Chuck Wills

A nice overview of Ohio's history written for children. It includes enough illustrations to keep it interesting for elementary readers. A gazetteer is defined as "a geographical dictionary." (Dictionary.com) What appears as an appendix and labeled a gazetteer is more of a compendium of facts about Ohio--basic statistics/quick facts, state symbols, chronologies, and brief biographical sketches. The only thing in that section that even comes close to being geographical is a list of places to show more see, but even then it is only the name of the attraction and the town. show less

Like other books of the DK Biography series, this work combines well- written, informative prose with excellent illustrations. Aimed at the level of the middle- school student, it is nevertheless fully appropriate for adults. For readers of all age groups, it offers a fine portrayal of the life of the famed 19th century entertainer and sharp-shooter Annie Oakley in concise, readable form. For my part, having known almost nothing about the book's subject, I very much enjoyed the account. (As show more an aside, it hadn't occurred to me that since Annie used a shotgun in her act, that her famed sharpshooting skills were perhaps not so excellent as one might have thought had her weapon been a rifle or pistol). I gladly recommend the book to those interested in learning more about this interesting woman's life and times. For those interested in more about the book, the following Amazon review is worthwhile: https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R35EF00KPKH1TY/ref=cm_cr_getr_d_rvw_t... show less

A Note on Production

The cover is handsome, with a stately portrait of Lincoln and an elegant script of his name. The back cover text is a little hard to read on the black background, but otherwise clean. However, the binding is loose and it feels like cheap paper. My copy’s spine was wrinkled and ripped near the bottom. Whether the binding itself or the packaging is faulty, it doesn’t look good. Perhaps printing in China was not the best idea. For $40—and this is a book you’d want to show more display in your home—DK could have done better.

That said, the interior design is elegant and clean. The endpaper and stock are of good quality, and the text is easy to read and laid out consistently and well. The 132 photos, maps, illustrations, and document reproductions are presented in various layouts, most of which blend seamlessly with the text. The eight pullout sections, featuring reproductions of important speeches, letters, and other Lincoln paraphernalia, were easy to use and do not make the volume too bulky.

The Book

Lincoln scholars will find little value in this bricolage of Lincoln’s life—except for the fascinating reproductions that give one a glimpse into the language and temperament of the era. There are no footnotes and quotations are spare; in addition, Wills doesn’t have a chance to study any aspect of Lincoln’s life deeply in a 159-page book with well over 100 images. Still, I found the book to be surprisingly—and pleasingly—balanced for a work that is intended to impart the basic facts of Lincoln’s life and presidency and his impact on the United States to high school students. This book may be for younger readers (the word “shit” is politely spelled with an asterisk for the benefit of teachers and young minds alike, perhaps), but one will not find a glossy, god-like Lincoln in these pages.

Instead, Wills takes care to point out Lincoln’s flaws while also highlighting his achievements and strengths. At various points in the work, Lincoln comes across as reckless, awkward, an atrocious parent, soft and indecisive in wartime, and even racist. Yet Wills also paints the 16th president as virtuous, possessing immense strength and resolve, loving, generous, intelligent, extremely humorous, and one of the most gifted and brilliant speechwriters and orators in U.S. history. In his final judgment, Wills casts a respectful and admiring eye on Lincoln as a man uniquely capable of turning his political enemies into friends and steadying the nation in its most difficult and tragic historical period.

Interesting tidbits about Lincoln and his contemporaries abound. These will no doubt serve to keep young readers interested while also providing entertainment and food for thought to all audiences. One learns, for example, that Lincoln loved hardly any food except bacon, and that the brother of John Wilkes Booth saved Robert (Abraham Lincoln’s son) Lincoln’s life during the Civil War.

I noticed only four typographical errors in the entire book, all falling within the final three chapters. I edit and proofread books for a living, and to have fewer than five major (or not major if you are the common reader who doesn’t notice these things) errors in a book that takes a lot of effort and time to produce is impressive.

If you can find a copy with better binding than mine, this book would make an excellent gift. DK generally does fine work, and this volume is no exception. show less

This is an easy-to-read short biography of Lincoln but the reproductions of letters, campaign materials, speech drafts, maps and many other primary sources contained in the book are the main reason anyone who knows anything about Lincoln would want to own it. Typical of DK publications, the value is more in the photographs and in this case the "inserts" than in the text. Many of the materials are actual reproductions that the reader can pull out of translucent sleeves. These are good quality show more copies and are well marked. They gave me respect for the many historians who have painstakingly read hundreds of these items, many scrawled and hard to read. Anyone who has read any of the more complete biographies of Lincoln is aware of the critical details that are left out, but this book seems to do what it intended to do. It is an easy, almost conversational read, and I read it in two sittings. I was a bit disappointed to see that Roy P. Basler, the editor of the first set of Lincoln's complete works, was omitted from the acknowledgements and bibliography. Without Basler, many of the Library of Congress materials and other authors' works would have been much more difficult to put together. show less