The Portable Abraham Lincoln is just that, a small book packed with nothing but Lincoln's words and ideas, from the famous debates with Stephen Douglas to his immortal 2nd Inaguaral Address.

Mixed throughout the speeches are letters, both public and private, which reveal his inner thoughts and animating philosophy. Included is his short and moving letter to Mrs. Lydia Bixby, featured in the movie Saving Private Ryan, which is the most eloquent expression of patriotic grief I have ever read.

The book is organized in themes, from his emergence of a polictian to his writings as Chief Executive and as Commander-in-Chief, and ending up with Fate.

This book is for people who want to go beyond the soundbytes featured in documentaries; it places those famous phrases in the context of the entire speech and the commentary is kept to a minimum, showing respect for the reader.

I found this novel about Mary Lincoln to be an informative biography about a very misunderstood historical lady. Mrs. Lincoln's behavior would not have been questioned in the present day. She was an eccentric, ambitious, intelligent woman who very obviously supported her husband's rise to the Presidency and believed in the preservation of the Union. Mrs. Lincoln suffered through illnesses, slander and gossip and unimaginable tragedies while in Springfield and in Washington during the Civil War. Then with President Lincoln's assination she was expected to live in a world where she no longer had her greatest supporter and protector. Mary Lincoln was a lady born before her time; in modern day her intelligence and drive would have been respected. Ishbel Ross' use of historical documentation of Mary Lincoln's life to describe the life of this amazing, intelligent and many times erratic woman shows much research on the subject.

"Responsibility without power is slavery. Power without responsibility is tyranny".

Nestled within the opening pages of C.Eric Lincoln's book, the above quote let's you know you should strap yourself in for a soul-searching ride. Lincoln covers a lot of ground in this book - he looks at the structure of power in America from the 1600's to the present, the formation of the Black church as a cultural necessity and formed by borrowing the only religion offered, though incompletely and bastardized as it was to Blackamericans (as he refers to them), and how Christianity has become more concerned with preserving Western culture than promoting values of the faith. He also puts forth an admirable argument for preserving affirmative action, and how the struggles of Blackamericans are different from any other minority or ethnic group, and should be treated as such.

Nevertheless,the reason for four stars and not five is that Lincoln seems to say the Black Christian church can't be held responsible for doing anything more in the struggle to change the present imbalance in America - that they are already morally superior to any other religious offering out there.

Guess it's just my problem with Christianity in general...

I found this book to be interesting for its personal stories and perspective, but this is also what makes its downfall. Lamon was a personal acquaintance of Lincoln's and it is evident that he revered the man greatly. This gives way to much bias being placed on Lamon's accounts, failing to mention many negative things about the assassinated president. Lamon refrains from using opinionated words in much of the biography, but his personal opinions are sometimes evident. This book is kept interesting through his personal stories and the hand-written letters that are included. It is good as a resource about Abraham Lincoln, but take Lamon's opinions with a grain of salt.

At first I thought it was rather strange that the time frame for "The Rise of the Cities" in The Drama of American History series was 1820-1920, but the emphasis of this volume is on the shift in the United States from an agrarian to an urban population. But Christopher Collier & James Lincoln Collier are also describing the rather unique American cities that developed, where populations essentially exploded during the 19th-century (e.g., Chicago was the fastest growing city in the world between 1875 and 1900).

"The Rise of the Cities" is covered in six chapters: (1) The First American Cities looks at their uniqueness; most of them were port cities that thrived on commerce, but by the start of the 19th-century there was a different type of city springing up in the hinterlands where industrialization was key; (2) The Explosion of Cities charts the difference in size and location of the nation's largest cities from 1820 to 1920 as American became a nation of city dwellers instead of farmers; (3) Technology and the City introduces students to the idea of urban infrastructure and also looks at how not only transportation but changes in construction materials altered the look of cities, which became major centers of entertainment for the workers; (4) City Problems looks at how the quick growth of cities resulted in the creation of slums, as well as numerous infrastructure problems; (5) The Failure of City Government is a fascinating chapter that looks at how the political machines, such as Boss Tweed's infamous Tammany Hall, evolved and dominated big city politics; and (6) Reform covers the movement that swept America in the last decades of the 19th-century, through the efforts of muckrakers like Lincoln Steffens and Ida Tarbell, as well as the pioneering work in sociological reform by Jacob Riis, but also a response to catastrophes such as the Galveston Flood and the Triangle Shirt Factory fire.

