Amazon.com's Best of 2001
There are a few books that belong on the shelf of every Civil War buff: James M. McPherson's Battle Cry of Freedom, one of the better Abraham Lincoln biographies, something on Robert E. Lee, perhaps Shelby Foote's massive trilogy The Civil War. Add Jay Winik's wonderful April 1865 to the list. This is one of those rare, shining books that takes a new look at an old subject and changes the way we think about it. Winik shows that there was nothing inevitable about the end of the Civil War, from the fall of Richmond to the surrender at Appomattox to the murder of Lincoln. It all happened so quickly, in what "proved to be perhaps the most moving and decisive month not simply of the Civil War, but indeed, quite likely, in the life of the United States."
Things might have been rather different, too. "What emerges from the panorama of April 1865 is that the whole of our national history could have been altered but for a few decisions, a quirk of fate, a sudden shift in luck." When Lee abandoned Richmond, for instance, his soldiers rendezvoused at a nearby town called Amelia Court House. There, the general expected to find boxcars full of food for his hungry troops. But "a mere administrative mix-up" left his army empty-handed and may have limited Lee's options in the days to come. Or what if Lee had decided not to surrender at all, but to turn his resourceful army into an outfit of guerrilla fighters who would harass federal officials? National reconciliation might have become impossible as the whole South turned into a region plagued with violence and terrorism. For the Union, "there would be no real rest, no real respite, no true amity, nor, for that matter, any real sense of victory--only an amorphous state of neither war nor peace, raging like a low-level fever." One of Lee's officers actually proposed this scenario to his commander in those final hours; America is fortunate Lee didn't choose this path.
Winik is an exceptionally good storyteller. April 1865 is full of memorable images and you-are-there writing. Readers will come away with a new appreciation for that momentous month and a sharpened understanding of why and how the Civil War was fought. Let it be said plainly: April 1865 is a magnificent work, surely the best book on the Civil War to be published in some time. --John J. Miller
Book Description
One month in 1865 witnessed the frenzied fall of Richmond, a daring last-ditch Southern plan for guerrilla warfare, Lee's harrowing retreat, and then, Appomattox. It saw Lincoln's assassination just five days later and a near-successful plot to decapitate the Union government, followed by chaos and coup fears in the North, collapsed negotiations and continued bloodshed in the South, and finally, the start of national reconciliation.
In the end, April 1865 emerged as not just the tale of the war's denouement, but the story of the making of our nation.
Jay Winik offers a brilliant new look at the Civil War's final days that will forever change the way we see the war's end and the nation's new beginning. Uniquely set within the larger sweep of history and filled with rich profiles of outsize figures, fresh iconoclastic scholarship, and a gripping narrative, this is a masterful account of the thirty most pivotal days in the life of the United States.
Customer Reviews:
What about rethinking U.S. Grant.......2007-08-26
The Book was great, except for the matter of fact way of treating Grant. Winik has given me a new perspective on the Cival War. I did not know that this country was largely about words, but little substance. Jefferson's writings were carried out by Abraham Lincoln. What I discovered in Winik's book was that this country was not defined. That is a big thing in itself. Abraham Lincoln simply applied Jefferson's writings far beyond Jefferson did. I remember an old axiom that states "standing for something is only worthwhile when it costs you something to stand for it". I guess Abraham Lincoln was the only President of the U.S. willing to pay the price. This Winik says in his great book, in a more graceful way. I'm sending this book to my son-in-law. Winik's book is a graet read and a knew depth in the Cival War.
Courage and Contingency.......2007-07-13
As the Civil War reached its denouement in April 1865, we tend to think that the victory of the North was already a foregone conclusion. In truth, it is clear that no one yet knew how the war would end. April 1865, by Jay Winik, tells the story of this last month of the war, and how the events that occurred would shape the destiny of the nation. It is a tale of contingency--if one event had gone differently, or one leader had made the other decision, our country might not be what it is today. In Winik's own words, "The ultimate fate of nations is often measured and swayed not by large events, but by tiny ones, small, symbolic gestures that shape men's passions...and quell or inflame lingering hostilities for years to come" (182). In order to demonstrate this, Winik first and foremost deals with the events of this final month, describing their historical background and stressing their importance. Winik also creates vivid vignettes of the men in whose hands lay the power to make or break our foundering country during those uncertain days. And finally, perhaps most importantly, Winik demonstrates that out of the ashes of war, the fragmented group of states was reborn as a nation.
Edward Ayers, in his book In the Presence of Mine Enemies also discussed contingency. But while Ayers was concerned only with the events of the Civil War, and how with small changes they could have been radically different, Winik focuses on the decisions of the great men who drive the cogwheels of history. It is on their shoulders that the monumental decisions of this last month rested, and it is with them that the fate of the nation hung in the balance.
One prominent issue that Winik discusses is whether even after the fall of Richmond and the ragged deterioration of the Confederate armies and their supply lines--would the Confederacy fight on? The Confederate fighters could have split up and taken to the hills, becoming partisans for their cause and engaging in guerilla warfare, prolonging the war indefinitely (146). Jefferson Davis himself supported this plan (299), and it was the worst fear of Lincoln and Grant (66). But it was General Robert E. Lee, with considerable strength of character, who decided against prolonging the conflict, and to the considerable dismay of his superiors, Lee stoically surrendered to Grant at Appomattox (166-169). The fate of the war was in the hands of Lee, and it was Lee who realized that while one must be strong in war, it is necessary to be equally strong in peace. Lee accepted defeat with fortitude, urging his people to become good citizens once again and avoid further bloodshed. Lee spearheaded the Confederate effort to procure peace with the same fervor as which he had prosecuted the war effort (311-316).
Winik also discusses the Northern side of the problem. How should the Union treat the defeated Confederacy? Would there be vindictive retribution, a bloodbath including public hangings of war criminals and the imposition of martial law? Winik shows that it was in the hands of the Union generals as much as it was dependent on government legislation. If Ulysses Grant gave Lee generous terms of peace upon Lee's surrender, further conflict could be avoided. And stirringly, Grant rose to the occasion. Grant, the hardened and often dispassionate veteran of battle saw Lee's surrender as having far-reaching consequences upon the future of the nation. Grant extended the olive branch to Lee, paving the road to reconciliation. As Winik writes so movingly, "Grant himself, spoke simply but clearly: the North may defeat the Confederate armies, it may strip away their guns and remove their cannons, but, if Grant was going to have anything to do with it, it would not also destroy their dignity" (182).
The meeting between Confederate general Joseph Johnston and Union general William T. Sherman took place in the same spirit of appeasement, bolstered by the events at Appomattox. Johnston amicably agreed to Sherman's generous terms, even though both men knew that they were acting against the wishes of their respective governments (318). What can explain how the enmity between all of these hardened fighters simply melted away? Perhaps these generals and their soldiers saw much farther than the politicians because they were out in the field. They had fought with each other in struggles bitter and destructive, they hated each other with a passion, but they also gained respect for one another. Not only did they understand that the war was too devastating to be continued, but they began to realize that the similarities that bound them together were greater than the differences that had split them asunder.
Abraham Lincoln saw further than perhaps any other man of the time, and this is why Winik stresses that he was the keystone that the entire conclusion of the war effort rested upon. Lincoln was probably the only man with the tenacity and conviction to stick to his principles through four hard years of unmitigated bloodshed and unrelenting criticism on all fronts. Lincoln persevered because he was the ultimate champion of the concept of union, stubborn in his belief that the states must be reunited in order to be re-forged as a nation. So on the one hand, Lincoln prosecuted the war with an iron fist, battering the South and burning their cities to the ground, and quelling dissent in the North with the suspension of habeas corpus (246-247). But by the same token, only Lincoln understood that after the cessation of hostilities, the South had to be let off easy, for real reconstruction could only be accomplished through reconciliation. The former Confederates had to be allowed to ease their way back into their own lives and rebuild their broken homesteads without feeling that they were under the control of an autocratic sovereign authority (251). Therefore, it is all the more crushing when we consider Lincoln's assassination; for the bullet that shot him dead also killed his plans for peace. His successor, Andrew Johnson, was rash and vindictive, determined to punish the South for its crime of rebellion (273). Winik asks: would it all come undone? Lincoln was dead, and a palpable feeling of dread and uncertainty hung in the air. Perhaps John Wilkes Booth was part of larger conspiracy to decapitate the Union government. Perhaps the Confederate government itself was the incendiary force behind Booth's deed (259-260). The outcome of April 1865 was far from certain, and this is what Winik is trying to show: one man or one event might have changed everything. Indeed, in the case of Lincoln it is very possible that our nation would be different today if he had presided over the difficult task of Reconstruction.
