Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews (Thu Apr 28 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

Where the format might lead some readers to anticipate a simplified primer, this second collaboration by Hennessey and McConnell (The United States Constitution: A Graphic Adaptation, 2008) again finds them probing the implications of history through incisive analysis and compelling art. What the narrative terms "probably the most famous and influential speech in American history," "just 271 words in length and requiring no more than a few minutes to recite out loud," might not initially seem like enough of a hook for such an expansive examination. Yet practically every one of those words proves significant, as the scope of the book extends from the American Revolution to the present day, casting the Civil War as tragic and transformative but likely inevitable as well. It finds the country's two most revered and renowned documents--the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution--at odds with each other, as the equality celebrated in the former (though the degree to which that equality was intended to extend remains open to interpretation) finds itself on a collision course with the rights of the states (and distrust of a strong central government, after the tyranny of England) inherent in the latter. Add the profound differences between the North and South--in demographics, climate, economy, political orientation--and the intensification of those with the passage of time, and you've got an explosion waiting to happen. Resisting the temptation to reduce the conflict to a morality play--the evil of slavery vs. the ideal of emancipation (though there is that)--or to make President Abraham Lincoln more enlightened on race relations than a man of his time was likely to be--the authors combine historical depth with art that also finds shades of gray amid the black and white. Even Civil War buffs should find this graphic adaptation engaging, provocative and deftly nuanced.

ALA Booklist (Sun Sep 01 00:00:00 CDT 2013)

Hennessey deconstructs the phrases composing President Lincoln's brief memorial speech and uses each one to explore the many complicated cultural and political components of the American Civil War. McConnell's detailed and highly textured art expands and supports the text by showing the variety of class-based, racial, and historical perspectives creating the mismatched lenses through which Americans view their own history, along with helpful maps and comparative presentations of changed landscapes. Without being didactic or overwhelming, this stellar nonfiction graphic novel shows the challenges of nation building and maintenance in a place and time where technology, economics, and social theory are all undergoing rapid growth and facing considerable resistance. Instead of deifying Lincoln as either an author or an orator, the creators of this work present a thoroughgoing study of the complexity of his brief battlefield speech. A star follow-up to the team's The United States Constitution: A Graphic Adaptation (2008).

Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

Where the format might lead some readers to anticipate a simplified primer, this second collaboration by Hennessey and McConnell (The United States Constitution: A Graphic Adaptation, 2008) again finds them probing the implications of history through incisive analysis and compelling art. What the narrative terms "probably the most famous and influential speech in American history," "just 271 words in length and requiring no more than a few minutes to recite out loud," might not initially seem like enough of a hook for such an expansive examination. Yet practically every one of those words proves significant, as the scope of the book extends from the American Revolution to the present day, casting the Civil War as tragic and transformative but likely inevitable as well. It finds the country's two most revered and renowned documents--the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution--at odds with each other, as the equality celebrated in the former (though the degree to which that equality was intended to extend remains open to interpretation) finds itself on a collision course with the rights of the states (and distrust of a strong central government, after the tyranny of England) inherent in the latter. Add the profound differences between the North and South--in demographics, climate, economy, political orientation--and the intensification of those with the passage of time, and you've got an explosion waiting to happen. Resisting the temptation to reduce the conflict to a morality play--the evil of slavery vs. the ideal of emancipation (though there is that)--or to make President Abraham Lincoln more enlightened on race relations than a man of his time was likely to be--the authors combine historical depth with art that also finds shades of gray amid the black and white. Even Civil War buffs should find this graphic adaptation engaging, provocative and deftly nuanced.

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Many of us will admit to sleeping through history class but we might have stayed awake if we-d been taught by the crafters of this graphic novel, which examines one of our nation-s most oft-quoted presidential speeches. We are all familiar with -four score and seven years ago- and most of what follows-but how much of it have we ever really paid attention to or even attempted to understand? Hennessey-s text pores over Lincoln-s address and breaks down its 271 words into 17 sections, explaining the meaning of each passage from both historical and philosophical viewpoints, bolstered with exhaustive amounts of historical information. McConnell-s artwork lends the text considerable evocative gravitas and relates the stark truth of the Civil War and the years leading up to it, avoiding the larger-than-life, emotionally manipulative tropes sometimes found in depictions of that dire period. A real revelation that puts the speech-s content in proper context rather than presenting it as a bunch of pre-recorded hoary platitudes issuing from the mouth of an animatronic figure in a gaudy theme park. (June)