Abraham Lincoln for the Defense

Rating:
Summary: Go Back to 1841
Review: This book brings alive a true story involving Abraham Lincoln as a young lawyer. Warren Bull puts you in close contact with the people and the social attitudes of 1841. You will find yourself smiling, and maybe a laugh, at the humor that is throughout the book.
Warren Bull shows the reader how the law was perilous at times. The story unfolds in a way that keeps the reader in suspense trying to anticipate what will happen next. I couldn't stop reading it and would recommend it to anyone who likes mystery or history.

Rating:
Summary: A step into the past
Review: I'm a big fan of books about Abraham Lincoln - from Carl Sandburg's classics to William Safire's "Freedom." Few, if any biographers are able to capture the lighter, wry, and whimsical side of Lincoln, tempered of course with his wisdom in the way Warren Bull is. From the opening exchange with his children, the Lincoln portrayed by Bull is full of humor, warmth, wisdom and, of course, justice. Bull's Lincoln is a folksy young lawyer, not yet a politician and not yet well known outside of Springfield. He is still establishing his reputation as a spellbinding courtroom attorney. The case he is presented in Abraham Lincoln for the Defense is no easy one to defend and is such a true mystery that it continued to puzzle Lincoln years later. The puzzle is only half of the enjoyment of this short novel, however. The author has done a marvelous job of capturing the language and ambiance of the era. Every conversation and every point of view expressed in the story seems to fit mid 1800's America. To read Abraham Lincoln for the Defense is to take a trip into the past. The story is peopled with interesting characters and even includes a romance. And although the case is settled by the end of the novel, the bulk of the details remain a mystery. It's a great read fans of both mysteries and historical novels.

Rating:
Summary: A step into the past
Review: I'm a big fan of books about Abraham Lincoln - from Carl Sandburg's classics to William Safire's "Freedom." Few, if any biographers are able to capture the lighter, wry, and whimsical side of Lincoln, tempered of course with his wisdom in the way Warren Bull is. From the opening exchange with his children, the Lincoln portrayed by Bull is full of humor, warmth, wisdom and, of course, justice. Bull's Lincoln is a folksy young lawyer, not yet a politician and not yet well known outside of Springfield. He is still establishing his reputation as a spellbinding courtroom attorney. The case he is presented in Abraham Lincoln for the Defense is no easy one to defend and is such a true mystery that it continued to puzzle Lincoln years later. The puzzle is only half of the enjoyment of this short novel, however. The author has done a marvelous job of capturing the language and ambiance of the era. Every conversation and every point of view expressed in the story seems to fit mid 1800's America. To read Abraham Lincoln for the Defense is to take a trip into the past. The story is peopled with interesting characters and even includes a romance. And although the case is settled by the end of the novel, the bulk of the details remain a mystery. It's a great read fans of both mysteries and historical novels.

Rating:
Summary: wonderful use of words
Review: My book club read this and it generated quite a discussion about how the English language has evolved since Lincoln's time. Older and younger people both had opinions. Some people liked the romance, some liked the suspense and we all enjoyed the Lincoln stories and jokes. I especially liked it that the author included the original letters written by Lincoln that the mystery was based upon.

Rating:
Summary: Young attorney Abraham Lincoln
Review: This novel has young attorney Abraham Lincoln, a historical mystery, compelling characters, humor and suspense. The language and descriptions take us back to the 1840s where we meet Lincoln as a young practicing attorney not yet entirely sure of himself but growing into greatness. Lincoln's sadness, humor and humanity all come across. The novel describes a part of Lincoln's life that is not well known. Apparently he practiced law by riding into town, interviewing a prospective client and going to trial all in the same day. The circuit court traveled from town to town around the legal circuit with the judge and the contending attorneys traveling together.

The stories Lincoln told ring true and bring laugh out loud laughter even today. I would like to know which were Lincoln's and which were the author's. The historical events are compelling. A hired hand visiting Springfield with the Trailor brothers vanished. Then Henry Trailor accused his brothers William and Arch of killing the hired hand. Lincoln himself was so taken by the mysteries that followed that he wrote about the events when they happened and he was still writing about them five years later. Lincoln writings are included in appendices. Lincoln was hired to defend the brothers and he brought his senior partner and an accomplished associate into the case for backup.

Meanwhile, fully developed characters pursue their own goals, make personal decisions and face questions that may help or hinder the defense of the Trailor brothers. The trial draws the participants together with threat a double hanging looming in the background.

Even the end of the trial leaves questions unanswered that further events finally help illuminate.

Rating:
Summary: Witty and entertaining
Review: Warren Bull's "Abraham Lincoln For the Defense" is an excellent book to pick up and read when you want that "great escape." The descriptive narratives pull the reader back in time and create an environment that makes one feel as if he or she is living in 1841. There is a cast of characters whose actions illict a wide range of emotions in the reader, from admiration to disgust. And the story is captivating and moves quickly, particularly after the opening events take place.

This trial is unlike any that would happen today because of the speed at which it moves. Part of the thrill is the sense of hasty vengeance that the townspeople encourage in their actions and words, making a "fair trial" quite a challenge for Lincoln and his defendants. Here is evidence of society making quick judgements and demonstrating only too human desire to make "right" from "wrong."

I enjoy books that create suspense, envelope the reader in another time and place, and generate unexepcted consideration of other points of view. Yet this book also contributes to a historic body of knowledge. Through a very pleasant mixture of fact and fiction, Warren Bull has created such a book, and I think readers will enjoy taking this step backwards in time and reflect on the ways human being have changed and yet have not changed at all. An additional plus are the reproductions of documents written by Lincoln and included as optional readings in the Appendix. I enjoyed reading Lincoln's take on the events of the trial after having read the author's interpretation of one possible solution to the mystery.

Rating:
Summary: Karlon
Review: Warren Bull's "Abraham Lincoln For the Defense" takes the reader to another time and place in our past history. Once you start reading about the actual murder and the trial that ensued, you will not be able to put the book down . One can feel/sense the push from the towns people for satisfaction and vengence. It was interesting to see how society has not changed all that much. So many people push to blame and accuse while not all the facts are brought out. Mr. Lincoln would not relent until he was sure of a fair tail. This was a great book because of the suspense it created and the escape into another time in our history. If you love murder mysteries, this is a must read!



Rating:
Summary: wonderful use of words
Review: Warren Bull's "Abraham Lincoln For the Defense" is an excellent book to pick up and read when you want that "great escape." The descriptive narratives pull the reader back in time and create an environment that makes one feel as if he or she is living in 1841. There is a cast of characters whose actions illict a wide range of emotions in the reader, from admiration to disgust. And the story is captivating and moves quickly, particularly after the opening events take place.

This trial is unlike any that would happen today because of the speed at which it moves. Part of the thrill is the sense of hasty vengeance that the townspeople encourage in their actions and words, making a "fair trial" quite a challenge for Lincoln and his defendants. Here is evidence of society making quick judgements and demonstrating only too human desire to make "right" from "wrong."

I enjoy books that create suspense, envelope the reader in another time and place, and generate unexepcted consideration of other points of view. Yet this book also contributes to a historic body of knowledge. Through a very pleasant mixture of fact and fiction, Warren Bull has created such a book, and I think readers will enjoy taking this step backwards in time and reflect on the ways human being have changed and yet have not changed at all. An additional plus are the reproductions of documents written by Lincoln and included as optional readings in the Appendix. I enjoyed reading Lincoln's take on the events of the trial after having read the author's interpretation of one possible solution to the mystery.