The Gettysburg Address: Perspectives on Lincoln's Greatest Speech

by Sean Conant Narrated by Dermot Mulroney, Edoardo Ballerini, David Pittu, Ellen Archer, Graeme Malcolm, Jennifer Van Dyck, John Keating, Jonathan Davis, Neal McDonough, Peter Ganim, Robin Miles, Stephen Lang, Suzanne Toren, Tavia Gilbert, Zachary Gordon

Overview

It remains without question the most memorable and memorized speech in American history. On November 19, 1863, in 272 words delivered among the freshly dug graves of Union dead upon the country's bloodiest battlefield, Abraham Lincoln redefined American liberty and forever altered the course of the nation.

This volume aims to place the Gettysburg Address in its full context, examining both its influences and impacts, and approaching it from a number of modern perspectives. Never before in one anthology has Lincoln's immortal address been viewed through such far-reaching lenses as emancipation, women's rights, immigrant rights, LGBT rights, and more. The scholarship included in this audiobook is new and exciting, with each of its 15 essays providing further meditation on major themes in the evolution of freedom and equality in America.

Edited by filmmaker Sean Conant and with contributions from some of the country's leading scholars including Sean Wilentz, Craig L. Symonds, and Harold Holzer, this volume explores how in the century and a half since it was delivered, the Gettysburg Address has proven a seemingly inexhaustible source of somber reflection and soaring hope, and why its language continues to resonate with so many people seeking meaning for their own struggles and sacrifices.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

03/30/2015
To coincide with his eponymous documentary film set for release this year, Conant has amassed an impressive roster of talent to analyze the Gettysburg Address through a number of different lenses. He divides this anthology into two sections: the first eight essays examine what influenced Lincoln’s words, including his 1852 eulogy for Henry Clay, while the last seven look at how the address played a part in issues including immigration, women’s rights, the Civil Rights movement, and even the founding of the People’s Republic of China. There are intriguing discussions as to whether Lincoln’s remarks presaged a second American revolution or just represented a return to the values and ideals of the Founding Fathers, as well as the effect the address had on America’s traditions for memorializing the dead. Readers who have not read the text in a while should start with the Appendix, which provides transcriptions of the five existing copies of the Address; they will find some surprises, including its avoidance of the topics of slavery and saving the Union. Conant shows that, for such a brief set of remarks (it’s only 272 words long), the Gettysburg Address deserves its outsized reputation. (May)

From the Publisher

"Conant shows that, for such a brief set of remarks (it's only 272 words long), the Gettysburg Address deserves its outsized reputation"—Publishers Weekly

"[T]his is a wonderful volume. Its essays are concise and often insightful and would lend themselves well to discussion with students."—Jonathan W. White, H-FedHist

Product Details

BN ID:	2940173428875
Publisher:	Hachette Audio
Publication date:	06/30/2015
Edition description:	Unabridged

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