Description
While revealing as history, Wasik's account about the first Republican President's launches of infrastructure shame the ignorant, obstinate, narcissist Republicans of today who wish instead to build up tyrant Trump's political infrastructure. This is a book to be read and used today." -Ralph Nader
The only biography of its kind, Lincolnomics narrates The Great Emancipator's untold legacy as The Great Builder of American infrastructure-developer of an economic ladder to democracy through national transportation, public education, and market access
Lincoln's view of the right to fulfill one's economic destiny was at the core of his governing philosophy-but he knew no one could climb that ladder without strong federal support. Some of his most enduring policies came to him before the Civil War, visions of a country linked by railroads running ocean to ocean, canals turning small towns into bustling cities, public works bridging farmers to market.
Expertly appraising the foundational ideas and policies on infrastructure that America's sixteenth president rooted in society, John F. Wasik tracks Lincoln from his time in the 1830s as a young Illinois state legislator pushing internal improvements; through his work as a lawyer representing the Illinois Central Railroad in the 1840s; to his presidential fight for the Transcontinental Railroad; and his support of land-grant colleges that educated a nation. To Lincoln, infrastructure meant more than the roads, bridges, and canals he shepherded as a lawyer and a public servant.
These brick-and-mortar developments were essential to a nation's lifting citizens above poverty and its isolating origins. Lincolnomics revives the disremembered history of how Lincoln paved the way for Eisenhower's interstate highways and FDR's social amenities. With an afterword addressing the failure of American infrastructure during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how Lincoln's policies provide a guide to the future, Lincolnomics makes the case for the man nicknamed "The Rail Splitter" as the Presidency's greatest builder.
* Targeted outreach to history and economics organizations, websites, podcasts, and publications.
* Social media marketing on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads giveaways.
* PR campaign with print, radio, and digital interview targets, including NPR and all major national television stations.
About the Author
John F. Wasik is the author of nineteen books, including Lightning Strikes: Timeless Lessons in Creativity from the Life and Work of Nikola Tesla. His columns, blogs, and articles have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Reuters, Forbes, and Bloomberg News. In 2018, Wasik was named an Illinois Road Scholar for the Illinois Humanities Council. His speaking engagements on technology, history, investing, and innovation reach global audiences. He lives in Grayslake, IL.
Reviews
"This unique blend of biography and policy prescription . . . traces the roots of Lincoln's support for the transcontinental railroad and other 'internal improvements' . . . Wasik convincingly argues that his economic policies deserve more credit. Liberals will cheer this eye-opening account."
-Publishers Weekly
"A unique contribution . . . Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, Lincolnomics: How President Lincoln Constructed the Great American Economy is an impressively unique, extraordinarily informative, and a seminal work of simply outstanding scholarship."
-Midwest Book Review
"In the engrossing new work, the only biography of its kind, Lincolnomics, John F. Wasik . . . explores Lincoln's foundational governing policies. . . . Lincolnomics is especially relevant at this moment as President Biden is proposing one of the biggest infrastructure packages in American history, and there is also debate on what that term really means."
-Brooklyn Digest
"If we are to 'think anew and act anew' to overcome the 'American carnage' of the present, John F. Wasik's Lincolnomics provides an important and stimulating view of how Lincoln's vision may apply to the future. He shows us Lincoln the Great Builder and Lincoln the Great Innovator, whose works in his time and enduring idea of America served as the foundation for progressive change through the 20th century and may once again inspire us in the 21st. What would Lincoln do? Lincolnomics helps answer that question."
-Sidney Blumenthal, former senior adviser to President Bill Clinton, former national staff reporter for The Washington Post, and author, The Political Life of Abraham Lincoln
"John Wasik invented a new word for this book because his theme bears new force: Abraham Lincoln sought a better-built nation and a freer legal space to help every individual, regardless of background, to aspire and rise. Most historians know this too vaguely about Lincoln; Wasik finally gives the great democratic idea the prominence it deserves."
-James M. Cornelius, Ph.D., Editor, Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association
"Lincolnomics offers a unique insight into the remarkable career and accomplishments of America's most celebrated president-an icon in this country and around the world. Hundreds of books have been written about Lincoln's personal and political life, yet little has been researched regarding his leadership in promoting major infrastructure projects that positioned America to emerge ultimately as the world's leader in industry and technology. His belief in the importance of projects including canals, railroads, and communications has great relevance today as we explore the need for a major infrastructure initiative led by the federal government. If you are interested in history and public policy, Wasik's engaging publication is a must read."
