To give credit to Lincoln for moral progression seems beyond the facts and unnecessary for our appreciation of this arguably greatest of… — Fred Kaplan American Copy Share Image
I'm not a Lincoln expert, rather a biographer who has had the pleasure of reading much of what has been written about… — Fred Kaplan Advice Copy Share Image
Myth and mythology often serve constructive and aspirational purposes. But they also do harm. — Fred Kaplan Constructive Copy Share Image
I first wrote a biography of Thomas Carlyle, and it turned out I loved writing biographies and had a talent for it.… — Fred Kaplan Contribution Copy Share Image
“The New START accord cuts the strategic nuclear arsenals on each side to 1,550 warheads. Can any of its critics make a… — Fred Kaplan Arms-control Copy Share Image
Is there really any relationship between artists' personal conduct and their art? Certainly not. — Fred Kaplan Any Copy Share Image
Gore Vidal was a man of immense literary talent, some of which he used well, some of which he wasted. — Fred Kaplan He Copy Share Image
“He had entered another imaginative world, one connected to the beginning of his life as a writer, to the Napoleonic world that… — Fred Kaplan Art Copy Share Image
Obama is a very fine writer with an excellent command of language. His memoir 'Dreams From My Father' is a fine book,… — Fred Kaplan Books Copy Share Image
“As became a young sinner, Sam [Mark Twain] had a special interest in Satan. He asked his Sunday school teacher questions about… — Fred Kaplan Another woman Copy Share Image
'Colonel Roosevelt' is compelling reading, and Morris a brilliant biographer who practices his art at the highest level. — Fred Kaplan Art Copy Share Image
Can a great artist be mean-spirited, grasping, harsh to his family, violent in his emotions, vindictive in his hatreds, an all-purpose scoundrel?… — Fred Kaplan Art Copy Share Image
I want to contribute to the culture and keep great writers alive by telling the stories of their lives. — Fred Kaplan Alive Copy Share Image
The value of Eric Foner's 'The Fiery Trial' lies in its comprehensive review of mostly familiar material; in its sensible evaluation of… — Fred Kaplan Information Copy Share Image
The post-assassination Lincoln took on a greatly amplified importance to much of the American public, probably the president most deeply reviled in… — Fred Kaplan American Copy Share Image
I got to know Gore Vidal quite well, up front and personal: his magnificent strengths and his appalling, almost other-worldly weaknesses. — Fred Kaplan Front Copy Share Image
Political history is not the only way to approach historical figures. — Fred Kaplan Approach Copy Share Image
It should be quite clear that it is possible for unpleasant people who are small in various ways other than in their… — Fred Kaplan Art Copy Share Image
I started out as a writer of fiction, but nobody wanted to publish my work as a young man. So I decided… — Fred Kaplan Man Copy Share Image
“His own deism allowed for a God who, having made the world, having made the world, did not participate in the working… — Fred Kaplan Management Copy Share Image
“I cannot ask of heaven success, even for my country, in a cause where she should be in the wrong. My toast… — Fred Kaplan Justice Copy Share Image
The challenge of a president himself struggling to find the conjunction between the right words and honest expression, a use of language… — Fred Kaplan Expression Copy Share Image
With all due respect to re-enactors, I consider the Civil War too tragic a subject to make a game of. — Fred Kaplan Civil war Copy Share Image
