Book Review Killing Lincoln

I am personally not into history books very much and this book reinforced that fact. I am though interested in history though, and that was what kept me going with Slave Country. Even though the read was slow and at times hard, the information that was being told was that of a newly formed nation and the beliefs of freedom were at that particular time. It is interesting to learn all of the facts, which this book so prevalently has, but it was more rewarding to have a knew found idea of how hard of a struggle it was to gain freedom for slaves and to form a nation that has evolved in to what it is today. If I happened to come across someone interested in the field of history I would definitely recommend this book because it is an eye opener, but the the average person most likely

The book chasing Lincoln killer begins with Lincoln inauguration. There is a man named john Wilkes booth that is plotting to kill Lincoln, and on April 14, 1865 when booth found out that Lincoln would be attending the play Our American Cousin that night he decided to murder him then. And on the night of April 14, at 10:13pm Lincoln was shot. Lincoln was taken to a house where he lie in bed deaf and wounded but still breathing. Then at 7:22 and ten seconds, Lincoln’s heart stopped beating Lincoln was dead. Along with killing Lincoln booth and his conspirators planned to kill the vice president, , and secretary of state William H. Seward. But George Atzerodt did not decide to kill …, and Lewis Powell succeeded in only injuring Seward. After Lincoln

2. Chasing Lincoln’s Killer is a biography, as it mainly focuses on John Wilkes Booth’s plan to assassinate the president along with the secretary of state and vice president, the actual assassinations in action, and Booth’s attempt to escape to the south, along with personal retellings of what happened by the people involved.

After that, the book speaks to how John Wilkes Booth and his accomplices planned and executed the assassination of President Lincoln. The book then details John Wilkes Booth and his perils of getting away to a place where he can seek refuge from the manhunt. Next, Andrew Johnson is sworn in and takes the office ofhte presidency as the seventeenth president. Booth continues running for twelve days following the assassination of President Lincoln. It was on the twelfth day that Booth was apprehended in a tobacco warehouse on Garrett Farm. After setting the barn containing John Wilkes Booth ablaze, a firefight ensued. Though the soldiers were ordered not to kill John Wilkes Booth, a corpral named Boston Cobrett shot and killed John Wilkes Booth, claiming that God has instructed him to do it. With the head of the conspiracy dead, there were still other people that were somehow involved with the plot to assassinate Lincoln, Mary Surratt, David Herald, George Atzerodt, and Lewis Powell faced trial on July 6, 1865, and were all four hanged on July 7,

The theme of the book Chasing Lincoln’s Killer has numerous of themes, however the theme that stands out the most in the book is that, historical assassination

The book essentially goes over Lincoln’s killer and his plans and what his thoughts were before, during and after the shooting of President Lincoln. It is a book that mainly focuses on John Wilkes Booth , the killer, and his plans and how it panned out. John Wilkes Booth was an actor and lived a wealthy life, he was someone who was considered very handsome by many and someone with fine clothes. His tactics per se were not well planned out. John Wilkes Booth had tried to kidnap President Lincoln before, but he failed to do so he planned on bringing Lincoln to the South and demanding peace, Boothe had recently heard about the appearance the Lincolns would be given at the Ford 's theatre, he knew the Lincoln’s would have a box inside the theatre where he would sit . Although he committed the act of assassinating President Lincoln he did not plan on how he was going to get through to him,the obstacles he would have to overcome, he just knew he would do whatever he needed to do to get the task done. Booth was someone who did not like Lincoln’s plans for America, especially the south. He yelled “ The South is avenged” after killing the president of the United States. Not only were his thoughts on ending the President but also the Vice President and the Secretary of State because of what they stood for.

