Customer Reviews

The Case of Abraham Lincoln: A Story of Adultery, Murder, and the Making of a Great President

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Fenster's book relates the events of Abraham Lincoln's life from March to November, 1856. It is remarkable how much of great importance happened to him or around him in that generally overlooked span. His legal career was burgeoning and the author offers accounts of cases big and small, none of which had I ever heard about before. The book leaves a clear depiction of his legal work, day in and day out. At the same time, it weaves in his growing political influence. Lincoln threw his lot in with the Republican Party in May of that year and sealed the deal in a speech at the first state convention that Fenster recreates with all the excitement of the moment. The world around Lincoln is well-rounded, including his fellow lawyers (Stuart, Edwards, Linder, etc.), fellow politicians ("dashing" William Bissell, also Browning, Koerner, etc.) the people of Springfield, his family, even his animals. The subtitle ("Adultery, Murder") refers to the Anderson murder case, a mystery worthy of "Law and Order." Lincoln had the chance to be on the prosecution side, but he turned it down and worked for the defense. THE CASE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN was recommended to me by a retired professor, a Lincoln scholar. I read it over the course of a day-and-a-half. For non-fiction, the storytelling ability is incredible and in conclusion, this is the first Lincoln book I've read in a while that's definitely not the S.O.S. (Same old s-).

When I bought this book, I wanted so much to like it. The author is from Upstate New York (where I am from originally) and the book purports to be about Lincoln and his representation of a client charged with murder. However, come to find out that Lincoln's involvement in this homicide case was merely peripheral. In fact, as another reviewer pointed out, Mr. Lincoln first gets involved in the case around page 200. Unfortunately, the publisher's marketing department knew that a sub-title of "The Story of Adultery, Murder, and the Making of a Great President" would sell more then "Lincoln, The Know-Nothings and the Anti-Nebraska Party." When Ms. Fenster describes the details involving the murder and the subsequent legal proceedings, the narrative flow is very smooth, but without any break in the narrative, she then goes on to discuss a minor will settlement that Lincoln handled. This made for a very difficult read, especially when the reader thinks Ms. Fenster is going to write about the murder trial, but instead interminably goes on about the birth of the Republican Party in Illinois. However, overall a good micro-study of not only Mr. Lincoln, but also the burgeoning state of Illinois in mid-19th century America.

The key is "the making of a great president". The book shifts gears regularly in each and every chapter and you want to learn more about this amazing person who would soon become swept up on a train that could not be stopped: the presidency.

I couldn't put it down. I was enthralled by the level of research put in as well as the writing style, which at first was confusing to me, but it all began to make sense as it becomes a book within a book.

He was politically savvy, motivated, and quick to move through trial if he saw a way to do so. Julie Fenster paints this picture of the future president and you could only gain more of an understanding and respect for how he did his business. He was also a family man and although rarely home, so down home in his ways that you could almost dismiss him - until he spoke. This man had vision and was somewhat awkward but brilliant in every way possible.

The key and important speeches, the trial that is an interesting part of this book, and the life of Abraham Lincoln as he, himself worked his way around the circuit courts and made all of the important rallies.

Well written and gets one to think that the right man was being brought up and educated along the way who would eventually save this union. The making of a great President, indeed!

This is worth the time in reading.

Being a serious Lincoln buff, I must have several hundred books about Lincoln in my library. That said, Julie M. Fenster's book is a welcome addition to that collection. But it is flawed.

The good: The book documents the pivotal year of 1856 as Lincoln juggles his busy law career with his growing political involvement during the birth of the Republican Party in Illinois and his personal life. As such, it offers a unique and interesting glimpse of an aspect of Lincoln's life in Springfield not normally covered in other books and it is also a fascinating account of life in Springfield at the time. In fact, it would be a good book for someone to take along when they visit Springfield.

The bad: It is hard to imagine that this book was proof-read. There are far too many grammatical errors, especially in the first half of the book. Unfortunately, some of those errors create ambiguities of meaning, leaving the reader unable to ascertain who or what the author is referring to. Being short (this book can be read in a single sitting or, if you are a slower reader like myself, in two sittings) there can really be no excuse that it wasn't carefully proof-read and edited. In addition, Ms. Fenster often chooses very unusual phrasing, making it difficult, if not impossible, to understand what she is trying to convey. That may simply be a result of regional dialects (I don't know where Ms. Fenster lives). In any case, I could not decipher what she meant quite often. Being a voracious reader, it's not often that I encounter such a problem.