Lastly, Winik discusses a fundamental change that the Civil War brought to our country. Before the war, even before secession, the United States "were" only a collection of states bound together under the auspices of a rather weak federal government. No one was sure if secession was unconstitutional--Winik demonstrates that many had tried it, but none had succeeded (pardon the pun) before the South did so prior to the Civil War. But the outcome of the war answered the question of secession forever. The United States is a nation, not merely a collection of states (378-380). The long years of brutal conflict brought the people on both sides to the conclusion that the United States was now one unified nation, never again to be sundered by any division among its inhabitants. In the irony of all ironies, Winik shows that by the end of the war, even slavery was no longer an issue. By 1865, the Confederate legislatures had already decided to enlist former slaves in the army to bolster their thinning ranks, and as a reward their freedom would be ensured upon the conclusion of their duties (51-62). With the slaves free on both sides, what was the Confederacy still fighting for? Winik says, "In the end, what the Confederacy cherished most was its independence...as April 1865 approached, the two sides...were closer on the issue of slavery than perhaps they had ever been since the founding of the republic, and yet it no longer mattered" (62). But when the healing process finally began, it was implicitly understood that slavery was dead, and that the country could begin a more vibrant existence as a nation.
April 1865 is not only well-researched and informative, but Winik's narrative is unusually eloquent and poetic. Most surprising for a historical work is that it is also a gripping tale, the suspense being so palpable that I was actually on the edge of my seat. Additionally, it discusses issues of the Civil War that are often not comprehensively dealt with in other books. Furthermore, not only is April 1865 a fine example of historical analysis, but it is also a biographical work of the highest standard. With the touch of a master storyteller, Winik expertly portrays the complex, often conflicted, and yet utterly brilliant lives of the most important characters of the drama; from Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis to Nathaniel Bedford Forrest and John Wilkes Booth. Winik's work is truly a masterpiece, one that will change our perceptions of the final days of the Civil War and help us to better appreciate even the seemingly small actions of the larger-than-life actors who stepped forward in a time of need and shouldered the burden of destiny.
To quote John Wilkes Booth: "The country is not--April 1865 what it was.".......2007-05-31
A glance at the title of Jay Winik's book would suggest that it might be a day-by-day chronology of what was happening during the fateful month that saw the end of the Civil War. But in "April 1865: The Month That Save America" Winik focuses specifically on a series of pivotal decisions that set the stage for reconciliation instead of retribution after the Civil War. Winik's ultimate context is hinted at in his prelude, "A Nation Delayed," that looks at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello as a metaphor for how the United States lacked a national identity prior to the Civil War and focuses on how sundry rebellions and attempts at nullification proved the Southern Confederacy was just the last (and bloodiest) in a long series of attempts to resist being a real nation. But that is exactly what Winik finds at the end of this volume.
"April 1865" is divided into four parts. Part I, March 1865 looks at "The Dilemma" that faced Abraham Lincoln in terms of creating a common country once the war is over. Winik covers the range of Lincoln's thoughts before the fateful meeting on the "River Queen" where he told Generals Ulysses S. Grant and William T. Sherman the sort of peace he envisioned. Part II, April I, 1865 looks at "The Fall" of Richmond and the "Decision" that faced Robert E. Lee between surrendering and turning the Army of Northern Virginia into guerillas. The importance of Lee's decision is balanced by the terms Grant proposed at Appomattox, which embodied Lincoln's hopes. However, Lincoln's assassinations begins "The Unraveling" of this promising start, and Part 3, April 16, 1865 looks at the assassination and its aftermath as essentially the 19th century equivalent of September 11th. Just as Part 2 ends with Lee's surrender, Part 3 culminates in the surrender of Joseph Johnston's army to Sherman. In contrasting what happened when Lee met with Grant versus the meetings between Johnston and Sherman, Winik shows how things had changed but remained the same.
Part 4, Late Spring, 1865, focuses on what Winik labels as "Reconciliation," although the term clearly does not fit everything that was happening. Winik is loath to go beyond the month that gives his book his title, but Lincoln's burial and the Grand Review of the Armies of the Republic both happened the following month, as did the capture of Jefferson Davis. This brings me to one significant thread that Winik neglects completing, because having set up the idea that Andrew Johnson wanted to hang Davis, Lee, and every other leader of the rebellion as traitors, Winik never gets around to what stopped the new President and the rest of the Federal government from doing just that. The capture of Davis is utterly devoid of the dignity that permeated Lee's surrender at Appomattox, in large part because it takes place after Lincoln's assassination. Hanging Jeff Davis from a sour apple tree seems inevitable, but that is not what happens to the former president of the Confederacy and what stayed the hand of Johnson and others who howled for blood should have been laid out to complete the circle, especially since that would be Lincoln's final victory.
With his Epilogue, "To Make a Nation," Winik continues to look at what was happening in the country in late spring 1865, touching on the future of the reunified nation, but focusing on how the nation have irrevocable changed because of what happened in April 1865. In focusing on a pivotal series of decisions, Winik makes the case for his thesis, usually by postulating in some detail what would have resulted from the grim alternative. His biographical sketches of the major players focus on those elements that not only explain how they came to a particular time and place, but also why each did what he did, for better or worse. Winik also fleshes out the significant shift as the "United States" went from plural to singular in popular usage, because ultimately what matters here is what differences these differences made, which includes tantalizing glimpses of what might have been, for better or for worse. The Civil War has been called our American "Iliad," and in this book Winik reminds us that the analogy is apt, not just because of the bloody carnage, but because what happened between Lee and Grant at Appomattox is akin to what transpired between Achilles and Priam in their fateful meeting. But by underscoring a series of key decisions Winik ensures his readers will always remember these specific instantiations of what Lincoln called "the angels of our better nature."
Exuberant History.......2007-05-18
Any student of the Civil War will enjoy this lively, well written book. The author's thesis is that reunification after Appomattox was anything but inevitable. He makes a persuasive case for a long-lasting guerrilla war but for the magnanimity of Lincoln, Grant, Sherman, Lee and Johnston. He is certainly correct that reconciliation of the North and South was a rare exception to the typical chaos and retribution after a civil war or revolution.
Winik's passion and enthusiasm are contagious. He is particularly effective in bringing home the brutality of war, the realities of life for the common soldier and conditions in the war-ravaged South. I have several nits about the book (e.g., repetition, some shallow characterizations and his idolatry of Lee), but none of them should discourage anyone from reading it.
Far from "amazing" and "incredible"........2007-05-14
Being required to read this book for school is the only reason I would have ever picked up this book. However, after the first 50 pages, I have decided to spare my brain from this utter nonsense.
Winik spends far too long on unnecessary subjects such as the various meats and other foods served at Lincoln's inauguration. While the narrative on Monticello may be interesting to some, it served no purpose to why April 1865 was the month that saved America.
Instead of trying to show readers that he is, in fact, an excellent writer who has done far too much research and therefore tries to shove every single fact he found into a 388 page book, Winik should focus on his thesis and not on his arrogant attitude and increasing sense of drama.
Customer Reviews:
Superb account of Assassination Plot against Lincoln.......2007-03-07
Edward Steers wrote one of the best accounts of Lincoln Assassination in recent history. Although his writing style is bit dry as many reviewers in the past have noted, his research is untouchable and this is a very readable account to anyone who have any interest in this subject. The author laid everyone and everything out in a clear and understandable matter. He take a careful reading to all who was involved, their backgrounds and the roles they played during the war. He also take study to Lincoln's own lackluster desire for security and how that encouraged men like Booth to take him on. Lincoln didn't realized that perception of protection can deter an assassination then the actual protection itself. The author take the efforts to debunked many myths and self-serving stories surrounding Lincoln assassination plot including if the real John W. Booth was really died on the porch of the Garrett house. The author also explained the legal definitation of the case and how it may be applied even in modern era.
One of the great services of the book comes surrounding the role Dr. Samuel Mudd played. The author made it loud and clear that Mudd was clearly guility of the role he played and richly deserves his life sentence although he only served four years before being pardoned. Dr. Mudd is definitely not an innocent bystander and he was deep into the plot to assassinate Lincoln. Most of Mudd's guilt ironically come from Mudd himself which is a testament to the author's research. Mary Surratt's role was also clearly pointed out. Whether she deserves to hang or not is up to the moralists but she was definitely guility as Mudd.
If I had a singular gripe, I would have to say that the author could have included the very last photographs of Lincoln taken on 10 April 1865 (by Alexander Gardner), the one which have him smiling would have been a better choice then his Nov 1863 photo on the cover of the book or Lincoln's Springfield photo since the author states quite often in his narrative how happy Lincoln seem to be during his last days.
