Abraham Lincoln

Mario Cuomo’s Take on The Timeless Relevance of Abraham Lincoln

Bill Thompson

Abraham Lincoln is one of the most written about Americans of all time. It’s estimated there may be as many as 18,000 books about him.

One of those thousands of books was a 2004 volume by former New York Governor Mario Cuomo. And even with all those 1000 of other books, Cuomo felt he needed to call his book Why Lincoln Matters.

As he told me when we talked about his book in the summer of 2004, Abraham Lincoln transcended political parties (after all, Cuomo was a Democrat) and came to symbolize certain principles that politicians of both parties have been eager to embrace for decades.

At the time of this interview the 2004 presidential campaign was just beginning to heat up, and former President Ronald Reagan had just passed away days earlier.

So let’s talk Abraham Lincoln.

Here now, from 2004, Mario Cuomo

Mario Cuomo died in 2015. He was 82.

Looking at The Battle of Gettysburg Through a Modern Lens, With Radios Mark Levin

Bill Thompson
Photo by Gage Skidmor

The first day of July 1863 was a warm, mostly cloudy summer day in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. It was the first day of the three-day Battle of Gettysburg, one of the most pivotal moments in the American Civil War.

For three days thousands of soldiers fought heroically, many suffering gruesome injuries and death.

A few months later, President Abraham Lincoln visited Gettysburg and delivered what has become one of the most familiar and revered speeches in American history.

Get your copy of Mark Levin’s book

One hundred years later, a Philadelphia man named Jack Levin, the son of immigrants, published a book about Lincoln, his famous speech, and the battle that inspired it.

And 45 years after that, the book was republished, with a new preface written by Jack Levin’s son – nationally-syndicated talk show host Mark Levin.

The book, called Abraham Lincoln\’s Gettysburg Address Illustrated, came out in 2010. And that’s when I had the chance to talk with Mark Levin about it. So here now, from 2010, Mark Levin.

Jack Levin died in 2018. Mark Levin can be heard on his national radio show, and seen on Fox News.

Richard Shenkman

Bill Thompson

As we head into the Independence Day weekend, it’s a good time to look back on American history.

For example, we all know that Christopher Columbus discovered America. No, wait, Leif Erikson did.

Abe Lincoln once walk 3 miles to return a library book.

George Washington had wooden teeth.

Are these things true, or are they Legends and myths?

In 1989, investigative journalist Richard Shankman wrote a book called “Legends, Lies, and Cherished Myths About American History.”

Here now, from 1989, Richard Shenkman. \

Rick Shenkman has written several other books debunking the myths of history. And he is founder and editor of the History News Network website.