Lincoln in the Bardo
by George Saunders, Amir Tsukerman · first published 2017
60% recommend40% neutral
February 1862. The Civil War is less than one year old. The fighting has begun in earnest, and the nation has begun to realize it is in for a long, bloody struggle. Meanwhile, President Lincoln's beloved eleven-year-old son, Willie, lies upstairs in the White House, gravely ill. In a matter of days, despite predictions of a recovery, Willie dies and is laid to rest in a Georgetown cemetery. "My poor boy, he was too good for this earth," the president says at the time. "God has called him home." Newspapers report that a grief-stricken Lincoln returns, alone, to the crypt several times to hold h
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Book Titles > Leonardo da Vinci, by Walter Isaacson. > Everything Happens for a Reason and Other Lies I’ve Loved, by Kate Bowler > Lincoln in the Bardo, by George Saunders. > Origin Story: A Big History of Everything, by David Christian. > Factfulness, by Hans Rosling, with Ola Rosling and Anna Rosling Ronnlund. He goes in depth on why he recommends…
on “Books worth reading this summer” ↗I read 57 books this year, a mix between fiction and non-fiction Top 5 fiction - A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles - Trust by Hernan Diaz - City of Thieves by David Benioff - Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders - Widow Basquiat by by Jennifer Clement Top 5 non-fiction - Boom Town by Sam Anderson - The Second Founding by Eric Foner - The Club by Jonathan Clegg and Joshua Robinson - The…
on “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?” ↗…buzzkill. The key to a good audio book, in addition to the book itself being good, is a good reader, so here are some of my current faves with splendid readers: A Clockwork Orange narrated by Tom Hollander; Lincoln in the Bardo, Nick Offerman; Mrs Dalloway, Juliet Stevenson; Lolita, Jeremy Irons; and Milkman, Brid Brennan.
on “Audible and audiobooks, the fastest growing part of publishing” ↗With all due respect to Kevin Kelly (who has lived a life worthy of the aphorisms he writes!), I prefer the guidance of George Saunders (via Lincoln in the Bardo): > Please do not misunderstand. We had been mothers, fathers. Had been husbands of many years, men of import, who had come here, that first day, accompanied by crowds so vast and sorrowful that, surging…
on “Your Most Improbable Life” ↗Yes, and innovative writing sells well. There is room for the Da Vinci Code _and_ Lincoln in the Bardo.
on “Pre-2022 Books” ↗