...A magisterial work, a brilliant and moving story that will fascinate the general [listener]. . . . --Doris Kearns Goodwin, author of Team of Rivals The words Abraham Lincoln spoke at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery at Gettysburg comprise perhaps the most famous speech in history. From Four score and seven years ago... to government of the people, by the people, for the people, Lincoln's words echo in the American conscience. In the aftermath of the bloodiest battle ever fought in North America, the little town of Gettysburg was engulfed in the worst man-made disaster in U.S. history: close to 21,000 wounded; very few doctors; women coping in barns and churches turned into hospitals; dead horses and mules rotting in the fields; and at least 7,000 dead soldiers who had to be dug up, identified, and reburied. This was where Lincoln had to come explain why the horror of war must continue. In The Gettysburg Gospel, Gabor Boritt reconstructs what really happened in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on November 19, 1863. Boritt tears away a century of myths, lies, and legends to give us a clear understanding of America's greatest speech. Gabor Boritt is the Robert Fluhrer Professor of Civil War Studies and Director of the Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College. His life story is soon to be the subject of a feature-length documentary film. He lives with his wife on a farm near the Gettysburg battlefield. Audiobook veteran Michael Kramer has recorded more than 100 audiobooks for trade publishers and many more for the Library of Congress Talking Books program. His audiobooks include North and South, Money for Nothing, and Robert Jordan's fantasy-adventure fiction. Excerpted from The Gettysburg Gospel: The Lincoln Speech That Nobody Knows by Gabor Boritt All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.