Swados, Elizabeth. The four of us. The story of a family. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, c1991. (Book review)

In the history of disease is there any other that wreaks as much havoc on family life as does mental illness? Elizabeth Swados, a successful author and musician, shares her story of a family torn apart by dysfunction, culminating in dual suicide. The family's inability to cope with the symptoms of schizophrenia, "with severe paranoid tendencies" of Elizabeth's older and talented brother (Lincoln), serves as the cornerstone for this memoir. By devoting a separate chapter to each family member, Swados succeeds in conveying the effect of Lincoln's illness on individual family members and, ultimately, on the family as a whole. In attempting to come to terms with her mother's depression, which has rendered her "unreachable," Swados observes that "research in mental illness hadn't come up with an explanation of schizophrenia that might have lessened some of the blame on her." This criticism of psychiatry 's inability to relieve the feelings of frustration and helplessness experienced by family members, while harsh, is not uncommon.

While this memoir may be fraught with tragedy, the Swados family is, in many respects, representative of all families. Thus, the child, Elizabeth, remains blissfully unaware of her brother's "struggle with hospitalizations and medications" over an extended period of time. Her admission that "what I knew at the time was that my brother went to college and never returned" is a reminder of the extent to which families go to protect the innocence of youth. It also suggests that one of our major tasks as adults lies in reconstructing our family histories, based on our own memories and those of others.

From Rail-Splitter to Icon is a unique and fascinating contribution to our understanding of how Lincoln was judged by the press, both here, North and South, and abroad. Through dogged and meticulous research, Bunker has combed the country for magazines largely judged ephemeral at the time but that now loom large in our understanding of popular culture -- those that featured humor and political cartoons. In this handsome book, he assesses their content and pictures nearly 200 of the Lincoln images under discussion, most of which have never been reprinted. Bunker's book easily surpasses all of the other books devoted to Lincoln in caricature [Walsh. Lincoln and the London Punch (1909); Shaw. A Cartoon History of Abraham Lincoln (1930) (which ends inexplicably in 1861); and Rockwell. Lincoln in Caricature (1946) (which is a book of plates with extended captions)] because Bunker's survey of the field is comprehensive, when the others were selective, and his historical analysis is fully informed by several generations of important Lincoln scholarship. This groundbreaking book is surely a candidate for awards. Highly recommended.

I thouroughly enjoy this book. The book focuses on the butterfly, it's anatomy, diet, and particulary how it protects itself in the wild.I teach first grade and the book is appropriate for their age level and very hands-on. The students love flying their butterflies to their flowers and then hiding the butterflies so the birds don't eat them.

This book is a great description of the events surrounding the Lincoln County War, which is an absolutely fascinating case study of lawlessness in the American West. Although the author's bias is clear--and probably warranted--the entire series of events is well documented and the writing very accessible. To his credit, the author refuses to fall into the trap of making Billy the Kid--who was just a minor figure--the star of the show. Billy remains a background figure almost throughout and the real players in the drama are made memorable. This book does rely very heavily on excerpts from the self-serving letter writing campaign going on during the events.

In 1866 Abraham Lincoln was far from the icon of American leadership and democracy that he later became, but he was already in the process of becoming. That was in no small measure because of the work of Josiah Gilbert Holland (1819-1881), whose "Life of Abraham Lincoln" was the first full-scale post-assassination biography of Lincoln and a pathmarker that fundamentally shaped the contours of Lincolnia. Published less than a year after Lincoln's death, Holland told the now well-worn stories of young Lincoln earning his first silver dollar as a rail-splitter, about his repayment for a ruined book, about the millhorse's kick to his head, about his wrestling match with Jack Armstrong, and about the fabled Lincoln sense of humor and wit. Always, Holland wrote in an accessible, homey manner about Lincoln the man and the patriot, about Lincoln the husband and father, and about Lincoln the moral leader of a nation at war.

For example, Holland asserted repeatedly in this biography that Lincoln had been an opponent of slavery his entire life and had always planned for emancipation. A debatable contention at best, but one that certainly hearkened back to the moral vision expressed in the Declaration of Independence penned nearly a century earlier. The assertion certainly fixed the image of the man as a champion of the highest ideals of the republic. Also debatable, and certainly it was roundly attacked at the time by several of Lincoln's associates, was Holland's assertion that Lincoln was the very model of a Christian leader. Such longtime associates as William Herndon condemned Holland's declaration of Lincoln's religious ideals as bogus.

Holland based his biography on relatively extensive interviews with those who knew Lincoln and on the written materials then readily available. Accordingly, there is a depth of coverage not present in many of the other early Lincoln biographies. At the same time, Holland was essentially Lincoln's Parson Weems, making a myth of the fallen leader second to only that accorded George Washington. As Allen C. Guelzo notes in an excellent introduction to the volume, Holland engaged in oversentimentality, drawing overt morals from the life and career of Lincoln. Holland's Lincoln, as Guelzo states, "was unapologetically the champion of 'strength and moderation' and the opposition, whether from John Charles Frémont or Clement Vallandigham, was 'irresponsible' or 'treasonable'" (pp. viii-ix). Because of these weaknesses, most modern Lincoln scholars have dismissed Holland's biography without serious consideration.

As a study in the process of myth-making, however, this book is important. Its availability in this reprint addition may provide grist for future studies. As such it is a welcome addition to historical literature.

This is the one. The book that let's you into the ex(site)ing world of www. This one did guide me trough nearly everything I was lookin' for. It is really great

Used for many years as teaching tool in elementary school and later in adult education classes. The book was replaced in 1995 after selling close to one million copies. The replacement is Abraham Lincoln's Introduction to Handwriting and Calligraphy and is distributed by Hunt Manufacturing Company in Statesville, NC 28677. The new book is dedicated to introducing better handwriting for those using ballpoints and pencils using the italic form as a model. Students can use the same book to learn the calligraphy form writing with a chisel edged pen.

This is an excellent account of a trip group's travel in the rugged Lochsa River area. A series of poor decisions and heavy weather (always to be expected in this area) leads to trouble for the entire party.

Like other adventure tales from the turn of the century on is amazed at what they try to do with out the high tech fabrics and gadgets we have use today.

Mr. Monroe does an excellent job of explaining how the Native Americans live in Nebraska. His examples are true to life, and are believable. I was also suprised that I know some of the people that Mr. Monroe wrote about, and the troubles that they have had in Alliance, Nebraska, because they were Lakota.

This YA novel is a well-written and engrossing look into the Chicago jazz scene of the late 1920s. 12-year-old Paulie (who today would probably be diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder) finds his calling in learning to play jazz cornet. But his father wants him to enter the plumbing business, and even with his mother's support, Paulie can't keep his grades up enough to get permission to pursue his music. Paulie eventually has to choose -- lose his music, or lose his family? Published in 1996, this YA novel is now, sadly, out of print.