-Gerald Adelmann, President and CEO, Openlands
"Though I have read several bookshelf-feet on Lincoln books, Wasik clearly seems to have made the case for-and opened up-a whole new area of study regarding his heritage as an environmentalist, public educator, and infrastructure innovator."
-Don Rose, Chicago journalist and independent political consultant
"Wasik presents Abraham Lincoln as 'nothing less than our foremost architect of economic opportunity.' In an engaging, informal style, he explores the policies Lincoln promoted across his career including transportation improvements, public education, and free labor. Wasik sees in Lincoln's policies a broad roadmap for promoting equal economic opportunity in the twenty-first century."
Praise for The Merchant of Power: Sam Insull, Thomas Edison, and the Creation of the Modern Metropolis
"[A] focused look at one of the most interesting historical figures you've never heard of . . . a fascinating cautionary tale."
-Fortune
"Brilliant . . . [B]rings Insull back to complicated life, and should revive interest in a forgotten giant."
-Chicago Sun-Times
"Does a fine job of telling the early story of utilities, moguls and scandal."
-Chicago Tribune
"Wasik writes well, and Insull is a complex man whose life and times makes worthwhile reading."
-Publishers Weekly
Praise for The Cul-de-Sac Syndrome: Turning Around the Unsustainable American Dream
"[Wasik] shows how the American dream of moving further from a city to buy a bigger house and find better schools was a costly proposition, which was an underlying cause of the crisis. . . . [A] totally new look at the American dream and its costs."
-moneywatch.com
Praise for Keynes's Way to Wealth: Timeless Investment Lessons from the Great Economist
"Wasik's distillation of how Keynes made-and then remade-his fortune is instructive. And the principles that Keynes followed have stood the test of time. As Mr. Wasik adds, 'The object of investing is to ensure prosperity, not to become obsessed with making money.'"
-The New York Times
"I'd always heard Keynes was a talented investor but never knew any of the details. John Wasik's excellent book uncovers that story and reveals Keynes's considerable investing skills."
-Joe Manseuto, founder and CEO, Morningstar
Book Information
ISBN 9781635766936
Author John F. Wasik
Format Hardback
Page Count 320
Imprint Diversion Books
Publisher Diversion Books
The only biography of its kind, Lincolnomics narrates The Great Emancipator's untold legacy as The Great Builder of American infrastructure-developer of an economic ladder to democracy through national transportation, public education, and market access
Lincoln's view of the right to fulfill one's economic destiny was at the core of his governing philosophy-but he knew no one could climb that ladder without strong federal support. Some of his most enduring policies came to him before the Civil War, visions of a country linked by railroads running ocean to ocean, canals turning small towns into bustling cities, public works bridging farmers to market.
Expertly appraising the foundational ideas and policies on infrastructure that America's sixteenth president rooted in society, John F. Wasik tracks Lincoln from his time in the 1830s as a young Illinois state legislator pushing internal improvements; through his work as a lawyer representing the Illinois Central Railroad in the 1840s; to his presidential fight for the Transcontinental Railroad; and his support of land-grant colleges that educated a nation. To Lincoln, infrastructure meant more than the roads, bridges, and canals he shepherded as a lawyer and a public servant.
These brick-and-mortar developments were essential to a nation's lifting citizens above poverty and its isolating origins. Lincolnomics revives the disremembered history of how Lincoln paved the way for Eisenhower's interstate highways and FDR's social amenities. With an afterword addressing the failure of American infrastructure during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how Lincoln's policies provide a guide to the future, Lincolnomics makes the case for the man nicknamed "The Rail Splitter" as the Presidency's greatest builder.
* Targeted outreach to history and economics organizations, websites, podcasts, and publications.
* Social media marketing on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads giveaways.
* PR campaign with print, radio, and digital interview targets, including NPR and all major national television stations.
About the Author
John F. Wasik is the author of nineteen books, including Lightning Strikes: Timeless Lessons in Creativity from the Life and Work of Nikola Tesla. His columns, blogs, and articles have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Reuters, Forbes, and Bloomberg News. In 2018, Wasik was named an Illinois Road Scholar for the Illinois Humanities Council. His speaking engagements on technology, history, investing, and innovation reach global audiences. He lives in Grayslake, IL.
Reviews
"This unique blend of biography and policy prescription . . . traces the roots of Lincoln's support for the transcontinental railroad and other 'internal improvements' . . . Wasik convincingly argues that his economic policies deserve more credit. Liberals will cheer this eye-opening account."
-Publishers Weekly
"A unique contribution . . . Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, Lincolnomics: How President Lincoln Constructed the Great American Economy is an impressively unique, extraordinarily informative, and a seminal work of simply outstanding scholarship."
