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Lincoln and Whitman: Parallel lives in Civil War Washington

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Two behemoth men at a time of great crisis in our country, manage to find themselves in the same city at the same time, and the great mystery becomes, do they meet? This question is addressed in the highly enjoyable and highly readable book, Lincoln and Whitman: Parallel Lives in Civil War Washington". In this tome, the reader discovers a deeper understanding of both Lincoln and Whitman, amazingly, through the eyes of each other.

It seems natural to have both of these men appear in a book with each other, as the two are linked somewhat through the times in which they lived and the recognition of their stunning intellect. And the book reads very naturally, moving from one story to another without any interruption. The Lincoln and Whitman presented in the book are demystified, and very much human. Perhaps the closeness of their supposed contact allows us a literary entrance into their lives. As Whitman sympathizes with Lincoln, so do we. As Lincoln wonders about the wild man and shows him respect, so do we, building on connections with each other that are timeless.

One thing that struck me was Whitman's volunteer efforts in hospitals in the DC area. Knowing that he did that, I never knew just how deeply it effected him and the lives of the soldiers that he visited. Well documented, even with quotes from Whitman's own letters, he expresses his care and concern for the men, many of whom suffered very painful deaths, but were someone appeased by the poet who talked with them and held their hand. It might be tempting to draw conclusions based on Whitman's sexuality, but Epstein respects the poet, and his readers, enough not to do that.

Refreshingly, the author doesn't shy away at all from Whitman's romantic life, detailing the men that inhabited his life. We are with Whitman the night he meets Peter Doyle on that street car, starting a seven year relationship despite a huge age gap. I was even more surprised to learn that Doyle himself was in Ford's Theater, sitting directly across from Lincoln, the night he was assassinated. Doyle's story lends credence to Whitman's undertaking as a Lincoln expert later in his life.

Almost a third character in the story is Washington DC itself. Painfully recreating the town, Epstein brings the 1860's capital alive unlike other writers have in the past. The muddy streets, the horrible smells, the buildings all come alive with fresh, succinct descriptions that are wonderfully detailed. Being a visitor to the city many times, I began to "see" it in a different, exciting way.

As we wander through both of these extraordinary Americans lives, we come to love both men for their individuality and their connections. And as the book concludes in an amazing, heartbreaking way, we find ourselves sorry that the tale ends, craving more knowledge of them both, separate and together, bringing history alive in a way that hasn't for some time. I'm eagerly awaiting Daniel Mark Epstein's next book, while reading and re-reading this one for times to come.

Daniel Mark Epstein succeeds at what seems simple, but in truth is a daunting task: combining the literary and the historical in a moving, evocative narrative. The book gracefully moves between and across the lives of Lincoln and Whitman, with a cathartic spirit uniting the stories of both men. Epstein makes no claims that the spiritual union was, in reality, anything more than a parallel, largely reliant on the troubled times (and Whitman's obsession...or coincidence). There is a somewhat amplified mysticism surrounding Lincoln and Whitman as "characters" in this historical narrative, but such characterization errs more often on the positive than it does otherwise. The parallels between the lives of both men are compelling, revealing, and informative, and the ending is truly poignant. Civil War Washington also comes alive with a mapmaker's eye and a storyteller's gift for detail. Wonderful!

Please note that the Publisher's Weekly review is wildly inaccurate itself. Whitman was not a copperhead, and he certainly did not think the Union's cause in the war was absurd. I wonder if the reviewer is confusing Whitman with Hawthorne, but if not, clearly he is not a Whitman scholar. Do copperheads publish recruitment poems in major Northern publication (Beat! Beat! Drums! in the Boston Evening Transcript, the New York Leader and Harpers Weekly)? Do they consider joining the fight, as Whitman actually did despite being in his early 40s? No, Whitman actually had ambivalent feelings about Lincoln before the 1860 election, he opposed Republican efforts to centralize governmental power, and he argued for peace before the war began, but once it did, he was behind the effort, and after going to Fredricksburg to find his brother and subsequently serving in some of the army's hospitals, he still was essentially behind it, despite his concerns about the manner in which is was conducted, his deep sadness for the fratricidal nature of it, and his concerns for its potential to open the door for post-war anti-democratic problems.

Epstein's book is flawed, I think, because it refuses to admit that Whitman dared to argue outside of Lincolnian rhetoric, but this is a matter of critical differences between us. The difference is that when my study of Lincoln's cultural narrative and its influence on American thought and literature is published with its chapter on Whitman within (look for it in a few years!), any argument with Epstein will have behind it months of research. And you can be assured that I would never be so irresponsible as to tell people not to read a book if I did not have the critical foundations to make such a recommendation.

