Otto Eisenschiml (1880–1963)

222. Why Was Lincoln Murdered? by Otto Eisenschiml (read 19 Dec 1945) From my diary entry for Dec 14, 1945: " I started tonight Why Was Lincoln Murdered? and the narrative ia as intriguing as the title. Lincoln and his death are an interesting and mysterious subject." My entry for Dec 16, 1945: "Reading in Why Was Lincoln Murdered? which is intriguing. The author is interpreting history in a way I never heard before. The questions he raises are interesting." On Dec 17 my entry is: "Finished Lincoln death book except for supplementary notes. After sort of accusing Secretary of War Stanton all through the book of connection in Lincoln's murder at the end the author says nothing can be proved--facts are needed." My entry on Dec 19, 1945: "Finished the Lincoln book and packed it up to return to the Iowa Traveling Library." I read the book over 65 years ago and still remember how astounded I was at what the author implied. Now, apparently the hypothesis he put forth is pretty well poopooed by reliable historians but it did shake me up back there in 1945, when I was a senior in high school.… (mer)

This is rather a pamphlet than a book. It's actually quite fun to read; the author takes critics to task, using the reviews of his own work on Abraham Lincoln as an example. He complains that the reviewers engage in ad hominem attacks and one-upsmanship, and frequently demonstrate that they hadn't read further than the dust jacket. (Except for the pungently polite early twentieth-century mode of speech, these complaints could have been voiced yesterday.) I liked it because the author is a chemist by profession who has written a work of history, and is appalled by the logical lapses and competitive individualism of scholars in the humanities. As someone who trained in the sciences but became a humanities scholar instead, I find a somewhat kindred spirit in this writer.… (mer)