History class to many falls as a boring lesson, memorizing facts nobody will use in life. The day America got it’s independence, the dates of the end of World War 1 and 2. These facts may seem useless, but behind each one, their is a story with so many valiant people, a story with people who must be forever condemned, and facts that we can always use. In the book, Chasing Lincoln’s Killer, written by James L. Swanson, there is one such story about the death of Abraham Lincoln and the manhunt that followed. What is really important about this story is that there are heroes, who should be remembered, and attackers whose actions must always be condemned. Most importantly, this book shows how many people worked together in order to catch the escapees

The feeling of change, is one many are afraid of. Moreover, the possibility of moving on from the style of one life into the unknown world where they are vulnerable, is frightening to many, unthinkable to some. After the Civil War, hundreds of thousands of Southerners refused to believe in a world where African Americans were also citizens of the Union, one where they were all men were free. While most maintained peace in order to prevent more mayhem, some decided to act out. John Wilkes Booth was one of these such men, and he demonstrated his anger through murder. Booth assassinated President Abraham Lincoln on April 15th, 1865 .The book, Chasing Lincoln’s Killer, written by James L. Swanson reports the anger felt by Booth, in addition to the manhunt that followed, and the shocked nation left behind. The magnitude of emotions felt by Booth leads him to this traitorous act, and this text shows a lot about the how people react to change in their life, because of fear of change, and the annoyance of a new system. Most importantly this text shows us how even through the pain from the worst, there is always a better door in life, waiting to be opened.

“With malice towards none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as god gives us to see the right, let us strive to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nations wounds; to care for him who shall borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphaned child-to do all which may be achieved and cherished a just and a lasting peace among ourselves, and with all other nations”-Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address (Great Documents of America 19).

He held one final meeting with his co-conspirators. He said he would kill Lincoln at the theatre (he had since learned that Grant had left town). Atzerodt was to kill Vice-President Andrew Johnson at the Kirkwood House where Johnson resided. Powell was assigned to kill Secretary of State William Seward. Herold would accompany Powell. All attacks were to take place simultaneously at approximately 10:15 P.M. that night. Booth hoped the resulting chaos and weakness in the government would lead to a comeback for the South.

McPherson’s book on Abraham Lincoln is about his struggle as president to keep the union together. The book explained the different strategies, decisions, and speeches Lincoln used in order to keep the confederacy from seceding from the union. His timing on military strategy and national strategy helped the outcome of the revolution. McPherson also talks about the lives of African Americans after the Emancipation Proclamation was put into effect. The most believed reason for the Civil War was Lincoln’s decision to abolish slavery and the emancipation. McPherson discusses how this outraged the south, where slavery was necessary for the everyday functions of their plantations. Lincoln immediately had to defend his decision and himself. “Thus

Bill O’Reilly is very organized in Killing Lincoln. There are parts of the book, organizing the time periods and subjects of the chapters. The first part is about Total War and discusses how Lincoln controlled the Union during the Civil War. The second part is about John Booth’s plan to kill Lincoln. The last part is about Lincoln’s assassination and how it impacted America. O’Reilly covers the subject pretty well, as he goes into marvelous detail of every subject in each chapter. The pictures offered in several chapters are a great way to attract reader’s attention and help them understand

He believed assassinating Lincoln would make him grander than the man, who according to Booth, was the “grandest character of the century”(83), John Brown. However when things played out otherwise, he was quite befuddled. Why wouldn’t political murder be greeted as an act of heroism? Booth was shocked to learn that what he assumed would be regarded as a courageous act of southern patriotism was covered in the press as a treasonous crime of an evil lunatic. This interpretation challenges the work of critics who have long believed that Booth’s strategy was sound, and executed accordingly. Yet some readers may still challenge the view that Booth is nothing but a misguided patriot whose actions had no effect on the “cause” he believed

Killing Lincoln opens with the end of the Civil War drawing near. Richmond has fallen in a panic by the hands of the Confederate citizens of the capitol. General Robert E. Lee is leading his troops across Virginia in a retreat to the Carolinas for food, ammunition, and reinforcements. General Ulysses S. Grant is hot on Lee’s trail and manages to force Lee’s troops to march farther from the path to the Carolinas. At the Appomattox Court House in 1869, Lee surrenders to Grant and the Civil War ends.

Booth had very many reasons for killing the president and he showed them very openly. Booth loved the fame he had, but he didn’t mind losing most of the Union fans he had in order to leave his name in history and kill Lincoln.