I would regard this book as a mandatory reading material for anyone interested in the Lincoln's assassination story. Although it little dry but still readable, superbly research and highly informative.
Slow in parts but worth reading for any Abraham Lincoln buff.......2006-07-30
Last year, I visited the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Musuem in Springfield, Illinois. At the Musuem, they had a temporary exhibit called "Blood on the Moon". It was a fascinatating exhibit and when I saw that the exhibit's name was taken from a book, I started looking for the book to go slightly more in-depth about the assassination. The book is pretty good. The beginning is good and I liked all the photos that were included in the book. But there are two reasons why I couldn't give this book 5 stars: there were parts that I had a hard time keeping myself interested in. A slight bit of dry reading. The second reason is the author's repeated repeatings of somethings in the book. I'm not quite sure if the author forgot that he had already mentioned those facts or perhaps is underestimating the readers intelligence in remembering what they've read but I was annoyed that some things that I had already read kept popping up. I prefered the parts of the book when the author wasn't just reeling off facts and put things into action. The story of the assassination was fascinating and I liked how the author included maps of all the various Booth getaways. I also found the information about Lincoln's final trip back to Springfield very interesting.
So I wouldn't say this would be a book for anyone who is more interesting in maybe the story-telling aspect of this part of history since the telling of fact upon fact might bore some people slightly. But I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in learning about the Lincoln assassination and especially anyone who was lucky enough to see the Blood on the Moon exhibit at the Abraham Lincoln Musuem.
Well Documented Facts and Myth Busters: Excellent Readable Book.......2006-04-22
Steers write one of the most accurate and detailed books on the Lincoln assassination. He provides a history of the times when the "black flag" of warfare was raised after the Union's infamous Dahlgren raid that was part of a two prong attack on Richmond. The mission was to free prisoners and disrupt Richmond and allegedly included plans to kill Davis and his cabinet. This controversial raid, As Steers points out, may have raised the ante of warfare without rules as the Confederates start their own controversial plans such as biological warfare that included an attempt to spread yellow fever. Steers starts breaking myths early with the Baltimore controversy where Lincoln switched trains to avoid a real plot to assassinate him as his train passes through Baltimore earlier than scheduled with no sop on his way to his inauguration. Steers documents how surprisingly accessible Lincoln was to the public and how he was relatively poorly protected or at times not at all at his request due to his intuition that anyone could commit the crime regardless of a guard detail. The author provides fascinating detail on Booth and his companions as they initially plot the kidnapping of Lincoln and in failing to do so, turn to assassination as the war is closing and Lincoln's sentiments toward "black human suffrage" raises Booth's ire to an intolerable level. The high points of the book are the well documented associations between Booth with not only his immediate quadrant of conspirators but also with Mary Surratt and a number of Confederate agents in Maryland, D.C. and Virginia. Steers' analysis breaks any myth that Dr. Mud was innocent of aiding and abetting Booth. A recent book offers that Mud may have not recognized Booth when Booth appeared at Mud's home during his escape but that seems circumspect since Mud met Booth several times before and Booth was a relatively famous actor. The manhunt for Booth is covered in great detail and it is extraordinary fascinating as Booth escapes to Virginia with the help of established agents. Steers describes the temporary haven that Booth and Herold finally reach outside of Bowling Green at the Garrett farm but Stanton's dragnet discovers Booth's trail in Virginia. Although quite by accident, that accident puts them amazingly right on the trail of Booth at Port Royal, Virginia just west of Fredericksburg and a handful of miles from Booth's quiet and seemingly safe haven. As Steers notes, there is some interesting speculation as to why the three Confederates, who provide Booth assistance to his temporary haven, suddenly turn up to offer assistance at Port Royal. The author also presents excellent bios on the men involved in the conspiracies; the incompetent George Atzerodt who not only abstains from killing Andrew Johnson at the last minute but leaves evidence and a relatively easy trail to follow; Lewis Powell, the mysterious young veteran soldier who wounds virtually the entire Seward family in his attempt to kill the Secretary of State and goes stoically to the hangman; and young David Herold who deserts Powell but is Booth's guide in his escape through Maryland and into Virginia. Along with these prime conspirators, Steers brings in Booth's early associates that also get captured in the dragnet even though they withdrew from Booth's later plans. And finally Steer's aptly dismembers the theories that Booth escaped and that an imposter was buried in his name. Steer's even tells of an odd character that drags a corpse around for years eerily claiming it is Booth in an attempt for notoriety and money. The final chapter covers Lincoln's long funeral train trip that stopped at several large cities on his long trek back to Springfield, allowing a large population to view Lincoln's open casket. As the author notes, Lincoln returned to his hometown as he inferred when he left, that he might not return with the ability to enjoy his homecoming.
Excellent.......2005-01-23
Having spent many years reading every book I could find on the Lincoln assassination, I was a little skeptical at first, too many nutty conspiracy theories and Stanton bashers are out there already. But I'm pleased to say that the author of this excellent book has certainly done his homework. The main attraction here is the documented proof of Dr. Samuel Mudd's involvement with Booth. It was more than just a casual acquaintance and it was NOT a coincidence that Booth sought Mudd's help after the former broke his leg after leaping from the presidential box at Ford's theater.Steers doesn't worship anyone, unlike other Lincoln authors have done in the past, rather he presents the players and the facts, warts and all. If you are SERIOUS about the topic, put this tome at the top of your list.
The definitive book on the Lincoln Assassination.......2004-12-23
This is an incredibly well written book. Mr. Steers weaves a logical, thorougly understandable trail of events that lead to Lincoln's assassination, and the hunt for J. Wilkes Booth afterwards. His writing also shows how the attitudes towards Lincoln changed with his murder. Lincoln was not well loved in the North, and many there were wary of his suspension of civil liberties and his desire to franchise African-American soldiers. No wonder Booth thought he would be a hero. Mr. Steers also makes a strong case against Dr. Mudd, whom many nowadays want to paint as an innocent person caught up in post-assassination hysteria.
I have had the pleasure of hearing Mr. Steers talk, and he is a fascinating speaker as well as an excellent writer.
This book, along with "Twenty Days", belong in every Lincoln collection.
Book Description
It is a tale as familiar as our history primers: A deranged actor, John Wilkes Booth, killed Abraham Lincoln in Ford’s Theatre, escaped on foot, and eluded capture for twelve days until he met his fiery end in a Virginia tobacco barn. In the national hysteria that followed, eight others were arrested and tried; four of those were executed, four imprisoned. Therein lie all the classic elements of a great thriller. But the untold tale is even more fascinating.
Now, in American Brutus, Michael W. Kauffman, one of the foremost Lincoln assassination authorities, takes familiar history to a deeper level, offering an unprecedented, authoritative account of the Lincoln murder conspiracy. Working from a staggering array of archival sources and new research, Kauffman sheds new light on the background and motives of John Wilkes Booth, the mechanics of his plot to topple the Union government, and the trials and fates of the conspirators.
Piece by piece, Kauffman explains and corrects common misperceptions and analyzes the political motivation behind Booth’s plan to unseat Lincoln, in whom the assassin saw a treacherous autocrat, “an American Caesar.” In preparing his study, Kauffman spared no effort getting at the truth: He even lived in Booth’s house, and re-created key parts of Booth’s escape. Thanks to Kauffman’s discoveries, readers will have a new understanding of this defining event in our nation’s history, and they will come to see how public sentiment about Booth at the time of the assassination and ever since has made an accurate account of his actions and motives next to impossible–until now.
In nearly 140 years there has been an overwhelming body of literature on the Lincoln assassination, much of it incomplete and oftentimes contradictory. In American Brutus, Kauffman finally makes sense of an incident whose causes and effects reverberate to this day. Provocative, absorbing, utterly cogent, at times controversial, this will become the definitive text on a watershed event in American history.
From the Hardcover edition.
Customer Reviews:
Lincoln Assassination ReDux.......2007-04-17
A brilliant and fast read. For once the anti-Lincoln feel that permeated parts of the North gets mentioned. John Wilkes Booth emerges from the depths of insanity to quite a clever player according to the author. Bravo. Great work of history.
The Book That Reads Like A Movie.......2007-03-08
First of all let me say I don't get to read often, as I usually don't have the time. However, I started to read this book and could not put it down. It holds you from the very beginning, the setting is Fords Theater and you are in the audience. The scene is perfectly described; as if you are actually there, noting who is sitting next to you and who can be seen in the balcony. The book then takes you back, after the chaotic night of the assassination, into Booth's boyhood and earlier life, bringing you right back up to the night of April 14th 1865.
The chase of Booth continues the story and then of course his death and trial of the conspirators. Previous reviews state the book slows during the trial; however I found it to be very interesting. Kauffman goes to great length to explain the law of the time and how different it is than that of today, including arguments over the years about the governments' handlings of the trail.
