Book Review—Manhunt: The 12-day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer
Apr 3rd, 2008 by Nut
I’ve been having trouble recently finding a good book to read so I figured I would give this non-fiction book a try. It had been sitting on my bookshelf for a while and I actually bought it from Borders a long time ago so I knew I would have to read it eventually (you pay, you read). Maybe that should be my new strategy to finish books . . . buy them instead of checking them out from the library—it’ll force my cheap ass to read them.
Anyway, on to the book:
It’s about the planning, execution, and escape of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination at Ford Theater. It tells you everything you need to know about John Wilkes Booth and his posse as they plan and execute everything. The interesting part is that it includes stuff I never knew about (yes, how vain, “I’m surprised I don’t know it already”). Basic stuff like Booth being a famous actor and that the plot was to kill three high-level people, not just Lincoln.
The other impressive thing about this book is how much info was gathered. Seriously, it’s like everyone back in those times had a diary or saved letters or something because the dialog and stuff is all legit—Swanson took it from sources and it reads like a friggin’ novel. The pictures included also bring certain parts to life, especially the creepy “someone died” here ones.
The country was divided back when this happened. Sure, the civil war was over, but it was still like two distinct countries. Which is crazy to think of now but the way the story unfolds really brings it home.
The book reminded me of Devil in the White City a lot, which was a great book. It feels like you’re reading a thriller of a book, especially the way some of the stuff unfolds. Like they say: “you can’t make this stuff up.”
The last thing that really impressed me (and this may not have to do with the book but shows how well researched and written it is) is how quickly the nation put such a monumental incident behind them. At first, the people involved were despised and everyone wanted them dead (some were indeed hung). But the secondary players were either jailed or fled abroad—a few years later they returned and some even profited off their involvement. Crazy how just a few years can pass for people to forget about how angry they were.
Anywho, a great read and even though it’s long (almost 400 pages) it’s a faster read than you might think. A nice non-fiction break after quitting a series of books earlier this year.
And I may be quitting my current book too. Jeez, what’s the deal?
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