Abraham Lincoln: A Life Vol 1 By Michael Burlingame
Publication Date: 2008 Date Finished: January 29, 2021
Rating: 8/10
I’m from Springfield, Illinois, born and raised. It’s the only home I’ve ever known except for my four years away at college. Anyone who has called Springfield home for any amount of time could tell you that Abraham Lincoln is everywhere in the city. He’s more than just our Hometown Hero; our whole identity as a city is being “Mr. Lincoln’s Hometown”. You could walk down any block in town and you are guaranteed to see his name, silhouette, or even his famous hat multiple times. As such, Lincoln has always been a bit of a personal hero of mine. I’ve read his published speeches, books about him and his time, and watched movies and documentaries detailing his life.
Michael Burlingame, the Chancellor Naomi B. Lynn Distinguished Chair in Lincoln Studies at the University of Illinois-Springfield, gives one of the most in depth looks at Lincoln’s life starting a couple generations before his birth in Kentucky and ending as he leaves Springfield to become the 16th President of the United States.
I’ve been to events where Professor Burlingame has given talks on Lincoln and his era and at other events where he was the host of other preeminent scholars in the field. At the 2019 edition of the Lincoln Legacy lecture at UIS, the keynote speakers mentioned how honored they were to be invited to give their talk and about how much Professor Burlingame is respected among the circle of historians specializing in Lincoln and the Civil War Era. One guest speaker said that Michael Burlingame is the last historian working in the field that actually knew Abraham Lincoln (this line received a lot more laughter than I expected). Professor Burlingame gave an interview to Abraham Lincoln Online about his background in general, and this book in particular, that can be found at http://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/books/burlingame.htm
Despite thinking I knew most everything there was to know about President Lincoln, this biography shed some light on his personal life and early political and legal career that was new to me. The notes and bibliography for this first volume really are astounding. Professor Burlingame had unfettered access to almost everything published and unpublished by and about Lincoln from the early 19th century up to the present day. He left no stone unturned when it came to reading letters or newspaper stories about the President. With such detail, the prose can become a bit dry in places, but overall Professor Burlingame keeps the story interesting and moving along at a good pace.
Where this book is at its most interesting is in sections regarding Abraham and Mary Lincoln’s tumultuous relationship, Lincoln’s early political and legal career, and the slavery issue and how it shaped the forming of the Republican Party.
Overall, the first of this two-volume biography is both entertaining and fact filled. One who has spent their whole life hearing stories of Lincoln, I think, would enjoy it just as much as someone unfamiliar with the subject. I have added the second volume to my to be read list and couldn’t be more excited.
Red By: Taylor Swift
Release Date: October 22, 2012; Most Recent Listen: February 15, 2021
Rating: 10/10
I’ve been a Taylor Swift fan from the jump. As soon I heard “Tim McGraw” on the radio for the first time I was hooked. My fandom has waxed and waned in the years since (I was very cool toward her work in the Reputation era), but overall, I’ve been a pretty loyal listener. She released two amazing works during the pandemic in folklore and evermore.
After listening to Swift’s most recent works of Lover, folklore and evermore, I thought that she had to be at the peak of her powers right now, but I decided to relisten to her entire catalog (Reputation excluded) and confirm. I found out that I was wrong. I discovered that Red is the perfect Taylor Swift album. If it were possible to rate something eleven out of ten, this album would merit such an honor.
Red reaches some of the highest highs of any of Taylor’s albums like in the song “All Too Well”, which remains my favorite single of hers to this day. But what sets the album apart from others is that it comes at you for all 16 tracks. There isn’t a song that you could cut and make it a better album. If anything, you wish there would be even more songs. Taylor has always been, and will continue to be, widely recognized as one of the best lyricists of her generation, and this album is her at the zenith of her powers. Taylor displays such a wide range of her talent in this album without making it feel disjointed at all. Her most recent albums have been amazing, but she has yet to top this album from 2012.
Soccer Winner
UEFA Euro 2020: Italy to win the Tournament (+430 at FanDuel)
This is not your grandfather’s version of the Azzurri. The Italians had a good run under coach Antonio Conte when he oversaw the national team from 2014 through a quarterfinal defeat in penalties to the Germans in Euro 2016 (which is not much of a surprise considering he is one of the best managers in the game right now). Things were looking up when Conte stepped down to return to manage at the club level with Chelsea.
Things took a sharp turn for the worse after the appointment of Gian Piero Ventura to succeed Mr. Conte. The unimaginable happened in Milan against Sweden as Italy failed to win the playoff match in Milan after dropping the first leg in Sweden 1-0. The national nightmare had happened. The biggest stage of international soccer would take place without the four-time champions for the first time since 1958. It seemed everything about Italian soccer and its governing body was in a tailspin. Juventus was dominating Serie A while once prominent title contenders like the Milan and Rome clubs seemed to struggle. It was rare to see an Italian club team reach the later stages of the Champions or Europa League. Fans of the Azzurri did not see things turning around for a long while after the devastating loss in Milan and the subsequent retirement of the last holdover of the golden generation that lifted the trophy at the 2006 World Cup.
Then, in steps Roberto Mancini and a wave of youth players that have won age group level European and international competitions. A notable difference has been the style of play of Mancini’s squad. The old Catenaccio style of defending for 90 minutes and hoping to nick a goal from a free kick or have a Totti or another playmaker produce something by themselves is long over. Tiki-Italia is the style that’s in now and Mancini has the players to make it work.
The midfield is arguably the best in the tournament with Jorginho lying deep and showing the wide range of passing that helped Chelsea storm into the top 4 and win the Champions League last season. Marco Verratti is simply one of the best midfielders in the world. He appears to be capable of doing anything on the pitch. And then usually on the right is my favorite player Nicolo Barella. The box-to-box midfield does it all and with a certain Italian flair that is irresistible. He can score goals, break up plays and cover ground with the best of them. The midfield is the engine of this team, but they are not lacking in attack or defense either.
Gianluigi Donnarumma is one of the best young goalkeepers in the world. He has been capped 30 times for the Italian team and is only 22. He’s been playing regularly for AC Milan since he was a teenager and appears to still be improving. He is a worthy successor to Mr. Buffon. We were expecting the throwback center back pairing of Juventus’s Giorgio Chiellini (Italy’s captain) and Leonardo Bonucci to provide veteran leadership to the squad, but Chiellini has been injured. The defense has still been stout throughout the tournament and full back/wing back Leonardo Spinazzola has also helped in attack. The regular front three up until now has been Insigne, Immobile, and Berardi. This trio has not been bad, but also have failed to produce as many goals as an Italy fan would like to see. Federico Chiesa and Matteo Pessina came off the bench to provide extra time goals in the round of 16 against Austria and could find their way into the starting eleven or again be impact players coming off the bench.
The one aspect that worries me about this bet is the tough road the Italians would have to take to get to the final. They play a team in Belgium on Friday that has been ranked as the #1 team in the world recently by FIFA and contains many good and in form players. If they survive that test, a reinvigorated Spain and England could stand in their path. Despite the hard draw, I still think the Italians are the best team left in the tournament and getting the Azzurri at +430 is very good value.
Fantastic analysis Timmy I took Spain early on but I am going to cash out my winnings and take Italy. They are +230 now still a nice payday