[.ca] Lincoln and Whitman: Parallel Lives in Civil War Washington (ISBN 0345458001)

what more to say:
Can't add much to these reviews except to say that this book brought tears to my eyes.

Lincoln and Whitman : Parallel lives in Civil War Washington:
Beginning with Abraham Lincoln's fascination with Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass, the author uses Lincoln's activities in the nation's capital as a backdrop for the story of Whitman's life there during the Civil War. Working as a copy clerk, Whitman spent most of his free time comforting wounded Union soldiers. A dedicated Lincoln admirer, he also planned his walks around the city to coincide with the President's carriage rides, often waving to Lincoln as he watched him pass. The closest the poet came to the President was to see him from an adjoining room in the White House. As Whitman published his book of poetry Drum-Taps, Lincoln was assassinated. Whitman's grief led to his poems "When Lilacs Last in the Door-Yard Bloom'd" and "O Captain, My Captain." Both are included here, along with brief interpretations. The author's premise that there is value in juxtaposing the lives of a famous president and a poet is not supported. There is not enough evidence of a strong connection between the two men to warrant a book on the subject. Epstein (author of biographies of Aimee Semple McPherson, Nat King Cole, and Edna St. Vincent Millay, as well as a number of books of poetry) emphasizes literary aspects rather than historical ones. A marginal purchase that only libraries with Whitman collections need consider.

Historical Poetry:
Anyone who loves either Lincoln or Whitman will find themselves in their world. Epstein commands an amazing knowledge of place and time, transporting the reader back to Civil War America. He does so with great humanity and depth. This book was an experience I will never forget.

Civil War with anew angle:
I have read numerous Lincoln books and they basically tell the same stories I've read before. This book is very different. The author is able to weave Lincoln's and Whitman's lives together even though they never met. Some of the comparisons between Lincoln's speeches and Whitman's writings are uncanny. The author also provides a refreshing, intimate view of Washington life during this period - the politics, famous people, events, day to day life, not to mention how to get a government job. Obviously you can see that I am not a book reviewer, but I have to recommend this book. The fusion of history and poetry duirng this difficult time is fasinating. I just wish these two great men (with their flaws) could have sat down at one point and actually talked. Oh what a story that would have been! Also thanks for helping me better understand Whitman.

Can't find focus:
I read a brief, positive blurb about this book in the New Yorker and picked it up. I figured, what's not to like? Although Epstein is a pretty good storyteller, he can't really figure out what he wants to do in this book. Sometimes he's kind of doing a comparative textual analysis of Whitman's poetry and Lincoln's speeches, sometimes he's looking at spots of time where their lives intersect, sometimes he's doing completely independent biographical studies of these two men, and sometimes he's doing other stuff altogether. The results are fragmented, messy, disorienting. There are sections that, on their own, are quite interesting, but the book never delivers anything whole, and it certainly never delivers what it promises in its title. My recommendation to readers is to pick up individual authoritative biographies of each of these men, and let your mind do its own comparative work.