Who Knew Harold Holzer Had a Sense of Humor

Actually, I’ve never met Harold Holzer, but his review of John Avery’s Lincoln Uber Alles: Dictatorship Comes to America, which can be found in the latest issue of North and South (November 2010) magazine is hilarious.  I am not the biggest fan of reviews that go beyond a strict critique of the argument, but as far as I am concerned book published by Pelican Press are open season:

Second, the author suggests that German-born refugees from the 1848 Revolutions in Europe radicalized the Republican Party with foreign-bred Communistic ideas (such outrages as “equality throughout the nation”).  their support tipped the election to Lincoln in 1860 thus ending idyllic American life as we knew and loved it, when men were men, and slaves presumably knew their place.  This Gone with the Wiener Schnitzel theory would be sickening were it not so silly.  Anyone who counts picture-publisher Louis Prang as a dangerous fomenter of socialism, or believes Germans really made Lincoln president (even a big German vote in Missouri beyond a minuscule 2%), has been smoking too many European cigarettes or reading too much Thomas DiLorenzo or the current governor of Virginia…. However, those who seek confirmation of the wildest of old and new conspiracy theories, including the belief that Lincoln’s presidency paved the way for nation-building, FBI stings, the London Blitz, Hiroshima, and the government raid on Waco, need look no further than Lincoln Uber Alles.  Let the record show that I said “Waco,” not “wacko,” though either word will do.

Looking for more laughs?  Check out the customer reviews on the Amazon site.

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4 comments… add one
  • SocraticGadfly Oct 23, 2010 @ 19:35

    Here’s the funniest of comments I’ve seen there, a “ditto” and more to one of the five-star reviews:

    “Sam Clemens” wrote:
    “Incidentally, when he had outlived his usefulness–to the Radical Republicans and the international bankers–he was disposed of, and became an important martyr figure.”

    To which I replied:
    “The “international bankers”? Ahh, Lincoln was under the control of the Rothschilds and Bildebergers. That explains his hooked nose. Good effing doorknob. But, I guess when he became a “self hating Jew,” then he had to be assassinated. ”
    Unfortunately, I’m sure my sarcasm will be lost.

  • J. L. Bell Oct 17, 2010 @ 12:51

    I met Harold Holzer years ago, and the tone of this review doesn’t surprise me. You can’t be successful in P.R. in Manhattan for so many years without being able to deliver a good line.

  • Larry Cebula Oct 17, 2010 @ 9:08

    What a tight little group of Lost Causers dominate the Amazon discussions of these books!

    • Andy Hall Oct 17, 2010 @ 14:30

      They troll Amazon when not writing letters to the editor and watching Gods and Generals. Breaks up the routine, ya know?

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