Today I arrived home to find the new issue of Civil War History (September 2013). This most recent issue includes a roundtable discussion that I participated in about Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln. Participants included Catherine Clinton, Allen Guelzo John Neff, Megan Kate Nelson, and Matthew Pinsker. We discussed a range of issues from how well the movie stacks up to recent scholarship to how it might be used in the classroom. Thanks to book-review editor, Brian Craig Miller for inviting me to participate. This is my first time appearing in the pages of CWH apart from a couple of book reviews I wrote a few years ago. It’s a huge honor for me to be included among such a stellar group of scholars.
The last roundtable was eventually made available for free online and I suspect this one will eventually be be posted as well. Of course, I will pass it along at that point.
Postscript: Welcome historian Timothy Orr to the blogosphere. Tim is a dynamite historian, who teaches at Old Dominion University. You can find his blog at Tales From the Army of the Potomac.
Actually, I meant Oakes’ (thanks for the correction) book, not the film.
Best,
Saw the “Lincoln” exhibit at one of the presidential libraries this summer; I thought it did a reasonable job of interpreting the man and his times.
I picked up Oates’ one volume biography and Holzer’s juvenile bio tied to the film; thought they both did a solid job, but wondered if you have had a chance to read either, especially given the age groups you teach.
Best,
I read Oakes’s book.
And your thoughts?
I recommend going back through to the archives and checking out the posts I wrote about Lincoln roughly at the time of its release. That pretty much captures the scope of my comments in the CWH round table.
I hope to read it. Unfortunately my library seems to have ended its subscription last year.
That is great, Kevin! Congratulations!