Over the course of nine years as scholar-in-residence at the Lincoln Museum, Gerald J. Prokopowicz answered thousands of questions about Abraham Lincoln. Reporters, researchers, students, and especially the 50,000 visitors who come to the museum every year all want to know about the nation's most famous president. Although there have been more books written about Lincoln than any other American, there has never been a single book that clearly answers the most important, most unusual, most provocative, and most frequently asked questions. Until now. Did Lincoln Own Slaves? And Other Frequently Asked Questions About Abraham Lincolndraws on the questions that people actually ask. Some are personal: Did Lincoln keep any pets? Some are inspired by recent reinterpretations of Lincoln's actions: Was Lincoln a racist? Some are questions that previous generations of historians considered inappropriate: Was Lincoln gay? Whether drawn from today's headlines (Did Lincoln's presidential actions violate the Constitution?) or from today's tabloids (Did doctors really raise Lincoln from the dead?), the questions inDid Lincoln Own Slaves?illuminate what people really want to know about the past. Prokopowicz has organized the questions along the time line of Lincoln's life to give us a portrait of the sixteenth president unlike any we have had before. His authoritative, often surprising responses illuminate facets of Lincoln's life, work, and legacy about which people remain endlessly curious. From the Hardcover edition. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

East Carolina University history professor Prokopowicz has created a Lincoln trivia book, answering dozens of questions about the 16th president of the United States. Did he write his own speeches? (Yes, though sometimes he "borrowed" from other writers-the conclusion of the Gettysburg Address echoes abolitionist Theodore Parker.) Do we celebrate Thanksgiving because of Lincoln? (Lincoln declared a national day of thanksgiving on the urging of writer and editor Sarah Josepha Hale.) Did Mary Lincoln hold seances in the White House? (Yes; she was trying to contact her dead son.) How tall was Abe? (Six feet and "nearly" four inches.) Prokopowicz addresses some trendy topics, such as the two depressive episodes Lincoln experienced in the 1830s and 1840s and the debate about Lincoln's sexual orientation. As for the titular question, Prokopowicz insists that people keep asking whether Lincoln owned slaves: he did not, but he "may have rented one." Although the irksome q&a format necessarily lends itself to a certain superficiality, Prokopowicz is learned, his tone is engaging and his suggestions for further reading at the end of each thematic chapter are also a helpful resource. (Jan. 22) Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Within chronological chapters, this book indeed consists of questions and answers. Unfortunately, the author's heavy-handed casualness ("Billy Herndon") and ripostes (e.g., turning down one of his own questions by responding "Next question please") will turn off many earnest Lincoln readers. Optional for public libraries. Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter One The Boy Lincoln When and where was Lincoln born?
Is the cabin still there?
Haven't I seen the cabin somewhere else?
About the original birthplace cabin-is it true that Lincoln helped his father build it with his own hands?
Who were Lincoln's parents?
Were Thomas and Nancy married to each other when Abraham was born?
His mother was born out of wedlock?
Was Abraham's last name really Lincoln?
No, I mean,was Thomas Lincoln really his father?
So Lincoln's greatness was due to his environment, not his genes?
Where did Lincoln's ancestors come from?
Was Lincoln's father a good-for-nothing bum?
Why did Thomas and Nancy choose the name Abraham?
What was Lincoln's middle name?
Did he have any brothers or sisters?
Lincoln once said "All I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother." Did he mean his natural mother or his stepmother?
Lincoln didn't go to his own father's funeral?
Did Lincoln have a happy childhood?
If Lincoln was born in Kentucky, why do Illinois license plates say "Land of Lincoln"?
Did they really spend their first winter in Indiana living outdoors?
Why did the Lincolns move to Indiana?
What did slavery have to do with their move?
What did Abe do in Indiana?
How did his mother die?
Can people still get milk sickness?
Did Abraham show any signs of future greatness when he was a boy?
Did he hunt smaller animals?
How else was Abe different from other children?
Is it true that Lincoln was nearly killed when he was a boy?
Did this really happen three times?
What's a paw paw?
How much schooling did he have?
Did he write his school lessons on the back of a shovel, using a piece of charcoal?
Who taught him?
What's a "blab school"?
Did Lincoln ever go to college?
If his education was so limited, how did he get so smart?
Did he once accidentally ruin a book that he borrowed?
Chapter Two Rail-Splitter What's a rail-splitter?
So Lincoln didn't really split rails for a living
What did he do, before he became a lawyer and politician?
Was this the trip when Lincoln saw slave markets in New Orleans and decided he would dedicate himself to ending slavery?
What about his other jobs?
Wasn't he a storekeeper?
Did he really once walk two miles to return change to a customer?
What else did he do for a living?
If his partner drank up the store's stock, are you saying that Lincoln kept a saloon?
When he got a job as a postmaster, did he really carry letters around in his hat?
What did Lincoln think about this?
What was his religion?
Wasn't he secretly baptized when he was older?
If Lincoln wasn't a Christian, why are his speeches full of talk about God?
This religious conversion he went through-didn't this happen at Gettysburg?
What did Lincoln do for fun as a young man?
Did he play sports?
Could he dunk a basketball?
So, what sports did he play?
What else did he do for fun?
Did he drink a lot when he was young?
Did he smoke or chew tobacco?
Did he gamble?
Did he swear or tell dirty jokes?
Was he lazy?
So did Lincoln haveanybad habits?
How about good manners?
He probably didn't need much in the way of manners for his first girlfriend, Ann Rutledge, did he?
Did he leave New Salem because of Ann Rutledge?
Chapter Three Springfield Why did he move to Springfield?
When a guy says to another guy, "It's a good place to meet people," he usually means "It's a good place to meet girls." Is that what real

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