Editorial Review

This book opens with a dramatic black-and-white photograph of Lincoln being shot in the head, accompanied by text on how this happened. This is a good lead in to the topic of Gilmore’s book on how the Lincoln Memorial came into being. The rest of the book deals with the selection of a memorial to honor President Lincoln. There were many aspects to consider such as who would design it, what materials would be used and where it would go. An interesting fact was the location chosen for it. The land was swampy and wet and workers had to build a platform and place dirt around the platform to form a mound. Also, a life mask of Lincoln had to be used to form a plaster mold of his face as well as his hands. In 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., gave a speech called ‘I Have a Dream’ on the steps of the Memorial. Gilmore does a nice job of writing about a much visited Washington, D.C. sight.