Purchase
The Rise & Fall Of A Great American Family
Union Square Press
October 2008
On Sale: October 7, 2008
496 pages ISBN: 1402758901 EAN: 9781402758904 Hardcover
Add to Wish List
Historical | Non-Fiction Biography
Most books about Abraham Lincoln end on April
14, 1865, the day he was assassinated at Ford’s Theatre. But
that historic event takes place near the beginning of The
Last Lincolns, a singular title in the vast output of
Lincolnia and one of the most unusual books ever written on
the sixteenth president and his family. Going far beyond
that fateful day into uncharted territory, it’s a gripping
page turner written by a TV producer with proven
storytelling skills.
This absorbing American tragedy
tells the largely unknown story of the acrimony that
consumed the Lincolns in the months and years that followed
the president’s murder. This was not a family that came
together in mourning and mutual sadness; instead, they fell
out over the anguished mental condition of the widowed Mary.
In 1875, Robert—the handsome but resentful eldest Lincoln
child—engineered her arrest and forcible commitment to an
insane asylum. In each succeeding generation, the Lincolns’
misfortunes multiplied, as a litany of alcohol abuse,
squandered fortunes, burned family papers, and outright
dissipation led to the downfall of this once-great family.
Charles Lachman traces the story right up to the last
generation of Lincoln descendants: great-grandson Bob
Lincoln Beckwith, his estranged wife, Annemarie, and her
son, Timothy Lincoln Beckwith. Bob, who was according to all
medical evidence sterile, believes the son who bears the
Lincoln name was the product of an adulterous affair.
Annemarie, however, wanted the boy to be a “Lincoln,”
putting the child in line for a vast inheritance. There’s
even evidence—uncovered by Lachman for the first time—that a
scheme to obtain possession of the Lincoln fortune was
orchestrated by Bob Beckwith’s chauffeur, who may have been
the notorious outlaw and skyjacker, D.B. Cooper.
Published in advance of Abraham Lincoln’s 200th birthday
in February 2009, The Last Lincolns provides an
unforgettable glimpse into the personal legacy left by the
man who could unite a nation…but not his own
family. An Unusual Family History Reveals
That: -Abraham and Mary Lincoln were very
lenient with their younger sons—and rarely imposed
discipline on them. -At age 12, young Tad Lincoln—whose
education during the family’s White House years was very
lax—could still not read. -Eldest son Robert Lincoln
objected to the intense attention the media paid to the
Lincoln family. -After her husband’s assassination, Mary
Lincoln pleaded for financial assistance from family friends
and people in government. -Mary’s erratic behavior led
Robert to swear out a warrant for her arrest and
institutionalization.
Comments
No comments posted.
Registered users may leave comments.
Log in or register now!
|