American Brutus: John Wilkes Booth and the Lincoln Conspiracies

Very intriguing read; the author attempts to unravel the way in which the conspiracy to murder President Lincoln evolved, and to a certain extent goes against the conventional wisdom. His point of view is that John WIlkes Booth was a master manipulator, and was not merely a frustrated actor looking for acclaim. There's also an interesting analysis of the trial of some of the conspirators, and how even by the standards of 1865 (let alone today), it was something of a travesty of justice. It does require you to flip back and forth between the notes in the back and the text to get the full flavour of what's going on, which can be a bit annoying, but cracking those nuts does pay off. Recommended.

This is a penetrating study of Booth's life and motivations, with some original twists. For example, Kauffman argues persuasively that Booth did not break his leg jumping from the Ford's Theatre box but in a riding accident on his escape through Maryland.

more detailed than manhunt but still taut and gripping. a bit of "sympathy with the devil." helps to clarify what we really "know" about the assasination and the time leading up to and following it

All of the events of the Lincoln conspiracy and assassination are covered in Kauffman's comprehensive account. Starting with background on Maryland's divided loyalties, he moves on through a history of the Booth family, John Wilkes Booth's career and Southern sympathies, the development of a plot to kidnap Lincoln, the planning of the conspiracy that draws more and more people in, the failure in the one attempt to nab Lincoln, the assassination of Lincoln and attempt on the life of Seward, the manhunts and arrests, the killing of Booth, the military tribunal trials of the conspirators and the executions and imprisonments, and the pardons of the surviving prisoners as well as short summaries of what happened later to most of the major show more characters.
It seems likely to be a definitive account of the events due to the detail and balanced handling. He dismisses many myths and wilder theories but seldom bothers to refute them point by point. Rather he tells the story and notes in passing these other stories and theories.
Much of the detail Kauffman presents is based on a database he created from the 11,000 page Lincoln Assassination Suspects file in the National Archives. He input synopses of each document and developed an organization of events by persons involved, location, and time. He actually input many factors (such as financial dealings, horses involved, state of health, people mentioned in conversation, etc.) In this he found unnoticed patterns in behavior and relationships among plotters. This revealed recruiting trips, secret meeting, and about a dozen trips by Booth to New York City.
His picture of Booth is of a man who misdirects and entangles the conspirators. He is not the pawn of others, but the manipulator of the plot. He was in every sense an actor playing his role and frequently lied to the people involved. show less

John Wilkes Booth made the trip from fame to infamy in short order, and this remarkable book fleshes out the details of that fascinating journey to such a degree that it renders all previous Lincoln Conspiracy books (and they've been cranking 'em out for about a century-and-a-half now) completely useless. Incredible stuff.

3966. American Brutus: John Wilkes Booth and the Lincoln Conspiracies, by Michael W. Kauffman (read 20 Dec 2004) Ever since I read with great astonishment in December of 1945 the book Why Was Lincoln Murdered? by Otto Eisenschiml I have been interested in Lincoln's assassination. (Incidentally, this book calls Eisenschmil's claims as to Stanton's alleged role in the event "outrageous".) The author is an expert on the subject, having spent over 30 years in studying it. The book opens with an account in great detail of the events of April 14 and 15, 1865, then meticulously relates what Booth and the people he sucked into his scheme did before and after those two days. The research seems to have been exhaustive and sometimes the account is show more exhausting. It seems clear the trial of the conspirators by military commission was illegal but the ones who were convicted were quickly hung so the Supreme Court never got a chance to tell anyone about the illegality. Most of the book is exciting and informative and I enjoyed reading it. show less

Favorite JWB dialog from the book. This took place after Booth saw a speech by Lincoln where Lincoln called for voting rights for black soldiers. Booth went to pick up his mail at the Ford Theater and vent with fellow actors and said: (quote from book)
"If a man were to go out and insult a nigger now, he would be knocked down by the nigger and nothing would be done to the nigger."
Tom Raybold replied," You should not insult a nigger then."

Yes, I agree with other reviews. It was a very thorough account of the assassination and kidnapping conspiracy, and it also gave a good feel of what the times and mood of the country had been like. A good read.