The Gettysburg Address: A Graphic Adaptation is a full-color illustrated look at Abraham Lincoln’s most famous speech, the bloody battle of the Civil War that prompted it, and how they led to a defining point in the history of America.   Most of us can recall “Four score and seven years ago,” but much of what we know about Abraham Lincoln’s oration has been forgotten after high school.   Using Lincoln’s words as a keystone, and drawing from first-person accounts, The Gettysburg Address shows us the events through the eyes of those who lived through the events of the War, from soldiers to slaves.   Writer Jonathan Hennessey and illustrator Aaron McConnell illuminate history with vibrant, detailed graphics and captions that deliver a fresh understanding of this vital speech. 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). --Francisca Goldsmith “Avoiding the didactic, the book succeeds in being both consistently entertaining and illuminating . . . A fine introduction to U.S. legal history.” - Publishers Weekly “Before Obama is sworn in as the next U.S. president in January, let Hennessey and McConnell’s The United States Constitution: A Graphic Adaptation be your refresher course.” - Charles Moss, PopMatters Praise for The United States Constitution: A Graphic Adaptation: “The coolest thing since Schoolhouse Rock.” - Rachel Maddow “ An excellent work . … Not a simplification but a detailed and nuanced analysis of Lincoln’s famous speech” - Library Journal (starred review) “A stellar nonfiction graphic novel . ... McConnell’s detailed and highly textured art. ... shows the variety of class-based, racial, and historical perspectives creating the mismatched lenses through which Americans view their own history.” - Booklist “A very nuanced historical argument…” - Slate Political Gabfest “A sweet, quick, thoroughgoing history of the U.S. Constitution . . . You’d be hard-pressed to find a better primer for bringing the kids, foreigners and forgetful in your life up to speed.” - Cory Doctorow “Intelligently written, lushly illustrated . . . Hennessey interweaves the Framers’ intent with contemporary battles over constitutional law, while McConnell colors history with masterful strokes. A civics lesson no one should miss.” - Village Voice (A Best Book of 2008) “[A] must-read graphic novel treatment of the history, meaning and evolution of the United States Constitution. It should be a staple of every high school history class.” - Jonathan Valania, Phawker “We the people can now appreciate our nation’s founding document unpacked into easy-to-follow explanations enriched with stick-in-your-mind visuals . . . A surprising and effective accomplishment; highly recommended for all collections. Buy multiples for kids, teens, and adults.” - School Library Journal (starred review) “Aaron McConnell’s illustrations are brilliant in their effectiveness of depicting complex themes and ideas in discernable ways. The style is reminiscent of the political cartoons of yore and his use of iconography is clever and informative.” - Chris Wilson, The Graphic Classroom “Engaging, provocative and deftly nuanced. ... This second collaboration by Hennessey and McConnell again finds them probing the implications of history through incisive analysis and compelling art.” - Kirkus Reviews (starred review) A fully illustrated graphic adaptation that offers a new look at the Gettysburg Address, the bloody battle that prompted it, and the Civil War Most of us can recall "Four score and seven years ago," but much of what we know about this historic speech, and what it has to say about the Civil War itself, has been lost since we left grade school. The Gettysburg Address offers a revolutionary way to experience Lincoln's masterwork. Striking at the underlying meaning of Lincoln's words, it uses the Address to tell the whole story of the Civil War. We see how bitter seeds sown by the Founding Fathers sprouted into a bloody war, and ultimately blossomed into the progres