![]() ![]() That book did not pretend to be a biography of Lincoln but, as the foreword made clear, was intended to “set forth several enigmas of his life, several issues which historians and biographers still dispute.” One of the disputed issues was (and is) the development of Lincoln’s attitudes and policies with respect to blacks. To try to make this point, he takes a passage out of context from my book “The Lincoln Nobody Knows” (1958). He replies with the ad hominem argument that I am a “professional saint-maker” and that “going on here is a deliberate revision” to “serve the saint in the ‘80s” when “no national saint can be suspected of racism.” He even claims that I am his authority for the very statement in question! In my review of his novel I said there was “no convincing evidence” for his assertion that as late as April, 1865, Lincoln was still planning to colonize freed slaves outside the United States. 1 day ago &0183 &32 Gore mayor Ben Bell has denied allegations made by other councillors who say his actions are affecting their mental health. In the Journal of Southern History (February, 1986) I pointed out a number of historical errors in Vidal’s “Lincoln: A Novel.” He now denounces me but evades responding to any of my criticisms except one. ![]() ![]() Gore Vidal displays his talent for distortion and deception in “Passing the Word of History and Hagiography” (Opinion, March 24). ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |