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Lincolnmania!

November 8, 2012 | SuzyQ

Steven Spielberg's highly anticipated new film Lincoln opens on November 9. Starring Daniel Day-Lewis as our 16th president, and Sally Field as Mary Todd Lincoln, it is inspired by Doris Kearns Goodwin's 2005 book Team of Rivals: the political genius of Abraham Lincoln. The film focuses on Lincoln's final few months in office, specifically his tireless efforts to get the 13th Amendment to the Constitution (abolishing slavery) passed. Other historical figures portrayed in the movie are the abolitionist congressman from Pennsylvania, Thaddeus Stevens (portrayed by Tommy Lee Jones), and Secretary of State William Henry Seward (David Straithairn). The library's biography and history collections are full of great reads to help you get acquainted with one of our greatest presidents and one of the most tumultuous periods of American history.

Lincoln by David Herbert Donald

Honor's voice: the transformation of Abraham Lincoln by Douglas L. Wilson

Mrs. Lincoln and Mrs. Keckly: the remarkable story of the friendship between a first lady and a former slave by Jennifer Fleischner

Abraham Lincoln by George McGovern

Abraham Lincoln: the prairie years and the war years by Carl Sandburg

Lincoln's last months by William C. Harris

The radical and the Republican: Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, and the triumph of antislavery politics by James Oakes

Reelecting Lincoln: the battle for the 1864 presidency by John C. Waugh

Mr. Lincoln goes to war by William Marvel

The fiery trial: Abraham Lincoln and American slavery by Eric Foner

Our Lincoln: new perspectives on Lincoln and his world by edited by Eric Foner

The Lincoln mailbag: America writes to the President, 1861-1865 by edited by Harold Holzer

Lincoln's sword: the presidency and the power of words by Douglas L. Wilson

Speeches and writings, 1859-1865: speeches, letters, and miscellaneous wirtings, Presidential messages and proclamations by Abraham Lincoln

Looking for Lincoln: the making of an American icon by Philip B. Kunhardt III, Peter W. Kunhardt, Peter W. Kunhardt, Jr. ; foreword by David Herbert Donald ; introduction by Doris Kearns Goodwin

Why Lincoln matters: today more than ever by Mario M. Cuomo ; Harold Holzer, historical consultant

Lincoln's greatest speech: the second inaugural by Ronald C. White Jr