If you are a fan of novels about American History, I hope
you have already discovered Gore Vidal’s American Chronicle Series, which
covers the history of the nation from the American Revolution to the post WWII
era. It is almost impossible for me to pick a favorite among these books, even
after reading each of them more than once over the years. When I read Lincoln
for the first time, I was immediately captivated, not just from Vidal’s superb
manner of telling the story, but by the historical accuracy. Vidal spent years
going through every available manuscript in the national archives that
pertained to the story he was telling. He once mentioned that the story of
Lincoln was more history than fiction because every statement attributed to Lincoln
was gleaned from documents that told of actual events and his reaction to these
occurrences.
Many of us remember history as that dull subject in high
school we suffered through while fighting those urges to nap. Vidal found a way
to grab the reader’s attention from the first paragraph and keep them turning
pages to the very end. Government and military figures are presented with vivid
reality, warts and all, with each event having the ring of reality. If you are
a history buff, Lincoln is a book you don’t want to miss. It is historical
fiction at its very best. You can find the book on Amazon at the link below.
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