To me, this book truly reads like a movie, making it easy to picture the story as it unfolds and if you imagine Johnny Depp (a handsome and well loved actor) in the part of John Wilkes Booth one can easily see why this would translate well onto the big screen. Kaufman describes things that are happening, through all the ciaos the night of the assassination to each individual meeting Booth had with his conspirators, with great detail.
History does not paint a pretty picture of Booth, however I believe this book helps to tell the real story of a man who thought he was doing a justice for his country (the South) and not just the normal story your taught in school about a crazy man that shot Lincoln.
interesting and informative.......2006-11-03
this was an interesting, well written account of john wilkes booth and the lincoln assasination. it provided the reader with a very accurate image of the era and political climate at the time without being a boring political analysis. the characters were very well laid out, as was the terrain covered in the escape. you could almost feel that you were there. it differed in opinion here and there with "manhunt", but not in any significant way. it was so inspiring to me that i booked the "john wilkes booth tour" through the surratt museum out of clinton, md. the tour was expensive ($60 per person, plus food and lodging and a 4 hour drive)and a great disappointment and i would not recommend it, but i would highly recommend the book to anyone interested in this topic.
Sic Semper .......2006-10-29
Hundreds imprisoned in American jails with no expectation of probable cause, including a third of the Maryland state legislature. Prisoners shrouded in hoods. Citizens having to sign "loyalty statements" before they vote. Some kind of scenario dreamt up for a modern movie mimicking the current US regime? Nope. It's a description of the wartime policies of the first Republican administration, Abraham Lincoln's. And according to Michael W. Kauffman's brilliantly lain out narrative of Lincoln's assasination and its aftermath, the tension these policies led to in Maryland, especially, was quite palpable.
Since Maryland was a border state....Union, but Southern by culture and values (some in Maryland had slaves), many had mixed feelings about the war and about any support for the Union cause. Enter John Booth, son of famous stage actor Junius Brutus Booth, and soon to become an even greater star. John Booth seethed with anger throughout the war, even as he built his acting career, until he began to hatch the plot that took place at Ford's theater on the night of April 14, 1865. Part of what motivated him, however, was the praise and cheers he thought he'd get from over the country after his deed was done. And much of his story plays out as a twisted version of Shakespeare's "Julius Ceasar" (one in which John and his brothers had often starred), where the assasin Brutus, instead of being honored as in the play, is hunted down, injured, and finally killed as he hides in a burning barn.
Though we may know the "facts" of the story from junior high school history (Ford's theater, "Our American Cousin", "Sic semper tyranis!",), here is a book that not only fleshes out that terrible night, but takes us into the investigation much like Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood" did for the Cutter murders of the 1950s. Plunging into Booth's history through the use of eyewitness accounts, letters, archives, and a good knack for putting two and two together, Kauffman shows how some earlier accounts missed or inadvertantly added things to the story (a good example is the alleged guilt of Dr. Mudd, the doctor who treated Booth's broken leg after the fall from the President's box to the stage).
This is great historical reading. It reads easily, brings out information not yet considered, and provides good analysis of that information, both from a psychological and historical viewpoint. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would very much recommend it.
A wonderful, thoroughly readable book........2006-10-21
American Brutus is one of the best books on the assassination of Abramham Lincoln that I've read so far. I've only taken an interest in the Civil War era in the past four or five years, and the definitive event of that period is the murder of the president by a southern sympathizer with little understanding of the consequences of his actions to anyone but himself.
The book is as effective as a stage drama, partially because Lincoln, other than as the object of Booth's ire, plays little role other than that of victim. Although it begins with a graphic description of the assassination and a gripping death watch before it goes on to fill in the whole story, it is not really about Lincoln the man at all but one about a time period that divided families as well as the country. Even Robert E. Lee's son died fighting on the Union side. For such tremendous disunion and violence to reach even the level of the individual within a family, major moral issues had to ignite feelings that overrode those of family loyalty.
For many who learn about the War in high school or college American history, the entire event seems to be about slavery. It seems so incredible observed in these terms to even contemplate a southern point of view as justified in any way. The decision that Lee, the quintesential Southern gentleman and solid citizen, makes to return to fight for the Confederate cause seems to make no sense at all. Certainly considering our beloved icon Lincoln as a "villain" and a "tyrant," as Booth did and as many in both North and South did, seems incredible.
In fact however, and as this book makes much clearer, the war was actually about states' rights vs federal jurisdiction, and there were many even in foreign countries that also considered Lincoln in this negative light. Even newspapers in Great Britain felt he had overthrown the government of the people and condemned his actions, and this a mere 84 years after the American Revolution gave the English themselves a major headache. The founding fathers had designed a government that they felt would avoid anything like a king, dividing power among congress, the justice department and the president. States were admitted to the union, and at an early stage of US history were a loose federation of independent states--or so many in the South believed. The Civil War was the test of that assumption, and put "paid" to the notion that any state could abandon the Union. The self-same founders pointedly avoided the issue of slavery, however distasteful they may have felt it to be, because in their opinion it would have devided the union early in its inception, leaving the individual states prey to either the English or the French colonial ambitions. (As Benjamin Franklin put it in another context, they would all have to hang together; because if they didn't, they would all almost certainly hang separately!)
In analyzing Booth's actions, the author makes the public sentiment of the time much clearer. Booth, a melodramatic personality anyway, ultimately saw himself as a martyr to the cause of "justice" and "freedom," which today seems ironic, given that he stood for slavery and the southern lifestyle. Unfortunately for Booth, his lack of understanding of political realities--let alone of the fickleness of popular movements--left him the villain of the piece and Lincoln the martyr, and so they have remained to this day. Furthermore, by killing Lincoln, whose policy toward the defeated South would have been more conciliatory than punitive, he paved the way for the Reconstruction debacle that an administration change under these circumstances produced. This reality did not escape the more astute among the Southern politicians, who immediately realized that their situation had changed for the worse. This made Booth's actions very unpopular among Southerners. Where he had expected to be hailed as a hero, he found himself reviled as a coward and murderer.
I was really surprised at the amount of data that the author provided. I had no idea that so much was known, not only about Booth personally, but about his family, his theatrical peers, and his movements both before and after the assassination. The documentation of the pursuit of the assassins and the trial of the condemned was truly remarkable. Of particular interest is the extensive footnotes at the back of the book which clarify details without breaking into the flow of the narrative and which provide information regarding source material as well. The Coda to the work is also a satisfying thing, in that it provides information about many of the individuals who were part of the ongoing drama of the assassination, a drama that really didn't come to a conclusion until many of these people were themselves buried. This feature of the narrative ties up loose ends that make the story more polished and complete. It was interesting to realize that the emotional effects of the death of the president left lasting impressions on the lives of the witnesses to it.
A wonderful, thoroughly readable book.
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Dr. John Lattimer's Lone-Assassin-Favoring Experiments Are Devastating Blows To Conspiracy Proponents.......2006-11-18
"Kennedy And Lincoln: Medical And Ballistic Comparisons Of Their Assassinations", published in 1980, is an impressive hardcover volume written by Dr. John K. Lattimer. This book, which spans 398 total pages, is one that I would highly recommend to anyone who is interested in researching the JFK case.
Though Dr. Lattimer has a habit of repeating himself in the text of this volume (sometimes providing triple or even quadruple redundancy when discussing many of the points brought up in the book), his writing style and paragraphing technique are very reader-friendly and easy on the eyes, with bold-face topic headers used frequently to isolate the various sections of evidence he is discussing.
For the first 120 pages of the book, Lattimer focuses his attention on the April 14, 1865, assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, as well as providing interesting details concerning the other two portions of the intricate conspiracy plot that assassin John Wilkes Booth had devised for the elimination of two additional Government officials on that Good Friday back in 1865 -- which were the planned assassinations of Vice President Andrew Johnson and Secretary of State William Seward.*
* = The planned attack on Johnson, however, was aborted entirely; while Seward survived his terrifying ordeal after being savagely and repeatedly stabbed by would-be assassin Lewis Payne.
There are many fascinating tidbits of information about the Lincoln assassination conspiracy in this volume that I previously had never known, including practically a blow-by-blow description of Payne's attack on Seward and a fairly-detailed section in the book centering on the manhunt and eventual killing of John Wilkes Booth in Garrett's Barn twelve days after Booth had shot and killed President Lincoln.
And, too, there's a section in the book that mentions the irresistible similarities and coincidences between Lincoln's and Kennedy's deaths. Such as:
1.) Both victims were shot in the back of the head.
2.) The wife of each victim was sitting right beside her husband when the attacks occurred, with each First Lady holding the head of her husband just after the fatal blow.
