Chasing Lincoln's Killer

I read this one on Jody's recommendation, and I'm glad she sent it to me. I learned all sorts of stuff about Lincoln and Booth that I didn't know (yay for learning!), and it was surprisingly suspenseful considering it's common knowledge how things turned out. Also there was mention of brain matter oozing between fingers and blood gushing from knife wounds and things getting set on fire. Carnage and history, two great tastes that taste great together!

I had so many kids tell me how awesome this story was-- kids who said they didn't normally like non-fiction, but that they couldn't put this book down. So I moved it up on my reading list, and it is indeed a fascinating story. The way that James Swanson paces the events draws the reader right in, as does his opening statement that the circumstances surrounding Lincoln's assassination and the manhunt following Lincoln's death are so bizarre that nobody could make this stuff up. Middle-grade and middle-school students will come away with a new appreciation of Lincoln and the tension that faced the country in the days following the Civil War's official end. Captivating from beginning to end.

Chasing Lincoln's Killer follows John Wilkes Booth from his decision to assassinate Lincoln (with some mentions of an earlier attempt to kidnap him), to his attempts to evade authorities afterward and eventual death. Contrary to what the title implies, more of the book's time is spent on the assassination (and his accomplices' efforts) than on the pursuit, probably because blood, gore, and death were deemed more interesting than a couple guys becoming increasingly rank as they attempted to escape to Virginia.

This wasn't something I'd normally have read, but I needed some new work-time listening, and this was available, unabridged, and relatively short. The narrator fit the book well, and the book itself was okay considering I went into show more it not knowing anything but the most basic details about Lincoln's assassination. I hadn't even known that Booth had been involved in a prior plot to kidnap Lincoln.

So, yes, I learned a few things, although some googling later on indicated that some of the things Swanson wrote about as if they were fact might have been fuzzier than he presented them. I wasn't sure how uncertain something had to be for him to mention that we don't know for sure what really happened, because there were definitely times when he pointed moments like that out.

Those with a low tolerance for gore should approach this with caution. The descriptions of Lincoln's assassination are graphic, right down to the path the bullet traveled in Lincoln's skull. Even the description of the efforts to take Lincoln somewhere more dignified to die were pretty gory. Lewis Powell's attempt to kill Secretary of State William H. Seward was also very detailed.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.) show less

This is the suspenseful tale of the 12 day search for President Lincoln's cold blooded killer, the infamous John Wilkes Booth. Written in chronological order with untitled chapters, the widely known story of Lincoln's assassination is told through the eyes of his killer and several people close to Lincoln. Swanson provides details about the assassination otherwise I would not have known. One of the actresses at Ford's Theater, performed her way into the President's Box with a pitcher of water, to hold the dying Lincoln's head in her lap, only later to show off her blood splattered dress for years to come. Swanson is sure that each detail in this book is accurate, reminding the reader just how deceiving Booth had to be to convince his show more followers and co-conspirators to follow out his mission. We follow Booth as he escapes Washington on a broken leg, as he seeks shelter throughout the south for 12 days while the entire country is after him. There is a generous amount of photographs, illuminating the text to show characters, weapons, houses, newspaper clippings, etc. Often during this time newspapers and paintings were completed over night, with little factual basis, Swanson includes these to show the reader how news really did travel by mouth. Every photograph has a caption or label explaining the history.

James Swanson wrote the Edgar Award winning adult best seller, "Manhunt", and three years later wrote the young adult version. The cover and end pages of this book immediately draw the reader in with anticipation, even with a story likely the reader is already familiar. Swanson shares his devotion to this subject, ironically as he shares Lincoln's birthday, due to his grandmother sending him a framed newspaper clipping of the Booth used to murder Lincoln. In his acknowledgments, Swanson thanks his children for helping him write to his target audience; changing words from "conspirator" to "henchman".

This book was given to me blindly as a "blind date with a book" activity. All I knew was there was an element of suspense and that it was listed as a historical thriller. I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about the plot and assassination of President Lincoln. As an educator I would suggest reading this book with grades 6-12, either in history or English. This is a thrilling read with language best suited for young adults. show less

I didn't notice this was Scholastic Audio until after I started it. With that and the shorter length, I thought it was going to be breezy fluff for the YA set. However, it is as economic and effective overview of all the key conspirators and their actions related basically in parallel, chronological timelines.

