This vividly rendered Civil War history presents “a lively guided tour of Washington during the 24 hours or so around Lincoln’s swearing-in” (Adam Goodheart, Washington Post). By March 4, 1865, the Civil War had left intractable wounds on the nation. Tens of thousands crowded Washington’s Capitol grounds that day to see Abraham Lincoln take the oath for a second term—and witness what was perhaps the greatest inaugural address in American history. Lincoln stunned the nation by arguing that both sides had been wrong, and that the war’s unimaginable horrors might have been God’s just verdict on the national sin of slavery. In Every Drop of Blood, Edward Achorn reveals the nation’s capital on that momentous day—with its mud, sewage, and saloons, its prostitutes, spies, reporters, social-climbing spouses and power-hungry politicians. Swirling around the complex figure of Lincoln, a host of characters are brought to life, from grievously wounded Union colonel Selden Connor to the embarrassingly drunk new vice president, Andrew Johnson, to poet-journalist Walt Whitman; from soldiers’ advocate Clara Barton and African American leader Frederick Douglass to conflicted actor John Wilkes Booth. In indelible scenes, Achorn captures the frenzy and division in the nation’s capital at this crucial moment in America’s history. His story offers new understanding of our great national crisis, and echoes down the decades to resonate in our own time.

A vivid portrayal of the Civil War. Johnny, fourteen, convinces his mother to let him join a wagon train carrying food to Confederate soldiers. He has been brought up to believe that all blacks are stupid; thus, when captured by a black Union soldier who insists that Johnny teach him to read, he deliberately tricks him. The boy is surprised the soldier saves him from imprisonment and their relationship grows throughout the book.

Get the Summary of Edward Achorn's Every Drop of Blood in 20 minutes. Please note: This is a summary & not the original book. On the eve of Lincoln’s second inauguration, Washington was bustling with visitors despite poor weather. The city was filled with music, laughter, and festivities, though fears of mischief led to increased security. Notable figures like Ulysses S. Grant and Frederick Douglass were present, symbolizing support for racial equality. Douglass criticized Lincoln’s moral stance on slavery but acknowledged the war’s noble cause. The Capitol was crowded with visitors, and Lincoln signed significant legislation, including the Freedmen’s Bureau bill...

I was raised to believe that there was a God and that He was a personal being. As a child, you don’t really question what your parents tell you. If they say there is a jolly, three-hundred-pound man who delivers all the Christmas toys in one night on the backs of flying reindeer with one red headlight, you believe them. When I reached adolescence, however, I felt compelled to question everything. I challenged the picture of God that emerged from the instructions given by my parents, teachers, and pastors. And these questions weren’t all of the trivial type, such as, “Can God create a rock so heavy that He can’t lift it?” Nope, they were: “Why do bad things happen to good people? Does everything happen for a reason, and according to God’s will? Everything? Including all the bad stuff?” Then there were the highly polarizing views that never appeared to be questioned, such as, “Trust, love, worship, and serve God, or else He’ll send you to hell.” Views like that were terrifying. If God is supposed to be our caring and loving Father, how could He burn to death His disobedient children? I didn’t think the worst parent on earth would do something that ghastly. This picture was beyond toxic and left me in state of fear. The fear of God made me feel small and worthless and that my only value to Him was worship and obedience. I’m sorry to say, but God seemed like a big bully, and pushing me around didn’t win over my heart. Sure, pushing one another down in a demonstration of strength was how my classmate Max and I became best friends in third grade, but I wasn’t in third grade anymore! Even when I was told that God loved me, and because of that love sent His Son to earth to save us all, it still sounded fearsome and gruesome. Did God have to torture His Son on a cross, otherwise He couldn’t accept me for who I am? Why would God have to do that if He’s the most powerful being in the universe? If He wanted to save us from the “pitchfork guy,” then He should rescue us with His superpowers instead of some bloody, seemingly orchestrated, sacrificial ritual. At the heart of all my questions, there was essentially just one question I was asking: Do I matter to God, or is it only what I do for Him that matters? To think that our service to Him is our only value, places us as nothing more than servants, or even worse—slaves. Yet I was assured as an adolescent that God wanted to be friends. He wanted to be my best friend, in fact. But how many friends do you have who would kill you if you weren’t their friend? Zero! You’d call the cops if that scenario were ever presented to you. However, we can’t call law enforcement on God. He is the law! And if you don’t obey His law, you get a divinely enforced death sentence. Thanks . . . friend? In the end, it left me stuck. How do you tell someone who can detonate you, “Thanks, but no thanks”? I eventually arrived at the conclusion that communicated exactly what I was reaching for: If God wants to truly be my friend, then He should be more friendly. Worth Every Drop is a journey of faith—discovering a God who is consistent, friendly, and trustworthy. It is a deep dive into the Bible to make sense of who God is, and who we truly are to Him. Whether you are a boomer or a millennial, agnostic or a believer, this book is for you.

In Give Me Liberty: A Handbook for American Revolutionaries, bestselling author Naomi Wolf illustrates the changes that can take place when ordinary citizens engage in the democratic system the way the founders intended and tells how to use that system, right now, to change your life, your community, and ultimately, the nation. As the practice of democracy becomes a lost art, Americans are increasingly desperate for a restored nation. Many have a general sense that the “system” is in disorder—if not on the road to functional collapse. But though it is easy to identify our political problems, the solutions are not always as clear. In Give Me Liberty: A Handbook for American Revolutionaries, bestselling author Naomi Wolf illustrates the breathtaking changes that can take place when ordinary citizens engage in the democratic system the way the founders intended and tells how to use that system, right now, to change your life, your community, and ultimately, the nation.