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The Day Lincoln Was Shot is a gripping, minute-by-minute account of April 14, 1865: the day President Abraham Lincoln was tragically assassinated. It chronicles the movements of Lincoln and his assassin John Wilkes Booth during every movement of that fateful day. Author and journalist Jim Bishop has fashioned an unforgettable tale of tragedy, more gripping than fiction, more alive than any newspaper account. ? First published in 1955, The Day Lincoln Was Shot was a huge bestseller, and in show more 1998 it was made into a TNT movie, with Rob Morrow as Booth. show lessTags
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The title is accurate: this is literally an hour-by-hour account of the last day of Abraham Lincoln's life. And it's actually very interesting, though I do wonder how in the world the author knew some of the details - where people sat in a room, what they said to each other, what time they put their head in their hands, that kind of thing. Was that information really available? How much did he fill in the gaps on his own? Still, it's quite the thorough immersion into life during that time period, and a fascinating look at the surprisingly sloppy execution of an ultimately successful conspiracy.
Why is it that individual acts of monstrous evil fascinate us, moving us more than hearing on the news that another ten thousand have perished in an earthquake or a volcano outbreak? That being the case, this book is a great read.
I first read it in grade school, then persuaded our teacher to let me turn it into a play. I was Lincoln, of course; I cast Deborah, on whom I had an undying crush (her family moved away that summer and I never heard of her again -- isn't that the perfect way for a grade school crush to end?). But my friend Bart stole the show. The class loved the way he relished shouting out "Sic semper tyrannis" after shooting me with a cap pistol.
Reread it more than thirty years later, and it didn't hold up too badly.
I first read it in grade school, then persuaded our teacher to let me turn it into a play. I was Lincoln, of course; I cast Deborah, on whom I had an undying crush (her family moved away that summer and I never heard of her again -- isn't that the perfect way for a grade school crush to end?). But my friend Bart stole the show. The class loved the way he relished shouting out "Sic semper tyrannis" after shooting me with a cap pistol.
Reread it more than thirty years later, and it didn't hold up too badly.
Hourly account of what key players were doing on this fateful day from the time of awakening on April 14th until the president succumbed to his wounds on April 15th. Bishop includes two chapters that provide additional background material on the small group of conspirators and events leading up assassination. It covers the hourly movements of Lincoln, his family, and cabinet members, as well as those of the conspirators, and the actions taken in the aftermath.
This book provides insight into the character, wit, and perspicacity of Lincoln through his words and actions. The reader comes away from the narrative with an understanding of the personalities and motivations of the principals. Bishop’s account of the night at Ford’s theater show more is filled with tension and foreboding. The story is logical, well-paced, and captivating. Bishop adds descriptive details that provide a sense of the era. The author lists his sources in the bibliography but does not annotate passages with formal footnotes. It reads as non-fiction in the form of a story.
Even though the reader knows the outcome, it is hard to resist hoping for a different ending. It is a good source for putting to rest some of the more outlandish speculations that came about after the fact. It seems clear that Reconstruction would have been handled differently had Lincoln survived. Bishop puts readers “on the scene” of the tragic end to one of the worst periods of American history. show less
This book provides insight into the character, wit, and perspicacity of Lincoln through his words and actions. The reader comes away from the narrative with an understanding of the personalities and motivations of the principals. Bishop’s account of the night at Ford’s theater show more is filled with tension and foreboding. The story is logical, well-paced, and captivating. Bishop adds descriptive details that provide a sense of the era. The author lists his sources in the bibliography but does not annotate passages with formal footnotes. It reads as non-fiction in the form of a story.
