Customer Reviews

The Physical Lincoln

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The author's hypothesis that Abraham Lincoln was suffering from a genetic disorder, MEN2B, is a fascinating read. The author is a medical techincal advisor for the television series House, MD. Reading this book feels like reading an episode of this series, only on a historical figure. Until such time as the author's hypothesis is tested and proved or disproved I will never read another biography of Abraham Lincoln without thinking about this book.

If you are interested in Abraham Lincoln, you will find reading this book well worth your time.

Lincoln stays in the news...they have a new DNA test that will give a better picture of his health problems! If you enjoy history, then you will enjoy this book.

A very thoughtful and thorough book on Lincoln from the perspective of his physiology, well-written and surprisingly easy to absorb given the extensive detail, evidence and data. If you're a fan of presidents or specifically of one of our best, I suspect you'll probably enjoy how the author uncovers (through exhaustive research) Lincoln's physical frailties. It's not a light literary romp(I definitely looked up a few words and had to read sections over to make sure I grasped them), but it was totally worth the investment!

In "The Physical Lincoln", Dr. John Sotos dispels the commonly held belief among medical personnel- that Abraham Lincoln, with his tall stature and gangly appearance, had Marfan's syndrome. Sotos, a distinguished presidential medical historian, as evidenced by his website 'Doctor Zebra', has written a book that can be read and appreciated by lay persons as well as medical professionals. Sotos convincingly presents the case that Lincoln, in fact, suffered from a rare genetic syndrome known as multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2b, or MEN2B. His theory is embellished by nearly 200 photographs that provide graphic evidence to convincingly support his hypothesis. In addition, his scholarly research cites over 800 references. Just when one thinks that nothing new can be written about our 16th president, John Sotos has managed to break new ground with this well-written, compelling book. He has managed a truly unique achievement: he has written a scholarly work that can be enjoyed by both and non-medical readers alike, that reads like a page-turning novel. Well done Dr. Sotos!

These two books by Dr. Sotos are very important contributions to Lincoln scholarship, essential reading for Lincolnists.