What do you think saved Jacques, in all the different ways he was saved in this novel? Is it the light? Is it gratitude? Is it the people he had the fortune to interact with? Is it something else? I'm trying to remember if I've read a book about Abraham Lincoln but I don't think I have since elementary school. A couple years ago I read book about John Wilkes Booth which was very good but not Abraham Lincoln. I obviously know alot about him and I've watched countless documentaries about him. I even watched that boring movie starring Daniel Day Lewis. I finished Jon Meacham’s, AndThere Be Light: Abraham Lincoln and The American Struggle. I feel Jon Meacham had garnered us with a 5 star biography on Abraham Lincoln.

Lalieu, Olivier (2019). Jacques Lusseyran en déportation. Entre histoire et mémoire. In: Marion Chottin, Céline Roussel, and Zina Weygand (eds). Jacques Lusseyran, entre cécité et lumière. Éditions Rue d’Ulm/Presses de l’École normale supérieure, ISBN 978-2-7288-0606-5. p.55 Did it surprise you how little of the book is actually in camp? At the beginning of the book, in the introduction, he actually says, “I will not take you all the way into Buchenwald.” Is this different from other books about the camps? Why do you think he chose to focus on the rest of his story? Do you think it was a good decision as an author? Is it powerful? Is it removed? A masterful, highly readable biography . . . In an era when autocracy is on the march, this timely book sheds a bright light on Lincoln’s role as a paladin and vindicator of democracy.” —Michael Burlingame If you don't normally read books about History, I would not start with this one. It's dense and it's written in a way that supposes you already know alot about the Civil War and Lincoln. Most of the stuff I know about the Civil War, I learned from Ken Burns. At the beginning of this review I referred to today's January 6 Committee hearing. I might add here that yesterday I listened to “The Argument,” a podcast from the New York Times. The topic under consideration was whether the United States is headed towards a second civil war. The discussion was thoughtful, serious, and — of course — inconclusive. This podcast was also on my mind as I wrote this review.After getting these necessary caveats out of the way, though, Meacham doesn’t actually spend much time examining Lincoln’s imperfections. Instead, he confronts and explains Lincoln's most problematic positions, one by one, such as: Meacham does an excellent job reviewing events leading to the Civil War, the course of the war, and the ultimate victory of the north which cost Lincoln his life. The author concludes that in most aspects of his narrative race is the central cause of the conflict as even if he would free the slaves northern racists were on par with those in the south – the only difference was they did not want to enslave them, but they could not accept that they were equal. Lusseyran, Jacques (1985). And There Was Light. Edinburgh: Floris Books. p.86. ISBN 978-086315-507-9.

Jacques Lusseyran (19 September 1924 – 27 July 1971) was a French author and political activist. Blinded at the age of 7, at 17 Lusseyran became a leader in the French resistance against Nazi Germany's occupation of France in 1941. He was eventually sent to Buchenwald concentration camp because of his involvement, and was one of 990 of his group of 2000 inmates to survive. He wrote about his life, including his experience during the war, in his autobiography And There Was Light. For those predisposed to admire Abraham Lincoln, this book is like a warm, cozy blanket. It can be appreciated as a reassuring “Great Man of History” Dad book, which makes it destined to appear under many a Christmas tree this year. How do you think the story would have been different if Jacques had been born blind? What if he had gone blind just before the war?Meacham shows that, from early in his life, Lincoln believed that slavery was wrong. “If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong,” he wrote during his presidency. “I cannot remember when I did not so think, and feel.” It is a fact of American history that we are not always good, but that goodness is possible. Not universal, not ubiquitous, not inevitable — but possible.” (p. xxvii) In fact, Lincoln was a racist in the modern sense, since he clearly did not believe in full racial equality, or at least never averred it publicly. When Jacques Lusseyran was an eight-year-old Parisian schoolboy, he was blinded in an accident. He finished his schooling determined to participate in the world around him. In 1941, when he was seventeen, that world was Nazi-occupied France. Lusseyran formed a resistance group with fifty-two boys and used his heightened senses to recruit the best. Eventually, Lusseyran was arrested and sent to the Buchenwald concentration camp in a transport of two thousand resistance fighters. He was one of only thirty from the transport to survive. His gripping story is one of the most powerful and insightful descriptions of living and thriving with blindness, or indeed any challenge, ever published. On July 20, 1943, Lusseyran was arrested by the Gestapo, betrayed by a member of his resistance group named Elio. His knowledge of German helped him understand more of the situation than most French prisoners. He spent six months at Fresnes prison before being moved to Buchenwald concentration camp with 2000 other French citizens, where, because he was blind, he did not have to participate in forced labor as most other prisoners did. Soon most of his childhood friends and fellow resistance operatives were arrested, and he met some of them in the concentration camp. Lusseyran helped to motivate a spirit of resistance within the camp, particularly within the French and German prisoners. [ citation needed]

