This is a very short but poignant book. Everyone has heard the Gettysburg Address. I did not realize there were different versions. The one we most likely know well is the Bliss version or the 5 th version. Look at that speech, line by line....it was powerful then and it is powerful today.

The beauty, meaning, and timelessness of the speech needs no further commentary. The full-color illustrations just bring it to life and help the reader contemplate Lincoln's words on a whole new level. It's a beautiful book. For more about the artist: https://caldecottcollector.blogspot.c...

Penguin Great Ideas: 8/100, Series Four: 2/10

I so fucking love Lincoln's speeches and everything else about him.

I watched the movie Gettysburg this 4th of July weekend, and I figured reading this was good and appropriate for the occasion.

Wow!

The choice of words

The choice of words, oh yeah. The simplicity with which he delivers the address is so mind blowing that it is impossible to not feel the action and ideas alive!

You can see that how heavily borrowed from this are even the century later speeches of the likes of Nixon, Kennedy etc.

n  “It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.”n


President Abraham Lincoln’s remarks, delivered on November 19, 1863, outside of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

Honoring the fallen military soldiers.

The reminder that our work is not done—that we must continue.

Speaks of our founding as a sovereign country.

Powerful and succinct.


n  “…A new nation: conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”n

The audio edition I "read" included some of the history prior to Lincoln's speech and some of the history after the reconstruction period, including some inspirational words from Martin Luther King.

Lincoln’s Greatest Speech

Everyone should read this speech for the clearest understanding of Lincoln and the Civil War. Lincoln proclaimed the ideas that have become a core of American culture. At this point the war had turned in favor of the Union and he laid down principles important to history. This obviously is highly recommended reading for everyone!!

Of the handful of political speeches that I value, this is one.

A great speech that was unusually short at the time, summed up the tragedy of the Battle of Gettysburg in one of the most beautiful speeches ever.

Memorize it.