While Honest Abe is now cooler than ever - propelled into the stratosphere by Barack Obama's use of Lincoln's Bible at the Inauguration - we'd like the record to show that our company president was a fan long before it was popular.
A dramatic photograph of the Lincoln Memorial decorates Al Ward's office, along with a scene of the Wright Brothers' first flight - a memento from our Emmy-nominated documentary, "Beyond Kitty Hawk."
But enough about office decor. This is clearly the Year of Lincoln, with a slew of new books and films about the 16th president. According to Temple University history professor David Waldstreicher, Lincoln has "likely inspired more books than anybody except Jesus Christ."
A full bibliography and filmography is included at the end of this post, including a risque action-horror-comedy about an evil Lincoln vampire.
We won't even try to compete with that. But here's our offbeat contribution to Lincolniana - an exclusive interview with Lincoln admirer and fringe presidential candidate Carmen Chimento, who boasted about his unusual Lincolnesque qualities during the New Hampshire Primary.
We won't ruin any of the punchlines.
This timeless political profile was part of our 1996 documentary for PBS stations, “Why Can’t I Be President?” Recognize the narrator? It’s CNN political anchor, Wolf Blitzer.
What will be the historical significance of the Chimento-Lincoln campaign? Do you think that people in 2209 will be obsessing over Barack Obama in a similar manner?
LINCOLN BIRTHDAY BOOKS & FILMS:
“A. Lincoln,” by Ronald C. White, Jr. , the Main Selection of the History Book Club for January 2009.
“Abraham Lincoln,” by George McGovern, the famous Democrat that got his butt kicked by Nixon in 1972 (except in our home state of Massachusetts). McGovern believes that Barack Obama is a “Second Lincoln.”
“Abraham Lincoln: A Life,” a 2,000-pager by Michael Burlingame that other Lincoln historians have “waited anxiously for decades,” according to Doris Kearns Goodwin.
“Being Lincoln — Men With Hats,” a quirky documentary about Lincoln impersonators by Elvis Wilson.
“Did Lincoln Own Slaves?“ a provocative rhetorical question answered by historian Gerald Prokopowicz, along with other FAQs.
“Lincoln Anthology: Great Writers on His Life and Legacy from 1860 to Now,” the best of pro-Lincoln essays and biography excerpts, edited by Harold Holzer, co-chair of the U.S. Lincoln Bicentennial Commission.
“Lincoln: The Biography of a Writer,” by Fred Kaplan, who tackles Lincoln’s mastery of the English language. A ravenous reader of Shakespeare and the Old Testament, Lincoln was the most literary president, Kaplan says.
“Lincoln on Race and Slavery,” by Harvard University’s Henry Louis Gates Jr.
“Looking for Lincoln,” a PBS special based on Gates’ book above.
“Our Lincoln: New Perspectives on Lincoln and His World,” a new look at how Lincoln viewed race, religion and civil liberties, edited by Eric Foner.
“The Physical Lincoln,” a medical analysis by physician John G. Sotos makes the case that the president had a rare genetic syndrome that gave him “long limbs, large feet, a high voice, odd lips, sluggish bowels, and astonishing joint flexibility.”
“The Transient,” an action-horror-comedy movie about a Lincoln vampire that terrorizes a community. Recently won the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Award at the Route 66 Film Festival in Springfield, Illinois.
Abraham Lincoln at Antietam battlefield
ABE LINCOLN MANIA POSTSCRIPT
Check out blogger Geoff Elliott’s fantasy photo illustration of Abe Lincoln wearing Aretha Franklin’s fashionable Inauguration hat:
Image courtesy of The Abraham Lincoln Blog
Reminds us of Saturday Night Live comedian Mike Myers’ “Wayne’s World” bit about Baberaham Lincoln!