As with all of the volumes in The Drama of American History series, "The Rise of the Cities" focuses on the big issues of the subject under examination. If I consider this to be the least valuable volume I have read to date then that is certainly because of the topic under discussion rather than how the Colliers present the material. The urbanization of the United States, while important, just does not lend itself to the same sort of analysis as other topics. The book has historic illustrations and photographs throughout and some charts that but the rise of American cities in historical perspective. Even if a teacher is not ample to have their students read these volumes, then they can still benefit from using what the Colliers have put together as a way of developing the central core of this topic. Certainly, a solid classroom lecture on "The Rise of the Cities" could be constructed from what you find here.

I've used this unit study twice now for homeschooling. The first time I was frustrated wading through the minutia of detail provided for setting up the experiments. The author gives way too much instruction on how to do things, but I guess he's aiming to make sure even the logically impaired can make the experiments work.

Beyond that annoyance, the concepts taught are wonderful. My 13, 11, 4 & 2 have all enjoyed running the experiments and have learned a tremendous amount. Now as we drive through the countryside my children will point out meanderers, etc. to me. I've noticed that when they're playing outside in the mud and water they are using and talking about the principles of silt deposit, erosion, deltas and waterfalls that they learned from this unit study.

This unit study is simply wonderful at reinforcing earth science concepts through hands-on experiments and re-creation of a river...It addresses the California state science standards for erosion particularly well, if that is important to you.

David Collins has presented an enigmatic character in a compassionate and lively manner. Mrs. Lincoln's instability is legendary, but when examined in a modern context it becomes more understandable -- even bogus! Given all the tragedies in her life, plus the possibility of medical problems (it is reported that both she and President Lincoln were plagued with migraines) it is amazing that she fared as well as she did. Collins starts with her insanity trial then journeys back to lay the stage for her son's action. Even though some might question the loyalty of a son who was declaring his mother insane, Collins manages to present him also in a sympathetic manner. This is a very engaging book that both I and my nine-year-old son enjoyed. With its handy index, it would also be a good volume for students preparing research projects.

This is a well-written and researched guide to a number of the famous ships of exploration, from Cook's ships to some that are exploring currently. Fans of Antarctic exploration in particular will be pleased to see Scott's Terra Nova, Shackleton's Nimrod and Endurance, Charcot's Pourquoi-Pas?, Amundsen's Fram, and other great ships of the Antarctic included, with rare photographs and descriptions of their entire career. Causing the book to lose one star, in my ratings estimation, is the inexplicable absence of the Aurora, the ship used in the 1912 expedition of Douglas Mawson and later as the Ross Sea supporting ship for the 1914 Shackleton expedition. Other than that, a worthwhile addition to the library of anyone interested in exploration, adventure, and great ships.

I have this book and use it at school. It is great for teaching students about different kinds of rocks. You will need a set of rocks to do the activities in this book. Once you get you set of rocks you have lots of fun and exciting activities to do with your children.

"The Story of Ford's Theater and the Death of Lincoln" really does focus on the assassination of the President has more photographs of Ford's Theater than it does specific history on the actual theater. Zachary Kent's narrative begins with the mortally wounded Lincoln being carried from Ford's Theater across the street to William Petersen's boardinghouse and then goes back in time to cover Lincoln's election and the Civil War, setting up what happened in the first two weeks of April 1865. Kent, who has been studying the Presidents and collecting items about America's leaders since he was a child, covers the assassination attempt in its entirety, from the plotting of the conspirators, to the assassination attempts on Lincoln and other leaders of the government, the death watch on the President, and the final fate of the conspirators. Warning: while there are contemporary photographs of Ford's Theater and the Petersen House, along with reproductions of broadsides and artwork of these events, there is also a photograph of the four conspirators hanging on the gallows. I have to question whether that particular photo was necessary to include in a book published by Children's Press for upper elementary students, especially since the book already has photographs of each of the conspirators and there are several photos of the four condemned on the gallows before the traps were released. This book is part of the "Cornerstones of Freedom" series, which covers events in American History from the Mayflower Compact to Apollo 11.