3.) Both Lincoln and Kennedy were shot on a Friday.
4.) Each victim's Vice President was named "Johnson".
5.) Both Lincoln and Kennedy liked rocking chairs (Lincoln was fatally shot while sitting in such a chair).
6.) Both Presidential assassins (Booth and Oswald) were each confronted by an officer named "Baker" while in flight from their crimes.
7.) Lincoln's and JFK's killers both were shot by a single bullet before either man could stand trial, and each lived for approximately two hours after being gunned down (and both Booth and Oswald were shot by "Colt revolvers" as well).
------------------------
The final two-thirds of "Kennedy And Lincoln" deals exclusively with the JFK assassination, which occurred almost exactly 100 years after Lincoln's murder (98.5 years to be exact).
Over the course of many years, Dr. Lattimer performed a series of very detailed tests and experiments, as he attempted to re-create certain aspects of President John F. Kennedy's 1963 assassination.
Dr. Lattimer had been a surgeon during World War 2 and therefore, prior to writing this book, was very familiar with gunshot wounds, military type rifles, and the ammunition that was used in such weapons.
Lattimer was also aided greatly in his experimental work by having the unique opportunity to personally examine (in some detail) many of the crucial pieces of evidence connected with the JFK murder, such as being able to handle and inspect the famous "Stretcher Bullet" (CE399, deemed the "Magic Bullet" by conspiracists), plus the original Kennedy autopsy photographs and X-rays at the National Archives, and the actual clothing that JFK was wearing on the tragic day of 11/22/63 (consisting of JFK's suit jacket, shirt, necktie, and back brace).
Dr. Lattimer, in fact, in January of 1972, became the very first non-government person to ever be granted access to many of the sensitive and rarely-viewed original items of Kennedy-assassination evidence.
Each and every one of Lattimer's carefully-conducted experiments paralleled and generally corroborated the conclusions reached in 1964 by the Warren Commission panel -- i.e., conclusions to the effect that President Kennedy had been killed by bullets fired from ONLY behind and above him in Dallas (with both of the bullets that struck the President on 11/22/63 coming out of a gun owned by Lee Harvey Oswald -- a 6.5mm Mannlicher-Carcano bolt-action carbine, model 91-38, serial number C2766).
That exact rifle, which was purchased by Oswald via mail-order in March of 1963, was found 52 minutes after JFK was shot. It was found on the sixth floor of the building where Oswald was employed -- the Texas School Book Depository; and three bullet shells, which were positively ejected from that very same weapon, were also discovered underneath the window where a sniper -- identified as Oswald -- was located during the shooting.
Dr. Lattimer's tests were done using the exact same kind of Mannlicher-Carcano rifle as Oswald's, and the very same type of WCC (Western Cartridge Company) bullets that Oswald used in his own weapon. In fact, Lattimer's test bullets came from precisely the same batch of bullets that it was determined that Oswald used in his Carcano back in '63.
I have found a few (minor) errors within the text of "K&L", however....including Dr. Lattimer telling his readers (on three separate occasions in the book) that a noisy freight train was clanking its way across the Triple Underpass railway bridge in Dallas' Dealey Plaza at the precise moment when President Kennedy was being shot and killed by rifle bullets.
The train info is positively an error on Lattimer's part, as a photograph taken by James Altgens at the time of the shooting verifies. Altgens snapped a picture looking west toward the Triple Underpass (bridge) just seconds before JFK's limousine went underneath that bridge, and there is positively no freight train on the tracks at that time.
A motion-picture film taken by witness Mark Bell at the time the President's car was speeding underneath the Underpass also confirms that there was no train on the railroad bridge at that time.
There's also the fact that the Dallas Police, to my knowledge, had orders to keep all trains off of the bridge during the time when JFK's motorcade was driving through Dealey Plaza.
------------------------
Here's a quote from "Kennedy And Lincoln" concerning the ammunition that Lattimer used:
"The cartridges used by Oswald were an excellent American-made Western Cartridge Company product. Four sub-lots had been manufactured, and we tested samples from all four. They had excellent consistency of bullet weights and powder weights. We fired about 700 rounds in our experiments, and various government agencies fired about 200 more. We had no misfires, nor did the other groups. They were sold in boxes of twenty, and it seems likely that Oswald was down to his last four, since no more were found among his possessions." -- J.K. Lattimer; Page 252
------------------------
Below I've written out several additional verbatim excerpts from this intriguing book, which are passages that, in my opinion, go a long way toward firmly debunking many of the JFK conspiracy theories that have filled the landscape since 1963.
In particular, these text excerpts tend to irrevocably harpoon and destroy the widely-accepted theories which revolve around the general (unproven) idea that President Kennedy was shot one or more times from the front as part of a "multi-gun plot". ......
------------------------
"These experiments {involving the firing of MC/WCC bullets at a simulated JFK upper back and neck} confirmed beyond all of my doubts that the smallness of the exit hole in the front of Kennedy's neck was due to the fact that the skin was supported by a firm collar band, which restrained it from bulging and bursting open ahead of the exiting bullet. .... If the bullet had not exited from the President's neck just AT the collar band, the exit wound might have been much larger." -- J.K. Lattimer; Page 239
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"Five cardboard skins simulating {wounded Texas Governor John} Connally were placed the same distance from Kennedy's neck as Connally was seated in the automobile in front of the President. The Carcano bullets that made the holes in these targets had passed through a simulation of Kennedy's neck, striking only soft tissues. Five of the six bullets tumbled end over end after leaving the neck and struck Connally's skin traveling almost sideways. .... These results confirmed our previous observations that these bullets almost always tumbled after passing through a neck." -- J.K. Lattimer; Page 237
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"An oval hole in our simulated back of Connally was caused by our test bullet that had first passed through a simulation of Kennedy's neck, causing that bullet to wobble and start to tumble end over end. Connally's wound of entry was elongated, like the one in the center of {the test} target.
The punctate round hole, with black margins, of the type that always occurred when our test bullets struck the Connally target without hitting something else first, can be seen to the right of Connally's outline in the photograph {via Figure 106 on Page 265 of "K&L"}.
These bullets never wobbled or tumbled spontaneously; they were stable in their flight to the target UNLESS THEY HIT SOMETHING ELSE FIRST {DVP's emphasis}, such as Kennedy's neck, whereupon they turned almost completely sideways." -- J.K. Lattimer; Page 265 (Via a November 1974 article by JKL that appeared in the "Medical Times")
------------------------
"When the {test} bullet {simulating "CE399" and the "SBT"} traversed an experimental neck, it was slowed down, tumbled, and did not shatter the leg bone {of a simulation of John Connally}. Since Connally's leg bone was NOT shattered {during the actual shooting event on 11/22/63}, the bullet that hit him must have hit something else first, such as Kennedy's neck, to slow it down." -- J.K. Lattimer; Page 273
~~~~~
DVP Interjection -- Dr. Lattimer also explains that during his experiments of firing Carcano bullets into a simulated "John Connally", the bullets ALWAYS caused much more damage to the mock Connally bodies if those bullets struck the test Connally bodies without going through a mock Kennedy body first (with this extra damage always including displaced fragments of bone in the wrist and a fractured femur in the simulated Connally leg).
This, in my view, is an extremely-significant point in favor of the much-debated "Single-Bullet Theory" being a rock-solid FACT, rather than mere "theory".
------------------------
"Some critics have contended that the four bullet fragments in Governor Connally are too many to be accounted for by the two grains of lead missing from bullet 399. In our experiments we were able to make forty-one such fragments from the two-grain piece of lead that extruded from our test bullet. It can safely be said, therefore, that four fragments are by no means too many to be accounted for by the two grains missing from bullet 399." -- J.K. Lattimer; Pages 276-277
~~~~~
DVP Interjection -- A follow-up to the above excerpt......
In addition to the common conspiracy-flavored argument by the WC critics alluded to by Lattimer with respect to the bullet fragments that were physically removed from Governor Connally, many conspiracy buffs are also of the (false) opinion that the tiny pieces of metal that were left inside Connally's body, when coupled with the approximately one (total) grain of metal fragments taken out of the Governor, constitute "too many fragments" to have possibly come from Bullet CE399, which is a bullet that is missing an estimated 2.2 grains of its original 160 to 161 grains of total mass.
But the Warren Commission testimony of one of Connally's doctors, Dr. Charles Gregory, tends to put a different light on this matter and also tends to refute the "too many fragments" theory.
Here's what Dr. Gregory had to say about the metal (bullet) fragments that occupied space inside John Connally's wrist......
MR. SPECTER -- "Will you describe as specifically as you can what those metallic fragments are by way of size and shape, sir?"
