The Physical Lincoln Complete [Hardcover]

John G. Sotos (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 23, 2008

The Physical Lincoln Complete combines two groundbreaking books -- The Physical Lincoln and The Physical Lincoln Sourcebook -- into one handy volume. It is the ultimate guide to the startling health history of Abraham Lincoln and his family. The first book, The Physical Lincoln, offers a solution to one of the most enduring mysteries in American history: What made Abraham Lincoln so tall, thin, and less than attractive? What gave him his long limbs, large feet, high voice, odd lips, sluggish bowels, and astonishing joint flexibility? The never-before-proposed solution points to Lincoln's DNA and the rare genetic disorder called MEN2B. In addition to producing Lincoln's remarkable body shape, MEN2B gave him a sad-looking face that, for more than 150 years, has been consistently misinterpreted as depression. It tragically took his mother and three of his sons at early ages (Eddie, Willie, and Tad), and it was killing Lincoln in his last years. The Physical Lincoln upends the myth of a physically vibrant President, showing that, had he not been shot, Lincoln would have died from advanced cancer in less than a year, the result of MEN2B. Written in clear, non-technical language for the general reader, and using more than 180 illustrations, The Physical Lincoln offers fundamental new insights into Lincoln, and is the perfect book to stimulate a young person's interest in science and medicine. The second book, The Physical Lincoln Sourcebook, organizes more than 5900 fully-referenced historical facts and three family trees into the fullest possible medical record for Lincoln and his family members. Nine special topics explore major issues such as Lincoln's smallpox, his gait, his shooting, the possibility that he had syphilis, and the innumerable medical complaints of Mary Lincoln, his wife. Heavily annotated throughout, with an extensive bibliography and an on-line full-text index of the main sections, The Physical Lincoln Sourcebook is the definitive, comprehensive reference to all facets of Lincoln's anatomy and physiology. Scholars, Lincoln presenters, and anyone truly wishing to understand Abraham Lincoln will find it indispensable. See www.physical-lincoln.com for more information.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 820 pages
• Publisher: Mt. Vernon Book Systems; annotated edition edition (August 23, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0981819346
• ISBN-13: 978-0981819341
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 7.3 x 2.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,603,263 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lincoln, the complete man, August 6, 2011

By 

Susan K. O'brien - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Physical Lincoln Complete (Paperback)

This wonderful book left me with an unexpected reward: I felt close to Lincoln, and felt I knew him for the first time not as an icon of history or even a great president, but as a complete human being. It is exhaustively, and so very professionally, researched. The extensive footnoting and sections on the details of Lincoln's family are irreplaceable and I read every single one of them as the author builds his multiple contentions like a crack attorney. I was fascinated to learn, for the first time, so much about Tad. The author is a relentless self-critic, careful always to point out that what he has come to believe as a doctor (and nearly proven so far as is possible) is subject to his own scrutiny. He will tell you when there is a possibility he is wrong. What I cannot understand is why this author is not allowed to test DNA, to set straight once and for all how Lincoln's genetics and health were affecting him. Why do we wish to know? If you have come to love Lincoln, as I have, you want to know everything about his life and health, just as you would about anyone in your family who became ill. It also helps to consider the strong possibility that Lincoln would have possibly died within a few months of his assassination; perhaps in this way his death so young has some added meaning, cold comfort though this is. The further layers of consideration of what health should mean to the American public considering a candidate for President are provocative, especially in this day and age when we can have so much more solid information available. Thank you, Dr. Sotos, for the almost superhuman energy and devotion to detail it must have taken to write this historically essential book. The one wish I had after reading it: I wish we could view a photograph of Lincoln smiling, particularly given the voluminous number of anecdotes confirming his great sense of humor and love of laughter. But perhaps such a photo does not even exist for I think if it did, this author would have found it.

I wish there were more than five stars to give this book.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's Like a Sherlock Holmes Story --Only Real!, December 30, 2008

By 

Kim in Bonita "Kim" (Bonita, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Physical Lincoln Complete (Paperback)

I have always been facinated by Abraham Lincoln and his life. This book fed my Lincoln obsession with gusto. It's a facinating look at the physical aspects of Lincoln, the possible differential diagnosis of both his appearance and anecdotal information(Gregory House could do no better.)Several of our presidents (Kennedy, Roosevelt, etc.) have had diseases that have effected their lives and presidency; now we know that Lincoln is probably one of them. Each chapter blows you away with new information about Lincoln and his possible maladies. It also gives you a new appreciation of the man and his abilities. This is a must book for anyone who likes American History. It adds a new dimension to how we look at historical figures. Until you know their physical history, you don't have the full picture of the person. Well worth the read.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Super-Human Effort, February 9, 2009

By 

Eliot A. Kopp (Florida) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Physical Lincoln Complete (Paperback)

Dr. Sotos has created an amazing compendium of Lincoln medical information, along with world-class note and bibliographical sections. I'm simply amazed that he was able to gather and synthesize the many primary sources which are put forward in his attempt to prove that Lincoln was a victim of a genetic disease called MEN2B. Before attempting to prove his hypothesis, the doctor destroys arguments which favor the president's affliction as Marfan's Syndrome. I ordered both The Physical Lincoln and The Physical Lincoln Sourcebook (they come as one book in edition 1.1). I cannot recommend these two books enough for those with an interest not only in what might have ailed Lincoln, but what others of his time thought of his features as well. Truly a super-human effort on the part of Dr. Sotos. I will certainly purchase updated versions of this fantastic and much needed resource.