Bloody Times

This book is a telling of the two Civil War president's actions as the war and both of their lives come to an end. Swanson tells a historic account using many original sources in the novel. From Lee's surrender, to Lincoln's assasination, and all the way to Davis' capture, this story is rooted in historical facts.
This would be a good book to use in an 8th grade classroom when the students are learning about the Civil War. I wouldn't particularly use this in an English classroom, but it would be a good tool in a Social Studies class. This book could easily be paired with "Huckleberry Finn" or for a high school class Kate Chopin's "The Awakening."
I liked this book because of its history and I learned a lot that I didn't know about the show more Civil War and the parallels between Lincoln and Davis. I had a hard time reading this book because it read a lot like that of a history textbook. I wish the story could have been told through a more interesting narrative while still staying true to the facts. I think nonfiction is hard for English teachers because the nonfiction they are used to reading is literary criticism, rather than the retelling of historical events. show less

Alternating chapters of the story of Lincoln’s last days as a living and then martyred President with the story of Jefferson Davis’ attempt to keep the Confederacy alive make for a fascinating glimpse into history. The details of Lincoln’s funeral train, and the throngs of mourners as it travels to Springfield, Illinois, are interspersed with Davis’s journey to save the south as well as avoid arrest.

I really liked learning more about Jefferson Davis who, as Swanson notes, has been lost in history. Also good was the focus on a the activities during the last days of the war and the number of quotes from diaries and pictures.

Details the manhunt for Jefferson Davis, the President of the Confederate States of America.