Tom Alderman
2 min readJan 11, 2021

JEFFERSON, LINCOLN, TRUMP & OTHER FRIPPERIES

WHERE TRUMP GETS SOME OF HIS MATERIAL - “If people believe there is an imaginary river out there, you don’t tell them there is no river. Rather, you build an imaginary bridge over the imaginary river.” Nikita Khrushchev, former Soviet Premier

THIS IS SOME GOOD SHIT - Thomas Jefferson used scraps of paper in his bathroom for hygienic purposes. Some of these scraps are housed in the Library of Congress.

ALWAYS LATE - Do people who wear faceless Movado watches care at all about time?

ANYONE YOU KNOW? -“Mud sometimes gives the illusion of depth.” Stanislaw Lec

DEFINITION OF OBSESSION - Someone who sees the light at the end of the tunnel, then looks for another tunnel.

POLITICAL REALITY -“Competition brings out the best in products and the worst in people.” David Sarnoff, former Chairman, RCA

PROBIOTICS ARE GOOD FOR THE BODY -It’s the AmateurBiotics we’ve got to watch out for.

LINCOLN ON THE VERGE -You may think you know about Abraham Lincoln from the more than 15,000 biographies about the man. You don’t until you take in Ted Widmer’s immersive narrative of president-elect Lincoln’s thirteen day journey from Springfield, Illinois, to his D.C. swearing-in.

What elevates this audiobook is the considerable amount of detailed news coverage the trip generates at every town and city stop along the route. It also benefits from John Hay, Lincoln’s private secretary and his detailed notes which includes the 6’4” president romping in a game of leapfrog with a hotel owner’s son. There is also the sensitive scene when he tries to show his newly grown whiskers to the little girl who’s letter prompted the beard.

Skillfully narrated by Fred Sanders, the 16 hrs, 53 minute audiobook will appreciably expand your understanding of the man historians rank as the nation’s greatest president.

Highly recommended. (print: 624 pages)

Tom Alderman
Tom Alderman

Written by Tom Alderman

Tom Alderman is a thirty year veteran media analyst, trainer and founder of MediaPrep.