Robert Burleigh '57 Authors O Captain, My Captain: Walt Whitman, Abraham Lincoln, and the Civil War

December 2, 2019

Robert Burleigh, a 1957 graduate of DePauw University, is the author of O Captain, My Captain: Walt Whitman, Abraham Lincoln, and the Civil War. The book is published by Harry N. Abrams.

A synopsis states, "Dramatic, lyrical, and beautifully illustrated, O Captain, My Captain tells the story of one of America’s greatest poets and how he was inspired by one of America’s greatest presidents. Whitman and Lincoln shared the national stage in Washington, D.C., during the Civil War. Though the two men never met, Whitman would often see Lincoln’s carriage on the road. The president was never far from the poet’s mind, and Lincoln’s 'grace under pressure' was something Whitman returned to again and again in his poetry. Whitman witnessed Lincoln’s second inauguration and mourned along with America as Lincoln’s funeral train wound its way across the landscape to his final resting place."

Publishers Weekly calls the book "an emotionally and historically resonant homage to two kindred spirits," while Booklist notes, "Utilizing a succinct, yet lyrical style, Burleigh quotes frequently from Whitman's poetry, providing a good sense of this nineteenth-century icon. [Sterling] Hundley's mixed-media artwork favors black, white, and sepia (consistent with period photos), embellished with color washes . . . Carefully researched and beautifully rendered."

Learn more and order the book at Amazon.com.

Robert Burleigh was a history major at DePauw and received a master's degree in the humanities from the University of Chicago. His other books include: Tiger of the Snows (Tenzing Norgay: The Boy Whose Dream Was Everest), Stealing Home - Jackie Robinson: Against All Odds, Into the Woods, The Secret of the Great Houdini, and Amelia Earhart: Free in the Skies.

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