Historians Doris Kearns Goodwin, Harold Holzer, and Ted Widmer discuss the life and times of Abraham Lincoln prompted by Ted Widmer’s new book Lincoln on the Verge: Thirteen Days to Washington which evokes the train journey from Springfield to Washington as Lincoln prepared to become the nation’s 16^th president.  In a review in the Wall Street Journal, Harold Holzer writes: “In a wholly original, gorgeously crafted reimagining, Mr. Widmer portrays Lincoln’s demanding journey as a Homeric odyssey through perilous terrain toward almost preordained immortality…Mr. Widmer brings off his panoramic, almost mythical interpretation with riveting panache.  His book is not only a historical achievement but a literary one.”

At 7:00 p.m. the Museum will bestow the 2020 Robert Gross Award for the Advancement of Concord’s History to Michael Goodwin, founder of the Rivers and Revolutions program at Concord-Carlisle High School.  The forum will then begin around 7:30 p.m.

Ted Widmer’s new book Lincoln on the Verge: Thirteen Days to Washington can be ordered through the Concord Bookshop.

Please note that this forum and award ceremony are virtual.  Participants will be emailed a link to watch the program live.

This is a free event.  Donations are encouraged to support the Concord Museum’s Education initiatives.

This program is supported in part by the Sally Lanagan Fund.

Images from left to right: Ted Widmer, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Harold Holzer, and Michael Goodwin teaching.