April 15, 2015 marks the 150th anniversary of the death of Abraham Lincoln, the nation’s 16th president and one of its most famous personages. Few other American figures have been quite as celebrated, eulogized or invoked in the public consciousness, and fewer still have taken on the stuff of legend that Lincoln assumed both during and beyond his lifetime. His story is quintessential American myth: born poor in a log cabin, self-taught, freed the slaves, died tragically. But it is in interpretations of his life and beliefs that he took on the deep meaning and nearly universal praise his image and reputation enjoy today. His death itself turned into a major media event. In The Lincoln Assassination: Crime and Punishment, … Continued