Best of the best 2013

We are proud to announce that Lincoln and Medicine by Glenna R. Schroeder-Lein was recently chosen as one of the "Best of the Best" University Press Books for Public and Secondary School Libraries by the American Library Association.

Committee member Gay Ann Loesch said "The controversies over the mental and physical conditions of the 16th presidential family are examined in light of today's medical knowledge, making the title informative, approachable, documented, and fascinating reading, shedding new light on the health issues of Lincoln's family. This medical history of Abraham Lincoln and his family lends itself to integrating this period of history and the practices of medicine of the times, providing a core resource for allied health curriculum in high schools, thus enhancing the study of both areas. Readers will learn about sixteenth century American history, culture, medical remedies and practices and be able to compare them to modern medical treatment and knowledge."

Also honored as "outstanding" was Walter Frank's Making Sense of the Constitution: A Primer on the Supreme Court and Its Struggle to Apply Our Fundamental Law. Hilary Albert called it "a marvelous introduction to the constitution and how the Supreme Court and our governmental structure are supposed to work, while still being mindful of different or varying opinions. A great deal of the book focuses on the bill of rights and the amendments, both the history and the evolving views of the various justices. There is also a discussion about how the court itself works. Overall, this is a great start for someone interested in learning about constitutional law who has no background at all."

Several other titles were selected for inclusion in the 2013 edition of University Press Books for Public and Secondary Schools, an annual collection published with the support of the American Library Association, the American Association of School Librarians, and a committee of Public Library Reviewers. Included in the bibliography are: 

Heavenly Bodies, by Cynthia Huntington

Lincoln's Ladder to the Presidency: The Eighth Judicial Circuit, by Guy C. Fraker
Lincoln and the Constitution, by Brian R. Dirck

Giant in the Shadows: The Life of Robert T. Lincoln, by Jason Emerson 

The Madness of Mary Lincoln, by Jason Emerson
Lincoln and Race, by Richard Striner
Lincoln as Hero, by Frank J. Williams
The Mary Lincoln Enigma: Historians on Americas Most Controversial First Lady, edited by Frank J. Williams and Michael Burkhimer (Enigma)
The Chattanooga Campaign, edited by Steven E. Woodworth and Charles D. Grear
Mending Broken Soldiers:The Union and Confederate Programs to Supply Artificial Limbs, by Guy R. Hasegawa