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Chasing Lincoln's Killer

3.85 of 5 stars 3.85 · rating details · 2,125 ratings · 566 reviews

Based on rare archival material, obscure trial manuscripts, and interviews with relatives of the conspirators and the manhunters, CHASING LINCOLN'S KILLER is a fast-paced thriller about the pursuit and capture of John Wilkes Booth: a wild twelve-day chase through the streets of Washington, D.C., across the swamps of Maryland, and into the forests of Virginia.

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Hardcover, 194 pages

Published February 1st 2009 by Scholastic Press

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Mar 03, 2009 Elizabeth rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: a-z-reading-challenge

One of my students (a delightful young man with autism) recommended this book to me. He purchased his copy at the school book fair in January, and although he really doesn't read well, he had watched a program on the History Channel based on the adult edition of the book (Manhunt) and was able to piece together bits and pieces for comprehension.

While I found the writing in the book to be somewhat disjointed, I learned a lot about the Lincoln assassination and John Wilkes Booth. The book is reple...more

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Jan 24, 2011 Jacki rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: teen-non-fiction

Summary: The YA edition of Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer describes the plot to kill Abraham Lincoln, the assassination, and for the most part, the hunt to capture John Wilkes Booth and his gang of co-conspirators.

Verdict: A short, exciting read.

Yay!: A great entry in the category of non-fiction that reads like fiction, Swanson's reconstruction of events is a page-turner. Unlike many YA adaptations of adult non-fiction, the book never feels like something was left out or thinned...more

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May 13, 2009 Kristen Jorgensen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: mock-newbery-book-2010

This historical book will keep readers interested. It's a younger version of Swansons adult book "Manhunt," yet is still informative, without glorifying the assassination of Lincoln. The writing style was a bit choppy, as the author skipped from one story (Booths) to another (Lincoln), with some other stories thrown in, every few paragraphs without warning. Still it is basic and simple enough that younger people can learn what happened. I enjoyed the photographs that allow a better look at the p...more

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May 14, 2013 Dylan burns rated it 5 of 5 stars

On the evening of April 14th, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln was shot in the head at Ford's theater in Washington D.C. He was with his wife and they were celebrating the end of the Civil War. It was Good Friday.

Chasing Lincoln's Killer details the events leading up to Lincoln's assassination as well as the conspiracy plot to kill Vice President Johnson and Secretary of State, William Seward. The book follows Lincoln's killer, actor James Wilkes Booth and his conspirators as they led the authori...more

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May 10, 2013 Kaleb Wolters rated it 5 of 5 stars

Kaleb Wolters
B2
5/10/13

Chasing Lincoln's Killer was a very good book. It was filled with reliable and accurate historical information. The book made the manhunt for John Wilkes Booth and his accomplices very exciting. It made you want to keep reading and never put the book down.

John Wilkes Booth was a well-known and successful actor. He had money, fame, and many friends. He had everything going for him and he threw it all away to kill one of the greatest presidents the United States of America ha...more Kaleb Wolters
B2
5/10/13

Chasing Lincoln's Killer was a very good book. It was filled with reliable and accurate historical information. The book made the manhunt for John Wilkes Booth and his accomplices very exciting. It made you want to keep reading and never put the book down.

John Wilkes Booth was a well-known and successful actor. He had money, fame, and many friends. He had everything going for him and he threw it all away to kill one of the greatest presidents the United States of America has ever had. He also had some friends who were assigned to kill other major political leaders in America. The other major members of his group were Lewis Powell, David Herold, George Atzerodt, and Mary Surratt.

Lewis Powell was accompanied by David Herold to kill the Secretary of State William Seward. Herold navigated Washington, D.C. for Powell and Powell went to finish the job by killing Seward. Luckily, his plan failed and Seward survived the attack. Atzerodt was assigned to kill Andrew Johnson, but he chickened out and fled. Mary Surratt helped Wilkes Booth get supplies for his escaped.

The hunt for John Wilkes Booth lasted 12 days. In the process Wilkes Booth broke his leg and stopped at over 12 different places. He narrowly escaped police and soldiers many different times. He received help from many different allies. He and David Herold traveled together for almost the entire hunt while the other conspirators were caught earlier on. John Wilkes Booth gave his best effort to avoid capture until he was shot in a tobacco barn on the Garrett farm on April 26, 1865.

This book was filled with interesting facts and information. This book really stuck out to me because of how divided our nation was at that time and how many people were willing to house and feed John Wilkes Booth after he killed Abraham Lincoln. I also found it amazing how someone would throw away a successful and promising career because of his beliefs. This just shows how people have many different beliefs and how stressful war can be for people. This just proves that freedom has a price.

The thing that stood out for me the most in this was that Wilkes Booth did not achieve what he wanted. Abraham Lincoln became a national hero and even more popular after his death and his memory still lives on today.(less)

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May 09, 2013 Seth Cain rated it 5 of 5 stars

Based on a true story Chasing Lincolns Killer is a fast paced thriller about the pursuit and capture of John Wilkes Booth. A wild twelve day chase on the streets of Washington, D.C. across the swamps of Maryland and into the forests of Virginia.
All the characters are real and were alive during the great manhunt of April 1865. Their words are real and come from original people. Letters, manuscripts, trial transcripts, newspapers, government reports, pamphlets, books and other documents. What ha...more

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Mar 08, 2013 Kim rated it 3 of 5 stars

While this book was interesting it's not on the top of my list of books to recommend to my middle school students for a few reasons.

