. Another standout is a photograph of Lincoln's second inauguration. Enlarged details show John Wilkes Booth in a privileged place, as well as most of the conspirators in league with him in a somewhat less prominent place, but right in front of the camera.

The text tells the story of the assassination and continues until the final burial in Springfield, the twenty days of the title. It is detailed and moving, although it raises some interesting questions at the same time. Interpolated into this, is, in brief, the story of the trial of the conspirators and the resulting execution of four of them, which took a longer period of time. This section is the weakest of the book; there is no bibliography or notes, and I missed them the most here. I had been particularly interested in the issue of their guilt or innocence, and while the Kunhardts speak vaguely of governmental tampering with the witnesses, there is no substance nor anyway to track it down.

I keep a copy of Life Smiles Back in my classroom for my adult students to look at. They love the humor.

This is a great treasure of Lincoln anecdotes, photographs and history -- a wonderful book for browsing. Includes rare and fascinating photos, reminiscences of people who knew him, samples of Lincoln’s own writings and more.½

The pictures in here are tremendous and you learn an awful lot about one of the greatest Americans ever to live. If you care at all about circuses and carny folks, this is a must-purchase book for your collection.

This is the typical "coffe-table book" but I read it all. Filled with lots of information and lots of photos.½

A collection of the "Miscellany" humor photographs from the last page of the old "Life" magazine. Humorous and entertaining; the only quibble is that the annotation is not the original glib and clever writing from "Miscellany", and suffers by comparison.½

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