DR. GREGORY -- "I would identify these fragments as varying from five-tenths of a millimeter in diameter to approximately two millimeters in diameter, and each fragment is no more than a half millimeter in thickness. They would represent, in lay terms, flakes....flakes of metal."
MR. SPECTER -- "What would your estimate be as to their weight in total?"
DR. GREGORY -- "I would estimate that they would be weighed in micrograms, which is {a} very small amount of weight. I don't know how to reduce it to ordinary equivalents for you. It is the kind of weighing that requires a micro-adjustable scale, which means that it is something less than the weight of a postage stamp."
------------------------
"This bullet {a 6.5mm Carcano missile like CE399} can penetrate four feet of solid wood or three pine telephone poles side by side and come out looking completely undeformed. On the other hand, if it is fired into the thick bone of the back of a human skull, the jacket and core of the bullet will separate, releasing a myriad of additional fragments of many different sizes." -- J.K. Lattimer; Page 277
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"All of the metal fragments {visible in JFK's head via X-rays} were confined to the right side of the brain area and all the fragments were above an imaginary line drawn from the wound of entry through the top of the frontal sinus.
Their configuration was in keeping with the track of a bullet entering at the rear of the right side of the skull, near the midline, disrupting and exiting from the front of the head on the right. It was compatible with no other direction. There were no bullet fragments in the left side of the skull to indicate a transverse bullet wound, as from the front right." -- J.K. Lattimer; Page 214
~~~~~
DVP Interjection -- I think a portion of the above statement from page number 214 deserves to be highlighted and emphasized once again......
"THERE WERE NO BULLET FRAGMENTS IN THE LEFT SIDE OF THE SKULL."
I am, therefore, very tempted to ask conspiracy theorists the following question -- How is this even remotely conceivable if, in fact, the fatal blow to President Kennedy's head had come from the RIGHT-FRONT (i.e., the "Grassy Knoll" area of Dealey Plaza), as so many assassination researchers firmly believe?
Obviously (and realistically), if JFK had been shot in the head from the Knoll (located to the right-front of the President when he received the fatal blow), the X-rays of his head would have certainly indicated the presence of bullet fragments in the LEFT side of the skull/brain, which, by all rights, is a location (the LEFT side of the head) where an exit wound should logically have also been located if Kennedy had been the victim of a massive head injury caused by a Grassy Knoll gunman.
But the left side of the President's head was completely intact, and showed no signs of any metal fragments within the left hemisphere of his head and brain (as Dr. Lattimer correctly points out on Page #214 of this publication).
Therefore, either those official X-rays that reside at the National Archives (which verify beyond all doubt that the President was shot through the head FROM BEHIND ONLY) were elaborate and beautifully-prepared forgeries/fakes that managed to fool many, many experts over the years....or....the conspiracy quacks who relentlessly keep insisting that JFK was shot from the Grassy Knoll are just flat-out wrong. I can see no third option here.
Which of the above explanations regarding the head wound and the X-rays is most likely to be the correct one? (Not exactly too difficult a question there, huh?) ~wink~
------------------------
"Any {test} bullets fired into the skull from the right front always caused very obvious destruction of the left side of the skull and left bullet fragments against this side of the skull. Since there was no such damage to the left side of Kennedy's head, and no bullet fragments against the left side of his skull, and since Mrs. Kennedy was not hit by any fragments and photographer Zapruder was not visibly jolted from his perch by a deafening rifle shot almost beside him, we find it very difficult to believe that another supersonic bullet was fired from the grassy knoll in the general vicinity of Zapruder." -- J.K. Lattimer; Page 258
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"Combinations of human skull tops and melons were tested, and, again, all fell backward off the stand toward the shooter. No melon or skull combination ever fell AWAY from the shooter.
Human skulls were then packed with solid melon contents and taped and sewed tightly together with strong tape and thread to simulate the scalp. We fired into these at the same point and at the same angle as the President was struck.
The skull wounds produced were strikingly similar to Kennedy's. Again, the skulls fell or jumped off the stand toward the shooter, and large fragments of the top of the skulls flew upward and forward for distances of forty feet or more, just as fragments of Kennedy's skull can be seen to have done in frames 313 through 318 of the Zapruder movie." -- J.K. Lattimer; Page 251
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"I wish to re-emphasize that none of our test objects in these experiments with melons and skulls ever jumped or fell off the stand AWAY from the shooter." -- J.K. Lattimer; Page 251
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"Our experiments verified that the backward movement of the President's head was compatible with his being struck from the rear, and that it was certainly not necessary to hit the head from the front in order to make the head move toward the gun." -- J.K. Lattimer; Page 255
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"When combined with the overpowering evidence that the X-rays of {President Kennedy's} head show metallic bullet fragments arranged only from back to front in the right side of his brain case and with the skull damage all centering on the right side of his skull, we are left with absolutely no indication that he was struck from the front or right front by an additional bullet, as claimed by critics of the Warren Commission." -- J.K. Lattimer; Page 258
------------------------
"{Marina Oswald was often asked whether her husband Lee} might have been capable of joining with an accomplice to kill the President. Marina said: "Never. Lee was too secretive ever to have told anyone his plans. Nor could he have acted in concert, accepted orders, or obeyed any orders or plans by anybody else".
The reason that Marina gave was that "Lee had no use for the opinions of anybody but himself. He had only contempt for other people. He was a lonely person, he trusted no one and he had the fantasies of a sick person; to get attention only for himself". The people who knew Lee in Dallas agreed with her." -- J.K. Lattimer; Page 333
------------------------------------------------
In closing......
I'd like to now pose the following logical question for conspiracy theorists to ponder --- If John F. Kennedy had, in fact, been shot one or more times from the front, what do you suppose the odds are that ALL of Dr. Lattimer's ballistics tests and assassination re-creations would have aligned and agreed with the "Single Assassin Firing From Behind" conclusion reached by the members of the Warren Commission in 1964?
If I were a conspiracy theorist who believed that JFK had been cut down by multiple shooters, I think I'd be scratching my head as I tried to reconcile the above inquiry in my own mind.
Thankfully, I don't have that problem. For I've seen the "Lone Assassin" light for quite some time now. And the excellent and revealing experimental work done by John K. Lattimer -- which is fully laid out in a very readable and directly-to-the-point manner in "Kennedy And Lincoln" -- only further solidifies the fact that President John F. Kennedy was killed by one lone assassin named Lee Harvey Oswald on November 22nd, 1963.
David Von Pein
November 2006
An outstanding book. One of the very best on the Kennedy assassination........2006-11-04
Scholarly, authoritative and compelling - and at the same time an easy read. This book is one of the best resources on the Kennedy assassination available. Never mind the comparisons between Lincoln and JFK though indeed interesting. The Kennedy section is the greater part of the book and is a valuable source of information to the researcher. It seems a shame that this book is often ignored by researchers, perhaps because at first glance it does not appear to be a true "who shot JFK" book. Indeed it is and quite simply one of the best. An excellent contribution to the body of work on this subject and one of the very few actually written by a genuine, professionally trained and experienced individual in the field in which they specialize. The medical and ballistics evidence is presented clearly and is not overcomplicated by tedious over analysis. The book is highly convincing in showing that beyond a reasonable doubt, all the shots were fired from above and behind. A simple example - why was the exit wound in Kennedy's neck so small - because it was really a wound of entry ? No, because the collar and tie held the skin in place to create a small exit wound. Try finding that in any of the other 200 plus books on the subject.
The Similarities Are Uncanny.......2006-08-17
Both Conspiracies Unequalled in History., August 14, 2006
Reviewer: Betty Burks (Knoxville, TN) - See all my reviews
Strange but true: There are seven letters in each name. Both presidents had legality of their election contested. Both were directly concerned with the issue of civil rights. Both were slain on a Friday and in the presence of their wives. Lincoln was elected in 1860; Kennedy in 1960. Their successors were named Johnson (Andrew of Tennessee and Lyndon of Texas) and were Southern Democrats who had previously served inthe U. S. Senate. Andy was born in 1808; Lyndon in 1908.
Booth and Oswald were murdered before tial could be arranged. Both were Southerners favoring unpopular ideas (both deranged). Lincoln's secretary named Kennedy advised him not to go to the theatre. Kennedy's secretary named Lincoln advised him not to go to Dallas. Both Lincoln and Kennedy were carried in death on the same caisson. Pecularities and similarities, but something to ponder after the fact.
Abraham Lincoln suffered from melancholia, as we are aware due to the History Channel special. He is about the most quoted president we've ever had; "the best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time," is attributed to him. A movie was made about this book and its claims, or vice versa. Perhaps the movie was made first.