Also, the book side-tracks too much. The reader is following a thread and then suddenly the author gets side-tracked talking about how a friend of a relative of an acquaintance of Lincoln was suing someone for $9 in another part of the state. We may even learn how tall that person was and what their general health was and what their wife's name was. I almost had the feeling that Ms. Fenster had a stack of note cards containing information that she collected during her research and that she tried sort them all into what would become the finished book - even including notes that had nothing to do with the subject of the book itself. To me, such information was useless filler. In fact, it was distracting and it interrupted the flow of the book. Without such filler, this book may have been a fine magazine article.

Also, Ms. Fenster has the unfortunate habit of telling us what people were thinking or how they were feeling at a particular moment in time. She would even describe their moods. I am not referring to Lincoln although she tells us what his inner thoughts were as well, but to neighbors and secondary characters she describes - people whose inner thoughts and feelings were certainly not documented. The danger in that is that such presumptions can taint an historical work. Ms. Fenster was understandably trying to fill out her story but, by taking such creative license, she has written a book that lacks in credibility to a degree and puts the book in the category of being historical fiction.

My final criticism also involves credibility: Some of the information she presents is factually incorrect. I was about to refer to one glaring error that Ms. Fenster made that even most schoolchildren might have caught but I decided to not mention it specifically because it might be considered to be nit-picking on my part. But such obvious errors make me lose confidence in other information presented in this book.

All that said, I enjoyed this book and I am happy to have it as an addition to my Lincoln Library. But the potential reader should be aware that this is not a book to serve the Lincoln scholar but it is fine reading for the casual reader interested in our greatest president and who takes much of it with the proverbial grain of salt.

( I did not buy from Amazon. Review is based on unabridged audiobook from library. )

Shakespeare observed "some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon 'em". Abraham Lincoln, I think, had at least those last two.

"The Case of Abraham Lincoln" tells the story as Lincoln's path to greatness passed through 1856. During that year he had one foot in his law practice and was placing another in the political ring with the emerging Republican Party (the "Grand New Party" back then). It's fascinating to see Lincoln in both worlds. And knowing what was to come, fascinating to see his leadership tested so far in advance of the tragedy of the Civil War.

We know so much about Lincoln. The story of his childhood in a log cabin through to his presidency and assassination is such a powerful narrative. "The Case of Abraham Lincoln" looks closely at a pivotal point in Lincoln's life and gives us fresh insight into how a good man achieved greatness.

The Case of Abraham Lincoln is a delightfully easy book to read. It is insightful as it delivers facts through amusing anecdotes that keep the time-dependent culture in tact. Through the life stories you can get a sense of the true Lincoln, his internal dilemmas as well as the way he chose to present himself to the external world. What I found truly amazing is that this book not only gives the reader a feeling of what Lincoln was going through and what his trials and tribulations were but also what others in his time were going through at the same time. This is not a one side distorted view of the world but an evenly distributed account of events during the selected time that Ms. Fenster researched. I would highly recommend this read to anyone interested in the man, Abraham Lincoln.

I heard Julie Fenster on the radio during her tour of Indiana, and something about her clever, no-nonsense way of speaking sparked my interest in her book - the first "political" book I've bought since I don't know when. The book didn't disappoint. It's highly readable, in the style of Walter Lord or Barbara Tuchman. And it's not overwhelming. It follows Lincoln through the course of five or six months, simultaneously recording the events of a murder case which culminates his year. I got what I wanted...a taste of Lincoln's moods and his reactions to unusual situations. I highly recommend the book, and not just to Lincoln-o-philes. It's a treat for anyone who likes history served up with a distinctive literary voice.

A view back on the trial attorney, Mr. Lincoln, during a critical year (1856), as the just emerging Republican Party takes hold in Illinois. Will be greatly enjoyed by all those interested in the pre-presidential Lincoln and the state court system within which he operated while living in Springfield.

In her compelling story, Ms. Fenster gracefully, and with nice touches of humor, interweaves and captures the day-by-day life of Mr. Lincoln and other lawyers riding circuit; the mystery of a major local murder case; and Mr. Lincoln's concurrent political spade work related to building a party to block the expansion of slavery. One better understands from reading this book the talents, drive, and personal character of Abraham Lincoln: they ultimately served to lead him to the White House and greatness.

I bought this book as a gift for my husband who is interested in Lincoln, the law, and political science. He found the book to be informative, entertaining, and well-written.

The "Case of Abraham Lincoln" is a well written book, interesting, informative and fun to read. Anyone intersted in Abraham Lincoln, the history of the 1850's, politics or human nature will benefit from this reading.