In April 1945, he was liberated; 990 of his group of 2000 inmates survived. [8] After the war, Lusseyran taught French literature in the United States and wrote books, including the autobiographical And There Was Light, which chronicles the first 20 years of his life. He died together with his third wife Marie in a car accident in France on July 27, 1971. [9] Awards [ edit ] Considering the plethora of books about Lincoln, why another? One reason is because this is by a historian who will not disappoint readers of history with this superb narrative. Understanding Lincoln is valuable to our times because, as Meacham writes in the Prologue, “ . . . while Lincoln cannot be wrenched from the context of his particular times, his story illuminates the ways and means of politics, the marshaling of power in a democracy, the durability of racism, and the capacity of conscience to help shape events.” (p. xxviii) What do you make of Jacques’ treatment of women? Is it respectful? Does it make women seem too foreign? So much more than another account of Abraham Lincoln’s life, Jon Meacham’s profound new biography dives into Lincoln’s very soul, and the result is one of the most compelling and absorbing portraits ever crafted. This book instantly takes its place at the forefront of the Lincoln literature.” —Harold Holzer

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Meacham's book is, in one sense, a prolonged argument against the assertion that Lincoln was a racist. This says so much about our current cultural moment, that the American president who moved heaven and earth and permanently transformed the country in an effort to maintain the union and (yes, secondarily) end slavery, is now as suspicious in the minds of some as actual-slaveowner Thomas Jefferson. To Mary Todd, Lincoln said, ‘I want to dance with you in the worst way.’ When they were done Mary remarked, ‘Mr. Lincoln I think you have literally fulfilled your request: you have danced the worst way possible.’” Lusseyran, Jacques (1985). And There Was Light. Edinburgh: Floris Books. pp.174–176. ISBN 978-086315-507-9. The essence of Lincoln’s life story is the same but Meacham focuses deeply on Lincoln personal and political evolution towards his abolitionist beliefs which ultimately led him to full emancipation which ultimately led to the passage of the 13th amendment

stars. This is a rich and inspiring story about the life of President Lincoln and his pivotal role in ending slavery and keeping the Union intact. I loved reading his well-thought-out words and watching him grow and expand in wisdom and courage over time. I am grateful he wrote and talked so openly about his reliance on God so we could more fully see how God was guiding and strengthening him. I appreciated learning more about his unique position that allowed him to be elected (by taking a more moderate and unifying stance), and then his heartfelt prayers of faith that pushed Him to make the decisions he felt divinely-inspired to act on. While he didn’t do as much as some would’ve liked, we can learn much from his compromising and moderate steps in the right direction. Lastly, I enjoyed learning more about Mary Todd, her strengths, her struggles (including her hereditary mental illness—14 members of her family were said to have been in asylums) and their courtship (I’ll share a cute quote below). I have enjoyed spending time with and learning from Lincoln this past week and hope to emulate some of his admirable strengths.A moral and at times almost theological narrative of Abraham Lincoln's life and his struggle with slavery. This book is written as to preach to an audience of true believers, making not a case about Lincoln's perfection or infallibility, but rather his character and its development over the course of his life. An insider’s account of the rampant misconduct within the Trump administration, including the tumult surrounding the insurrection of Jan. 6, 2021.