This book verifies what I have always thought, but a smart person at the library put qualifications on the fact that " Mary Sarratt was the first woman in American history to be hanged." The check-out clerk at the downtown library said that perhaps she had been the first official one. This book claims that there had been a conspiracy plot to kidnap Lincoln, and a conspiracy cover-up. At the famous "Conspiracy Trial of 1865" she was sentenced along with three males to hang the next day.
Some of the Northern commodities speculators and financiers of the Union who were a part of the conspiracy include Jay Cooke of Philadelphia, PA, Henry Cooke of Washington,DC, journalitst Thurlow Weed, Robert D.Watson, Ward Hill Lamon who was U S Marshal, and D. C. Lamon, Lincoln's closest friend. Some of the Confederate leaders were implicated as were "radical" Republications in Lincoln's own party. Pictures of all of those accused are in the photo section.
This book goes into detail how John Wilkes Booth was able to get into the presidential box at Ford's Theatre unimpeded, and how he was able to escape out the back door after he jumped and broke his leg. Booth had a wife and daughter living on a farm near Harper's Ferry, Virginia, but he went in the opposite direction so as not to involve them. He used a 44 caliber derringer pistol, which looks like a prop for a play, it is housed in the Historic Museum on the site of the killing. Due to his dramatic training, he yelled "Sic semper tyrannis" (Thus always no tyrants) as he hit the stage on his knee.
The President's eyes showed evidence of brain damage. The bullet had gone in the left side of the head, behind the ear near the top of the spine. The 44 caliber ball had entered behind the left ear and lodged in the brain just behind the right eye. Mary Lincoln, distraught over the assassination events, was declared insane and committed to an insame asylum by her son, Robert.
There were coincidences published after John Kennedy met his fate, as a conspiracy was established by some of the government, and also a conspiracy involved when they killed his brother, Robert. Unlike Lincoln who had a premonition of his death, JFK didn't know what hit him or why. Both Kennedys had bad blood and did not trust J. Edgar Hoover. It was history repeating itself. Lincoln had been through a lot and was undernourished and haggard -- could be he welcomed death. But Kennedy, on the other hand, had just begun and would have been a President to emulate had he been able to do some of the things he had in the works. We would have been spared a lot of national dissention had he lived. After all, he had created his own Camelot. Lincoln would never have been so free to enjoy his life but he did attend the plays as a form of relaxation.
Read this book before censoring the review. That's how it's done. Be Fair.
A relatively unknown but excellent resource........2003-01-11
I bought this book when it was first published, but like many "buffs," I didn't seriously read it because I didn't have any interest in a lone gunman viewpoint. Unlike most self-styled experts, Lattimer actually knows what he is talking about (as both a ballistics expert and a former combat surgeon). But what makes this work most valuable is that Lattimer used actual scientific evidence to back his opinions. For example, he actually shoots skulls and animal carcasses with a Carcano to reproduce the wounds and movements of JFK during the shooting. Go to your local medical school library and look up the peer-reviewed medical journal articles written by Lattimer on this subject if you want an objective scientific view.
A very resourseful book.......2000-04-25
This book is a good book for those of you out there who want to learn more about the Kennedy and Lincoln Assassinations and what interesting things made them similar. ENJOY!
Average customer rating:
- Ok, so history CAN be entertaining
- Yes, I know Lincoln got shot.
- Minute To Minute History, At Its Finest!
- Unexspectivily Moving.
- Gripping Account
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Day Lincoln Was Shot
Jim Bishop
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ASIN: 0517446499
Release Date: 1984-08-22 |
Book Description
Gripping, minute-by-minute account of the day President Lincoln was struck down by an assassin's bullet in Ford's Theatre. Parallels of the activities of the President with those of his assassin in an unforgettable, suspense- filled chronicle. 320 pages.
Customer Reviews:
Ok, so history CAN be entertaining.......2007-07-02
All history books should be written by Jim Bishop. He is able to bring the past to life with wonderful story telling that doesn't lose any details. This book taught me more about Lincoln than I have ever gotten out of classes and lessons. I had no clue that he disliked his wife and that John W Booth had failed so many times in his attempts. The deep research involved in such a writing must make it almost impossible to create history books in its image. Yet, we could do with less encyclopedia-like accounts of our past so that we keep our heritage instead of trying to wade through it. I will make sure to add Bishop's other masterpieces to my collection as soon as possible.
Yes, I know Lincoln got shot........2007-06-07
The Day Lincoln Was Shot is, in fact, about the entire day of Lincoln's death. If you decide to pick up this book make sure you set aside a lot of time and anything else you could be doing. This book is a very detailed hour by hour account of the day Lincoln was murdered. I do give the author credit for being historically accurate. Although it was accurate, this book did not have the ability to capture and hold on to my attention. The plot was pretty straight forward and I felt as though i was reading something straight out of a history book plus what's inbetween the lines. Mr.Bishop did make a good effort and put alot of time into this book judging by how detailed it is. The level of detail however, was my biggest problem with this book. I understand that Lincoln got shot and it was tragic but I don't need to know his murderer's every action throughout the day to get to where he was when he shot Lincoln.
In conclusion, reading this book was comparable only to cruel and unusual punishment and I can only hope to never read anything this horrible ever again.
Minute To Minute History, At Its Finest!.......2007-04-30
"The Day Lincoln Was Shot" takes the reader through an minute by minute account of the events involving the principal characters involved in the Lincoln assassination. The story actually starts weeks before the assassination and traces the Booth conspiracy, first to kidnap, and then to murder Lincoln as well as Lincoln's activities amid the rumors of conspiracy and murder. The roles of others, prominently Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, are artfully woven into the book. Author Jim Bishop skillfully switches between Lincoln and the conspirators while relating the events. Although I have long studied Lincoln Lore, I learned new things about the tragedy, and was reminded of other things which I had known. Never did my attention drift from the story. This is first class, minute by minute history, at its finest.
Unexspectivily Moving........2006-07-09
This book is amazing. I am a lover of American History, but only recenly did I read this book. I found it in a dollar pile at a book fair and it was one of the greatest things I've spent my money on.
I cannot remember the last time I was so moved by a book. Bishop's discription of this day has a rare quaility of being both objective and emotional. Such events in human history are bound in emotion, but there is one other way to present this material except objectivily because of its power and meaning.
"The Day Lincoln Was Shot" was one of the only books that caused me to weep while reading it. "The Final Hours" are presented with such digneity and grace that; while events occured over 150 years ago, they are as moving if they had happened 5 years ago. I would say that it has been 15 years or more since I have been so affected by a book. Bishop gives the reader an oppertunity to be apart of history and not just learn from it. You feel as if you are part of the crowd at Ford's Theater or at the Peterson home.
This is a great find and an important read for anyone who cares about human history.
Gripping Account.......2005-10-20
On my long commute to and from work, the audiocassette version of this book kept me thoroughly engrossed for days. No detail escaped Bishop's notice in this suprisingly gripping account of Lincoln's last day. An eminently satisfying piece of historical reconstruction.
Customer Reviews:
Mudd.......2006-12-26
Steer's book proves once and for all the guilt of Dr. Mudd.
Mudd was lucky he just missed doing the rope dance.
An indispensible book for the student of Lincoln's assassination.......2006-03-05
Sometimes in war the only difference between a patriot and a traitor is which side wins. Dr. Samuel Mudd was apparently a passionate Confederate sympathizer who had no use for the abolitionist Union president Abraham Lincoln. Dr. Mudd actively worked for the South in the Confederate underground during the war while living in the South-leaning Union border state of Maryland. In late 1864 when it was becoming clear that the South was going to lose the war, Dr. Mudd became involved - possibly reluctantly - in John Wilkes Booth's plan to abduct Lincoln and transport him south to Virginia. He introduced Booth to important members of the underground who could help carry out his escape after the abduction. However, when the abduction plot failed and Lee had surrendered to Grant, Booth's abduction plot turned to assassination. Even though it is unlikely that Dr. Mudd knew in advance about Lincoln's murder, he was too deeply involved to extricate himself from the plot when he learned that Booth, who was then staying at his house and whose broken leg he had splinted, was the President's murderer. He had little choice but to cover up his involvement in Booth's kidnapping plot and deny he recognized Booth when he harbored him and gave him medical attention. He could not admit to either without implicating himself. Like Samuel Arnold and Michael O'Laughlen, Dr. Mudd found out that the road into a criminal conspiracy is a one-way street.
Dr. Steers presents sufficient evidence to prove that Dr. Samuel Mudd was an important part of John Wilkes Booth's plot to kidnap the President of the United States and transport him south into Virginia. There can be little doubt that Dr. Mudd recognized Booth when he came to his house very early on that sad April morning. It is also possible that Booth had failed to tell him that he had just murdered Lincoln and was then on the run. Unfortunately, for Dr. Mudd, it no longer mattered because by that time he was in over his head and there was no way out. This book is a must read for every student of Lincoln's assassination.
