Stephen L. Carter

It was mere coincidence that I picked this book up from a used book sale shortly before the current impeachment inquiry began.
The author makes it clear in his afterward that he does not think that Lincoln should have been impeached, he merely took an argument that has been discussed among historians and formed an alternative history- that is; if Lincoln had not been assassinated, would he( rather than Johnson) have been impeached? If he had been impeached, what would have been the outcome?

This was a great book to read as a follow- up to Gore Vidal's book, "Lincoln" The book raises some interesting questions about history's interpretation of Lincoln and his motives. Has Lincoln's reputation as a much loved president, who saved the Union and freed the slaves, been influenced by his assassination? Would his reputation have been different if he had lived and possibly faced a political backlash by both Democrats as well as radical Republicans?

The book is a political "whodunnit" with a fast moving plot and very believable characters- some fictional and some who were contemporaries of Lincoln. Many of these real life characters also appeared in the Vidal novel.
The book also thoroughly describes the impeachment process, both politically and constitutionally.
I highly recommend this novel for lovers of history and politics.
… (lisätietoja)

Religion and his place in American public and private life are a theme that has consistently remained at the center of our national debate. In recent years, many political leaders and opinion makers have come to view any religious element in public discourse as a tool of the radical right for reshaping American society so in our zeal to keep religion from dominating our politics, we have constructed political and legal cultures that force the religiously devout to act as if their faith didn't really matter. In the Culture of Disbelief, Stephen L Carter explains how we can preserve the vital separation of church and state while embracing rather than trivializing the faith of millions or treating religious believers with disdain.… (lisätietoja)

Eunice Hunton Carter was a towering figure of American history whose many accomplishments have been forgotten or never given their true due because she was a Black woman. Carter became a lawyer in the 1930s and ended up working with Thomas Dewey as he prosecuted gangsters in New York City, and moved on to become one of the most known Black Americans in the 1940s as she worked tirelessly for equality and recognition. Her grandson’s biography, Invisible, tells her story with a solid base of primary sources and a passable effort at unbias reporting. Invisible is an excellent nonfiction book for history buffs looking for an unlikely but true tale of Black perseverance in the 1930s through the 1950s.… (lisätietoja)

A friend recommended this book before he had finished it. I think he ended up feeling much the same as I did about Stephen Carter’s bloated novel:it’s much too long, and the plot is intrusively complicated. The main character, law professor Talcott Garland, is a needed, often whiny son of a judge who has died, apparently of a heart attack. But maybe not. And that is what makes up much of the mystery in the book. I found the plot twists more work than I wanted to put in, especially for nearly 700 pages. The book is bloated by about half. To his credit, however, Carter’s writing is top notch. That said, I could have done with less religion.… (lisätietoja)