-Midwest Book Review
"In the engrossing new work, the only biography of its kind, Lincolnomics, John F. Wasik . . . explores Lincoln's foundational governing policies. . . . Lincolnomics is especially relevant at this moment as President Biden is proposing one of the biggest infrastructure packages in American history, and there is also debate on what that term really means."
-Brooklyn Digest
"If we are to 'think anew and act anew' to overcome the 'American carnage' of the present, John F. Wasik's Lincolnomics provides an important and stimulating view of how Lincoln's vision may apply to the future. He shows us Lincoln the Great Builder and Lincoln the Great Innovator, whose works in his time and enduring idea of America served as the foundation for progressive change through the 20th century and may once again inspire us in the 21st. What would Lincoln do? Lincolnomics helps answer that question."
-Sidney Blumenthal, former senior adviser to President Bill Clinton, former national staff reporter for The Washington Post, and author, The Political Life of Abraham Lincoln
"John Wasik invented a new word for this book because his theme bears new force: Abraham Lincoln sought a better-built nation and a freer legal space to help every individual, regardless of background, to aspire and rise. Most historians know this too vaguely about Lincoln; Wasik finally gives the great democratic idea the prominence it deserves."
-James M. Cornelius, Ph.D., Editor, Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association
"Lincolnomics offers a unique insight into the remarkable career and accomplishments of America's most celebrated president-an icon in this country and around the world. Hundreds of books have been written about Lincoln's personal and political life, yet little has been researched regarding his leadership in promoting major infrastructure projects that positioned America to emerge ultimately as the world's leader in industry and technology. His belief in the importance of projects including canals, railroads, and communications has great relevance today as we explore the need for a major infrastructure initiative led by the federal government. If you are interested in history and public policy, Wasik's engaging publication is a must read."
-Gerald Adelmann, President and CEO, Openlands
"Though I have read several bookshelf-feet on Lincoln books, Wasik clearly seems to have made the case for-and opened up-a whole new area of study regarding his heritage as an environmentalist, public educator, and infrastructure innovator."
-Don Rose, Chicago journalist and independent political consultant
"Wasik presents Abraham Lincoln as 'nothing less than our foremost architect of economic opportunity.' In an engaging, informal style, he explores the policies Lincoln promoted across his career including transportation improvements, public education, and free labor. Wasik sees in Lincoln's policies a broad roadmap for promoting equal economic opportunity in the twenty-first century."
-Ann Durkin Keating, Professor of History, North Central College and author, The World of Juliette Kinzie, Chicago Before the Fire
"At a brisk pace and in engaging prose, Wasik presents a persuasive case that Lincoln's obsession with public goods and services led to a series of policies that built modern America....Wasik is also careful to avoid the traps of sentimentality and hero-worship. He writes bracingly about how Lincoln's infrastructural agenda routinely robbed Native Americans of land, excluded Black workers, and exploited the labor of the poor."
-The Progressive Magazine
Praise for The Merchant of Power: Sam Insull, Thomas Edison, and the Creation of the Modern Metropolis
"[A] focused look at one of the most interesting historical figures you've never heard of . . . a fascinating cautionary tale."
-Fortune
"Brilliant . . . [B]rings Insull back to complicated life, and should revive interest in a forgotten giant."
-Chicago Sun-Times
"Does a fine job of telling the early story of utilities, moguls and scandal."
-Chicago Tribune
"Wasik writes well, and Insull is a complex man whose life and times makes worthwhile reading."
-Publishers Weekly
Praise for The Cul-de-Sac Syndrome: Turning Around the Unsustainable American Dream
"[Wasik] shows how the American dream of moving further from a city to buy a bigger house and find better schools was a costly proposition, which was an underlying cause of the crisis. . . . [A] totally new look at the American dream and its costs."
-moneywatch.com
Praise for Keynes's Way to Wealth: Timeless Investment Lessons from the Great Economist
"Wasik's distillation of how Keynes made-and then remade-his fortune is instructive. And the principles that Keynes followed have stood the test of time. As Mr. Wasik adds, 'The object of investing is to ensure prosperity, not to become obsessed with making money.'"
-The New York Times
"I'd always heard Keynes was a talented investor but never knew any of the details. John Wasik's excellent book uncovers that story and reveals Keynes's considerable investing skills."
-Joe Manseuto, founder and CEO, Morningstar
Book Information
ISBN 9781635766936
Author John F. Wasik
Format Hardback
Page Count 320
Imprint Diversion Books
Publisher Diversion Books