Great research.......2003-08-25
Wonderful book. Easy to follow, but very detailed. Great pictures. I have also read Blood On The Moon by Mr. Steers, and this work is first class also. Dr. Mudd was lucky Andrew Johnson released him. If he had not helped fellow prisoners and guards recover from Yellow fever, he would have deserved to remain in prison for life, and Dr. Mudd should get credit for that. The Mudd family should be glad he didn't get what he deserved - the gallows next to Mary Surratt!
Demolishes the Mudd family spin..........2002-02-22
This book proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that the "good doctor" was completely guilty of conspiring with John Wilkes Booth. Despite the way the Mudd family has manipulated the story and the media for decades, the truth is finally coming out!!!
A Must for Assasination Buffs.......1998-09-22
A True account of Mudd's involvement. Though he cried foul, "The guilty dog barks the loudest".
Customer Reviews:
We Saw Lincoln Shot.......2007-04-21
A profound book, more so than I expected. It's basically a collection of 100 eyewitness accounts of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, focusing on the event itself. I read it cover to cover ... so I read about the assassination again, and again, and again. But one can pick up so much more.
You see complex insight into how witnesses felt after; how rumor of other tragedies spread in the hours after, as it can today; why some Southerners hated Lincoln and cheered his death; and, ultimately, why those who loved him were so profoundly affected. The last sentence of the book, from the last account, in particular, strikes me as heartbreakingly mournful -- from an obituary of the last living person to witness the assassination as a small child, and who passed away in 1954.
It's also interesting to note how much discrepancy can be found from account to account. This book should prove for all time that human memory is frail; and that what we swore we saw, no matter how firmly, is not always what actually happened. If these people are to be believed, a dozen or more different people tended to Lincoln immediately after the shooting and/or carried him from the theater. Of most interesting note, this book provides evidence, through its accounts, that Booth *did not* break his leg in the fall from the box to the stage -- a myth perpetuated to this day. You'll even find it mentioned in online encyclopedia articles.
A very good book, more likely better for skimming or reading in bits, although I read it sequentially. It gave me a greater appreciation of Lincoln in a human sense -- for his reality, not the myth. The book made me sad that we lost him -- but I also found myself thanking him for his achievements.
Recommended, especially to those with an interest in Lincoln's life or the assassination.
A Dramatic Historic Moment Captured.......2006-06-22
Good's book captures the immediacy of a dramatic and tragic moment in U.S. history: when John Wilkes Booth assassinated President Abraham Lincoln in Ford's Theater in April 1865. Reading the accounts of eyewitnesses, we can all feel as if we were there--the lights are down, the actors are saying their lines, a gunshot pierces the air, a man leaps from the presidential balcony onto the stage, he yells something and waves a knife and disappears. Pandemonium ensues.
This book would make a good companion volume to James Swanson's Manhunt. Read them in chronological order (this book first) and be transported back 140 years.
Great book.......2001-02-22
Very comprehensive book- the only one out there like it. It is interesting to read what the people in the theatre that terrible night actually saw and heard. I learned some things I didn't know by reading this book, and would definately reccommend it to anyone interested in the Lincoln Assasanation.
Very resourceful as well as interesting!.......1999-12-08
I had to read a book on American History for my college course. I am interested in President Lincoln's assassination and this book caught my eye! Very interesting and hard to put down! Highly reccommended to anyone, old or young.
FANTASTIC BOOK...EVERY LINCOLN BUFF SHOULD READ IT !.......1999-02-13
This is a wonderful, very informative book. It's the only written collection of eye witness accounts ever published on the Lincoln assasination. Every Lincoln buff needs to add this one to his or her library.
Book Description
It was one of the most tragic events in American history. The famous president, beloved by many, reviled by some, murdered while viewing a play at Ford's Theater in Washington. The frantic search for the perpetrators. The nation in mourning. The solemn funeral train. The conspirators brought to justice. Coming just days after the surrender of the Confederate Army at Appomattox, the assassination of Abraham Lincoln has become etched in the national consciousness like few other events. The president who had steered the nation through its bloodiest crisis is cut down just as the bloodshed ends. It is a story that has been told many times, but rarely with the care and immediacy of The Darkest Dawn. Thomas Goodrich brings to his narrative the meticulousness of the historian and the flair of the fiction writer. The result is an engrossing account, filled with detail and as present as today's headlines. A gripping account of one of the most shocking events in American! history.
". . . This book moves at high speed, is tremendously exciting and true to the core. It is a priceless observation of America in a time of horrendous challenge. Thomas Goodrich deserves high praise for his achievement." —The Washington Times
Customer Reviews:
Booth assured Lincoln's place in history.......2007-08-06
He is one of the most recognisable figures in history: The tall, angular frame, the sad half smile, eyes dark, tired and sunken. The last picture of Abraham Lincoln, 16th president of the United States, and reproduced here, is that of a man whose race is almost run.
Taken four days before the prominent actor and Southern sympathiser John Wilkes Booth ended his life with a shot to the head, Lincoln seemed ill at ease, the slight blurring around the hands indicating he was unable to keep them still for the time required for the exposure to take effect.
Could he be wondering about the next four years of his presidency, the monumental task of healing the wounds of a civil war he had insisted should be fought? The conflict, in which he had thrown the overwhelming might of the United States at the rebel Confederacy to bring about a difficult and costly victory, was all but over, but as shrewd a man as he would have guessed that the peace was going to be an even more formidable adversary. Did he have the answers?
We shall never know as Booth's dramatic act at Ford's Theatre in Washington relieved Lincoln of that responsibility, leaving him simply as the leader who saved the union. Dying with Southern armies still in the field and the final acts of the war yet to take place, his administration was linked wholly with the conflict. The emotions his assassination unleashed ensured not just his place as a great American president, but his conversion into a secular saint.
As Goodrich points out in his epilogue: "In the stampede to elevate the slain president, his virtues were magnified and his vices diminished until the one became a caricature and the other all but forgotten." The cynic might add: "good career move, Abe."
The author, an historian and storyteller, who has specialised in this brief, dark period in American history, has taken the events of a few weeks of the spring and summer of 1865 and made them live again.
An act of outstanding scholarship, he has amassed hundreds of contemporary sources - biographies, eye-witness accounts, newspaper articles - to the point where he blends his own narrative with the quotations from which he draws, producing compelling descriptions that immerse the reader in the zeitgeist. His passage on the chaos that resulted from a `lying in state' in Philadelphia during Lincoln's cross-country funeral procession is typical.
"Mingled with the normal dull roar of so many thousands were the shrieks of crushed women, the shrill cries of trampled children, and the cursing and shouting of men. Silk hats, bonnets and parasols were smashed flat, dresses were ripped, hoop skirts were broken and mangled, the neatly pinned hair of ladies now fell to their waists in a disheveled mass. Ragged and tattered debris, including destroyed mourning badges and black crepe, littered the ground below."
The book is full of such rich description, including the wild and random acts of vengeance wreaked on anyone who did not show proper respect for the slain president. Any words said against Lincoln in public risked a beating or worse. Lynch law took hold. Even those whose mourning was not considered sincere enough faced the anger of the mob.
In the occupied Confederacy, civilians were forced to decorate their houses in black to honour the man they hated and reviled. Most swallowed their pride and complied, some like Mrs Stuart, hung herself rather than yield to the humiliation.
From the fall of Richmond, which signaled the end of organised resistance in the Confederacy, and Lee's surrender at Appomattox, through the assassination, its aftermath, the funeral procession, the death of Booth and the trial and execution of his associates, Goodrich opens a series of windows on those troubled, turbulent times.
For a while the victorious north, plunged from the pinnacle of joy to the depths of despair, became unhinged. As one witness recalled: "The sorrow and sadness caused...cannot be written; no pen can tell it. Only those who lived in these dreadful days can appreciate the pain we suffered."
Thanks to this book, we can appreciate a little of the anguish experienced by the bloody, war-ravaged nation as, united once more, it wearily resumed the journey towards its ultimate destiny.
One of the most informative reads on Lincoln and Booth.......2007-06-08
I enjoyed this book a great deal. The author is obviously not as much an admirer of Lincoln as I am. Other books I've read are more biased in Lincoln's favor. This author went much deeper into the history of the conspirators and others surrounding the assassination than other have done. A refreshingly unbiased account of the months before and after America's greatest tragedy.
Informative but Unkind to Mrs. Lincoln.
The Great Upheaval: America and the Birth of the Modern World, 1788-1800
Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era (Oxford History of the United States)
For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War
Lincoln
Team of Rivals
