Book excerpt: President Abraham Lincoln wanted a complete and comfortable hospital as possible built near the steamboat landing in Washington, D.C. After Armory Square Hospital was constructed, Lincoln kept a constant interest in the care of sick and wounded soldiers. Lincoln often visited Armory Square Hospital and Amanda Akin saw him there as he made the rounds of beds, warmly shaking hands and inquiring about wounds. She also shook Lincoln's hand on more than one occasion in the White House. Another frequent visitor to Armory Square with whom she was less impressed was Walt Whitman. She thought him odd and that his writings on things such as "free love" queer. Nevertheless, she quotes from Whitman in this book, as he had also worked in the hospitals during the war. Front-line letters and diaries of the Civil War bring an immediacy to a long-ago event and connect us to these everyday men and women who lived it. Included in this volume are letters to Akin's sisters and excerpts from her diary. Her great warmth and caring for the boys coming through her ward comes through in her writing and she includes many interesting notes about wartime Washington. For the first time, this long-out-of-print book is available as an affordable, well-formatted book for e-readers and smartphones. Be sure to LOOK INSIDE or download a sample.