Even though the reader knows the outcome, it is hard to resist hoping for a different ending. It is a good source for putting to rest some of the more outlandish speculations that came about after the fact. It seems clear that Reconstruction would have been handled differently had Lincoln survived. Bishop puts readers “on the scene” of the tragic end to one of the worst periods of American history. show less
A gripping narrative that holds the reader's interest right up to the final page. I found myself wanting Bishop to keep going after Lincoln's death, since the book was such an absorbing read. Bishop says in the forward that the book is "pretty much a journalistic job," but acknowledges that some of the quotations are reconstructed rather than direct. The reconstructions are plausible, and it appears all the important quotes and activities are based on thorough documentation. This hour-by-hour recounting of 24 hours and 22 minutes of April 14 and 15, 1865, will appeal to general readers as well as history buffs.
7 stars: Good.
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Good read. Very detailed, down to describing the wallpaper pattern in the house that the president was taken to after he was shot. Also describes in detail, Booth's day (both before and after the assassination) as well as the assassination attempt on Seward and his family and how Stanton took over (even though Johnson arrived --and left--the death watch). A fascinating book, with a chapter for each of 25 hours ( 7 AM through 7:59 AM the next day) and two chapters of background information.
Worth the read.
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Good read. Very detailed, down to describing the wallpaper pattern in the house that the president was taken to after he was shot. Also describes in detail, Booth's day (both before and after the assassination) as well as the assassination attempt on Seward and his family and how Stanton took over (even though Johnson arrived --and left--the death watch). A fascinating book, with a chapter for each of 25 hours ( 7 AM through 7:59 AM the next day) and two chapters of background information.
Worth the read.
Read this in high school and I still remember what a great read it was. A historical recreation that reads like a novel. The story of events surrounding the assassination of the president. Great read for history buffs or anyone else.
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Harper Perennial (P005)
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title*
- De dag dat Lincoln werd doodgeschoten
- Original title
- The Day Lincoln Was Shot
- Original publication date
- 1955
- People/Characters
- David Herold; Abraham Lincoln; Robert Todd Lincoln; Lewis Powell (as Lewis Payne); John Harrison Surratt, Jr.; Mary Surratt (show all 26); Edwin Adams; Kate Anderson; Henry Bowen Anthony (as Senator Anthony); Isaac N. Arnold; Samuel B. Arnold (as Samuel Arnold); George Ashmun; George A. Atzerodt; Christopher C. Augur (Major General); Adam Badeau (General); Joseph K. Barnes (Surgeon General); David Homer Bates; Samuel H. Beckwith (as Samuel Beckwith); Henry Ward Beecher; William H. Bell (as William Bell); Judah P. Benjamin; James Gordon Bennett; Francis Preston Blair (as Frank Blair); Edwin Booth; John Wilkes Booth; Junius Brutus Booth
- Important places
- Washington, D.C., USA
- Important events
- Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
- Related movies
- The Day Lincoln Was Shot (1998 | IMDb)
- Epigraph
- Good Friday was the day
Of the prodigy and crime,
When they killed him in his pity,
When they killed him in his prime...
...They killed him in his kindness,
In their madness in their blindness,
And they kill... (show all)ed him from behind...
He lieth in his blood -
The Father in his face;
They have killed him, the forgiver -
The Avenger takes his place...
There is sobbing of the strong,
And a pall upon the land;
But the People in their weeping
Bare the iron hand:
Beware the People weeping
When they bare the iron hand.
--Herman Melville - Dedication
- Dedicated to My Dearest Friend, John M. Bishop, Who Is Also My Father
- First words
- This is a book about a day, a place and a murder - and about a wide variety of men and women.
The polished rosewood door swung back and the President of the United States came from his bedroom. - Quotations*
- Good Friday was the day Of the prodigy and crime When they killed him in his pity, When they killed him in his prime............ They killed him in his kindness, In their madness in their blindness, And they killed him from b... (show all)ehind.....
He lieth in his blood - The father in his face; They have killed him, the forgiver - The Avenger takes his place.......
There is sobbing of the strong, and a pal upon the land; But the people in their weeping Bare the iron hand: Beware the people weeping When they bare the iron hand - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)The last of the survivors, Robert Todd Lincoln, died at the age of eighty-three, in 1926.
- Original language
- English
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
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