This is a very interesting story and one that is great for middle grade and high school students due to the graphic nature of some of the details and pictures(for example, there is a picture of some of the conspirators hanging). There are plenty of authentic pictures of those involved as well as of newspaper headlines from the times. This was very well researched and clearly used primary sources. The story was well paced and very interesting as well. The vivid descriptions, such as when the doctor probes the bullet wound in Lincoln's head with his dirty fingers actually made me grimace but were fascinating at the same time. The book overall explains Booth's motives and lays out the previous foiled plots that he hatched as well as the show more manhunt that follows his escape from Ford's Theatre. show less

Chasing Lincoln’s Killer Book Review
The book Chasing Lincoln’s Killer, by James L. Swanson, was surprisingly interesting to me. I normally don’t like books that were based back in the day, but this historical non-fiction book was awesome. The reason I think this is because the book is filled with details, surprises, and suspense. Surely anyone who enjoys these characteristics in a book will love this!
Many people know about Lincoln's assassination in April of 1865, but what many people don’t know is the whole story that happened in the days after his death. This book is written about the true story of a wild chase for John Wilkes Booth, Lincoln's killer. The story starts at the end of the Civil War, when hopes were high and the show more North was celebrating, but John Wilkes Booth was depressed over the death of the confederacy. The book goes on to highlight the day that Booth killed Lincoln in Ford's Theater. The second half of the book focuses on the detectives, and the New York Calvary, who chased Booth and his accomplices in the days after he assassinated Lincoln. Important events that were described in this book were the shooting at Fords Theater, the last minutes of Lincoln's life, and Booth's escape from the law on an injured leg and his eventual capture and death.
This book was told chronologically from the time right before Lincoln went to Fords Theater until Booths death. One part of this book that really stood out to me was when Lincoln was shot in Fords Theater. Booth planned the assassination in a very short period of time, yet it was surprising that he got away with it, and had a horse waiting for him outside. Also the audience thought that Lincoln getting shot was part of the act (people actually laughed) which is really sad. Another important event was when President Lincoln was taken across the street from Ford's Theater to a civilian's house where he was being taken care of in the hours before his death. Here, the intense details of Lincoln's operation were described. The other major events were based on Booth's run from the law. With an injured leg, Booth stopped at a series of checkpoints or safe houses along his escape route. The first one was a farmer named Mudd. Once Mudd realized that Booth was the assassinator of the president, Mudd ordered Booth to leave his farm because Mudd didn’t want any trouble, and sent Booth to the rest of the checkpoints along the way, one being Captain Cox's place and another at Thomas Jones’s. When finally in Virginia at the Garrett farm, Booth is captured and shot in the burning barn by the New York Cavalry.
I think Swanson achieved his purpose of describing Lincoln's assassination, and Booth's chase very well. He was very detailed and descriptive which made this book powerful and effective. For instance, Swanson talks about how when Lincoln was shot ,"the wet brain matter slowed the ball's speed, absorbing enough of its energy to prevent it from exiting the other side of the skull through the president's face" ( pg. 41). Also, when the president was dying and being operated on at the Peterson house, “the doctor's probed Lincoln's bullet wound with their bare, dirty fingers, sticking their pinkies inside Lincoln's brain". ( pg 90) Quotes like these were very descriptive and disturbing but powerful as well. The second half of the book about Booth's determined escape on injured leg was full of suspense. Under the constant hunt of the Union Cavalry, Booth could hardly rest. From hiding in bushes for days with no food to climbing in boats at dark, no one would know his fate. The author keeps the suspense up until the end when Booth is surrounded by the cavalry in the burning barn with three choices."The assassin had three choices: stay in the barn and burn alive, blow his brains out, or script his own honorable end by hobbling out the front door and doing a battle with man hunters, welcoming death but risking capture"(pg.171). I love and recommend this book because of these elements.
Anyone who enjoys history or the Civil War time period would find this book very interesting. This book left me thinking if I were to put myself into Booth's shoes, could I have made it as far as he did to reach freedom? Overall Swanson did a great job writing this book! show less