Eric Foner is a respected scholar, a professor at Columbia. Amazon would do well not to pair a review from someone like him with one so obviously written out of ignorance.

This double biography of two great Americans is a narrative tour-de-force, a compelling page-turner built on a rock-solid foundation of meticulous research. Epstein deftly weaves together the lives of the poet and the President, setting each character in bold relief against the richly-described backdrop of the Civil War. The original approach is a great contribution to literary and historical scholarship, showing each of these iconic figures in a revelatory new light. Many have described how Lincoln inspired some of Whitman's greatest poetry. Epstein is THE FIRST to make a persuasive argument -- by ingenious historical analysis and insightful comparison of passages from "Leaves of Grass" and Lincoln's speeches -- that the poet influenced the President. This book belongs on the shelf next to Gary Wills' Pulitzer-prize winning "Lincoln at Gettysburg."

This is a profoundly moving work, which should be read with pleasure by any admirer of the Great Emancipator or America's Great Poet. Although Abraham Lincoln and Walt Whitman are dead, their spirits live; and in this volume, Daniel Mark Epstein has again clothed them in flesh and blood and restored the breath of life. You will find yourself in the Lincoln and Herndon law office in 1857 as the merits of Leaves Of Grass are debated by the law partners and their young clerks; you will stand alongside Whitman on the corner of Fourteenth and L streets in Washington in 1863 as he awaits the president and the opportunity to offer a friendly wave.

As far as history knows, the two men never formally met, though they came tantalizingly close to doing so on more than one occasion. Yet as Epstein notes in the subtitle of this book, they lived parallel lives in Civil War Washington. While Lincoln struggled to hold the union together, Whitman tenderly nursed the young men who were maimed by the tens of thousands on the great battlefields of that war. While Lincoln struggled with the insurgency in his own ranks from Treasury Secretary Samuel Chase, Whitman vainly pursued a federal job in the secretary's domain. Although Whitman had already created the bulk of his greatest works by 1865, the death of Lincoln provided the well-spring for a glorious last hurrah, including the grand panorama of "When Lilacs Last in the Door-yard Bloom'd" and the poet's best known offspring, "O Captain, My Captain."

Indeed, the assassination only strengthened the bond linking these two men of genius. Especially poignant is the last chapter, which takes place 22 years after Booth's dark deed. Whitman presents a talk on Lincoln at the Madison Square Theater to an audience that includes luminaries such as Mark Twain and William Dean Howells. Playing out at the same moment was one of the afterwords of Lincoln's earthly life, as his casket was moved, opened and reburied at his final resting place in Springfield.

Epstein brings an historian's skill and a poet's passion to this work. Read this book with an open mind and an open heart, and be ready to appreciate the great souls that sometimes walk alongside us.--William C. Hall

Epstein hits the ground running in this extraordinary blend of dramatic storytelling and lit crit, and he never lets up until the final page. Everyone has always known that Whitman was influenced by Lincoln, but it has been a matter of heated controversy for many years as to whether Lincoln was or was not influenced by "Leaves of Grass." Epstein proves this beyond any reasonable doubt in the first thirty pages, as he introduces us into the gritty atmosphere of Lincoln's law office in the 1850s. He follows the two men to Washington, D.C. during the Civil War, and his capturing of their two characters and their struggles, as their paths cross and shadow one another during that intense period, is a literary and historical tour de force. One of my favorite books about the Civil War.

Bernard Northrop

Providence, R.I.

This book is about Walt Whitman's relationship with Abraham Lincoln. The two never formally met, yet both were profoundly influenced by the other.

At times it was hard to decide if Epstein was writing history, historical fiction, or a literature book. He seamlessly weaves Whitman's poetry into his narrative and discusses the roots of the imagery the poet used. I found the Whitman portrayed by Epstein to be a fascinating, unusual person indeed.

If you are seeking general information about Lincoln, this is not the book for you. If you are a Lincoln admirer who wants a new perspective on the president and the times he lived in, I would encourage you to read this book. If you are interested in Walt Whitman, this book is a must-read as it is important both from the biographical and literary stand-point.

I have read numerous Lincoln books and they basically tell the same stories I've read before. This book is very different. The author is able to weave Lincoln's and Whitman's lives together even though they never met. Some of the comparisons between Lincoln's speeches and Whitman's writings are uncanny. The author also provides a refreshing, intimate view of Washington life during this period - the politics, famous people, events, day to day life, not to mention how to get a government job. Obviously you can see that I am not a book reviewer, but I have to recommend this book. The fusion of history and poetry duirng this difficult time is fasinating. I just wish these two great men (with their flaws) could have sat down at one point and actually talked. Oh what a story that would have been! Also thanks for helping me better understand Whitman.

