2020: Book #33

“Mary Todd Lincoln was nobody’s idea of a good time.”

I laughed out at that statement.
Literally, I laughed out loud.

That’s a sentence from S.C. Gwynne’s new book, “Hymns of the Republic: The Story of the Final Year of the American Civil War.”

This is a stellar read.

My one disappointment is that there wasn’t more Lincoln.

Gwynne spent most of his time looking toward the battlefield and not Washington D.C.

His chapter on Grant’s battle with alcohol is scholarly and moving.

Civil War junkies will love this book.

There’s no new information information or theory.

I will say his treatment of Lincoln is brutal.  Gwynne does not in any way bow to the legend or myth of Lincoln.

Good read.

4 out of 5 stars for me.

That’s book #33 for 2020.

19 more to go.

Remember, all leaders are readers.
If you want to be a better leader…be a reader.
#52in2020

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