Edward Steers

Did a collector with a knack for making sensational discoveries really find the first document ever printed in America? Did Adolf Hitler actually pen a revealing multivolume set of diaries? Has Jesus of Nazareth's burial cloth survived the ages? Can the shocking true account of Abraham Lincoln's assassination be found in lost pages from his murderer's diary? Napoleon famously observed that "history is a set of lies agreed upon," and Edward Steers Jr. investigates six of the most amazing frauds ever to gain wide acceptance in this engrossing book. Hoax examines the legitimacy of the Shroud of Turin, perhaps the most hotly debated relic in all of Christianity, and the discovery of fossils confirming humanity's "missing link," the Piltdown Man. Steers also discusses two remarkable forgeries, the Hitler diaries and the "Oath of a Freeman," and famous conspiracy theories alleging that Franklin D. Roosevelt had prior knowledge of the attack on Pearl Harbor and that the details of Lincoln's assassination are recorded in missing pages from John Wilkes Booth's journal. The controversies that Steers presents show that there are two major factors involved in the success of a hoax or forgery - greed and the desire to believe. Though all of the counterfeits and conspiracies featured in Hoax have been scientifically debunked, some remain fixed in many people's minds as truth. As Steers points out, the success of these frauds highlights a disturbing fact: if true history fails to entertain the public, it is more likely to be ignored or forgotten.

Of the many presidents and founding figures of the United States, few have garnered more attention than Abraham Lincoln. Much of what we know about Lincoln's life comes from anecdotes providing only brief glimpses of the man. As such, there is great interest in determining the true character of the "Great Emancipator." His life and deeds have been heavily researched, interpreted, and reinterpreted time and again until the multitude of "truths" have become untrustworthy. Because Lincoln is an integral piece to our national belief system and understanding of who we are as a free country, the consequences of such reinterpretation affect not only our imaginings of Lincoln's character, but call into question the character of a nation. In Getting Right with Lincoln: Correcting Misconceptions about Our Greatest President, Ed Steers sets the record straight, rectifying some of the most prominent misconceptions about Lincoln's life. He seeks to address claims about Lincoln that have little to no basis in historical fact yet have found a foothold in mainstream Lincoln lore. Such erroneous stories range from the portrayal of Lincoln as having a troubled and perhaps scandalous early adulthood on the frontier to more serious attacks on his character, such as the claim that he held racist, white supremacist beliefs. Using his background in health science, Steers refutes claims regarding illnesses -- from endocrine disorders to syphilis -- with which the president was supposedly afflicted. Steers sticks to primary textual evidence to dispel common myths "at the source," and maintains caution when reviewing the potentially biased reminiscences of historic figures close to the president. Steers puts his vast knowledge of the life of President Lincoln on display for readers in Getting Right with Lincoln. His entertaining writing style and contention with some of the more popular and provocative Lincoln revisionist histories will garner attention from broad audiences who are interested in Lincoln's story and getting to the bottom of the stories that surround him.

"In this encyclopedia of Lincoln's assassination, Edward Steers, Jr., the foremost scholar of the assassination, has assembled knowledge of the subject scattered in documents and writings over a period of nearly a century and a half, organized it authoritatively and comprehensively, and written about it clearly." --William Hanchett, author of Out of the Wilderness: The Life of Abraham Lincoln The definitive A-to-Z reference to the Abraham Lincoln assassination by Edward Steers, author of Blood on the Moon: The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln. With a foreword by Manhunt author James L. Swanson.

The folklore surrounding history's towering figures often overshadows actual scholarship, both in terms of quantity and in terms of prevalence in the public consciousness. As one might expect with a revered national icon, nearly every facet of Abraham Lincoln's life has been subject to mythmaking as well as academic inquiry of widely varying quality and accuracy. In Lincoln Legends, noted historian and Lincoln expert Edward Steers Jr. carefully scrutinizes some of the most notorious tall tales and distorted ideas about America's sixteenth President. Did Abraham Lincoln write his greatest speech on the back of an envelope on the way to Gettysburg? Did he appear before a congressional committee to defend his wife against charges of treason? Was Lincoln an illegitimate child? Was he gay? Edward Steers weighs the evidence in these and other heated debates about the Great Emancipator. Steers's conclusions will satisfy some and disappoint others, and he just might settle some of these enduring questions once and for all.

Winner of the 2001 The Lincoln Group of New York's Award of Achievement A History Book Club Selection The assassination of Abraham Lincoln is usually told as a tale of a lone deranged actor who struck from a twisted lust for revenge. This is not only too simple an explanation; Blood on the Moon reveals that it is completely wrong. John Wilkes Booth was neither mad nor alone in his act of murder. He received the help of many, not the least of whom was Dr. Samuel Alexander Mudd, the Charles County physician who has been portrayed as the innocent victim of a vengeful government. Booth was also aided by the Confederate leadership in Richmond. As he made his plans to strike at Lincoln, Booth was in contact with key members of the Confederate underground, and after the assassination these same forces used all of their resources to attempt his escape. Noted Lincoln authority Edward Steers Jr. introduces the cast of characters in this ill-fated drama, he explores why they were so willing to help pull the trigger, and corrects the many misconceptions surrounding this defining moment that changed American history. After completing an acclaimed career as a research scientist at the National Institutes of Health, Edward Steers Jr. has turned his research skills to the Lincoln assassination. He is the author of several books about the president, including The Trial.