I thought that this book was very moving, and successfully portrays two men who completely embody the Civil War. The title of the book is very appropriate, because the number of instances in which Walt Whitman and Abraham Lincoln's lives crossed is quite interesting. Lincoln was one of the greatest presidents who was responsible for emancipating those under slavery. Whitman was one of the greatest poets of all time, and had a huge amount of respect towards Abraham Lincoln.

I found it very interesting that Lincoln and Whitman had never officially met, yet they had both listened or read eachother's words at very crucial times in each of their own lives. Both had so much complete and utmost respect for the other person, and that is clearly seen from the moment that Lincoln reads Whitman's famous book of poems, "Leaves of Grass," until Whitman composed the famous elegy after Lincoln was assasinated.

Both of these men had the same vision of democracy,and Epstein did a great job showing the effect that the war had on these two men. I didn't know that Whitman had volunteered at a hospital during the war, and learning what a huge impact the wounded soldiers had on Whitman and his writing was very interesting. The book also showed the huge toll that the Civil War had on Lincoln, especially when families and loved ones were torn apart because of the war.

I loved how Epstein showed the increasing amount of honor that Whitman had for Lincoln after he was assasinated. His poem, "O Captain, My Captain," is a prime example of just how much admiration that Whitman had for the beloved president. In fact, my favorite part of this book came in the last chapter of the book over twenty years after Lincoln had died. Whitman gave a final speech on Lincoln at Madison Square Theater in front of such people as Mark Twain.

Epstein does a great job of showing the incredible amount of passion that both Walt Whitman and Abraham Lincoln had for life. Both men lived by eachother's words and had an amazing amount of respect for one another, it definitely makes me wish that they would have gotten the chance to know each other personally.

Mark Daniel Epstein is an author of varied genres from history to poetry to novels. In this 2004 book he explores in a fairly short but succinct and well written account the parallel lives of two geniuses:
Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) and Walt Whitman (1819-1892).
Whole libraries are devoted to the life of our 16th martyred president Abraham Lincoln. In this book, however, Epstein focuses on Lincoln's interest in literature and his yearly life in the White House. We see him picking up a copy of Whitman's "Leaves of Grass" in his dusty Illinois office in 1857. The book was in the possession of William Herndon Lincoln's literature loving partner in Springfield. We learn that Lincoln read few books but digested them well in his photographic memory brain. He loved Shakespeare, and was well versed in the King James Version of the Bible. Lincoln memorized poetry and had also written melancholic verses as he pondered the sad past and memories of home.
Walt Whitman first saw Lincoln in New York as the president-elect was on his way to take the oath of office as chief executive in that dangerous March of 1861. Whitman left his New York home taking a series of job in wartime Washington. He often saw Lincoln and bowed to him as the burdened president rode to his retreat The Soldier's Home where he rested from his duties. Whitman and Lincoln never met though Whitman did see him close up on the White House in October, 1863. Whitman had been invited to the Executive Estate by his friend and Lincoln's private secretary John Hay. (Hay would later become the Secretary of State in the McKinley administration).
Epstein delves into the homosexual liasons entered into by Whitman dubbed the "good gray poet." Whitman often visited wounded and dying soldiers in the many hospitals in the Washington area. Some of these soldiers became his lovers. Though he wrote his best lyrical poetry prior to the war, Whitman did publish "Drum-Taps" and new editions of "Leaves of Grass" during the time of the great rebellion. His most elegaic poem lamenting the loss of Lincoln who had been assassinated at Ford's Theatre was "While Lilacs in the Last Dooryard Bloomed". This poem and "O Captain my Captain" voice in poetry the deep grief Whitman experienced a the loss of a man he called "The Hoosier Michelangelo."
The best and most poignant chapter is the last one in the book. In that chapter we see Whitman quoting poetry and memories of Lincoln with a glittering audience of admirers such as Mark Twain in a New York theatre in April 1878. Whitmans was an egotistical self-promoter but he was also a patriot who loved America and the martyred president.
Epstein is himself a poet. He is expert in explaining the genius of Whitman;s poetry. He has recently published a new book "The Lincolns" examining the married life of Abraham and Mary Tood Lincoln. Epstein's fine work in literature and history are a potent combination. This book is a fine biography for lovers of American history, poetry and how life was lived in the mid Victorian and Civil War eras. Recommended.