I found the characters to be somewhat confusing (I listened to the audiobook so this may have added to my confusion).

While there was a great deal of historical information I am always looking for history that will aid students in understanding the curriculum material and I didn't feel this book offered that. A better choice, in my mind is The Notorious Benedict Arn ...more

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Mar 04, 2013 Lauren rated it 4 of 5 stars

I read the novel "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson. In this novel it talks about the telling of Lincoln's killer. The author of this book received a letter and pistol that John Wilkes Booth used to kill Abraham Lincoln on his tenth birthday. James says that is why he was inspired to learn more about the death of Lincoln. This story starts from Lincoln's early career and ends after they catch John. "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" goes day by day describing the hunt for one of the most wan...more

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Jan 16, 2013 Susie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Chasing Lincoln's Killer
James Swanson
Non- Fiction
208 pages

The book, "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" is about the story of the assassination of former President Abraham Lincoln. The majority of the book is about how Booth and his partner in crime David Harold journey through two states with the help of people who let them stay with them for a short period of time after killing president Lincoln. As the journey goes on, which was very hard for Booth because he had broken leg from jumping onto the stage...more

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Dec 09, 2012 Jacob rated it 5 of 5 stars

The book Chasing Lincoln’s Killer, by James L. Swanson, is an action-filled book about the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln and the manhunt for his killer that followed. All information found in this story is from eye-witness accounts, letters, documents, and other historical sources. The interesting part about the book is that it is mostly from the point of view of John Wilkes Booth and his co-conspirators.
James Swanson’s purpose in writing Chasing Lincoln’s Killer is to show what...more The book Chasing Lincoln’s Killer, by James L. Swanson, is an action-filled book about the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln and the manhunt for his killer that followed. All information found in this story is from eye-witness accounts, letters, documents, and other historical sources. The interesting part about the book is that it is mostly from the point of view of John Wilkes Booth and his co-conspirators.
James Swanson’s purpose in writing Chasing Lincoln’s Killer is to show what truly happened on one of the worst nights in U.S. history and the days that followed. Although it was an eventful and impacting night, many people do not know what is true and what is false about the events described in the book, especially concerning John Wilkes Booth’s planning, assassination, escape, and death.
Because this is a historical non-fiction book, it can be very difficult to find the theme. One theme that can be drawn from this book is that with actions come consequences. In Chasing Lincoln’s Killer, the action was the assassination of President Lincoln. The consequence, of course, was the manhunt for Booth that followed, which ended in his death.
The style of Chasing Lincoln’s Killer is primarily that of a description. This is because it tells the story of what happened in the time surrounding the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Although some may argue that it is a narration, do to it being told through a series of events, there is one thing that hinders this idea. A narration is told in chronological order, but Chasing Lincoln’s Killer is not in a defined order. It will go from what one character is doing at one point in time, to what another character is doing at the same moment in time. For example, it continually goes between telling of John Wilkes Booth’s escape, and Lincoln’s last hours, lying in the boardinghouse across the street from Ford’s Theater.
Through this book, the author’s opinion can be identified as being that this is an important point in our history, and that people need to know about it. He wrote the book based off of facts, to give people a clear perception of the events that happened at this time. This book is directed towards the younger generation, which shows that he feels that they especially should know the importance of our history.
I am not typically one to enjoy non-fiction books, but this is a major exception. It is exciting and I have learned some things about President Lincoln’s assassination that I did not know before. This book is entirely different than the other books I have read. I would strongly encourage this book to anyone who enjoys fast-paced stories and learning new things about our country’s history.
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Dec 09, 2012 Adam rated it 5 of 5 stars

Mr. James L Swanson wrote Chasing Lincoln’s Killer in order to inform people of the assassination of Lincoln and what happened to Booth after he shot the president. The author also tells about what other murders were suppose to have happened that night.

There are two themes in Chasing Lincoln’s Killer. These two themes can be seen throughout the book. One is from the American people, as they sought justice for the crime that had been committed. Mr. Author describes the unrest of the American peo...more

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Dec 02, 2012 Tigran Hakobyan rated it 5 of 5 stars

I chose this book because it looked interesting and I only had background knowledge on the hunt for John Wilkes Booth. The story starts off with John making plans to assassinate President Lincoln. He shoots the president at Ford's Theater while his friends attempt to kill the secretary of state and vice president, leading to a wild goose chase lasting twelve days until Booth is finally killed in a barn by a member of the Union cavalry. My favorite quote was "We don't want to kill you," Conger as...more

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Oct 09, 2012 Erin Mccall added it

Expecting to read a novel about the search for John Wilkes Booth, Lincoln’s killer, I found myself much more fully immersed in the act of murder than I anticipated. Not only do we get the chase of Lincoln’s killer, but also the plotting, the killing, and the emotions of Booth that followed. The book title really doesn’t do the content any justice, especially if readers are specifically basing their choice to read Chasing Lincoln’s Killer on the book title.
Beginning with the Confederacy surren...more Expecting to read a novel about the search for John Wilkes Booth, Lincoln’s killer, I found myself much more fully immersed in the act of murder than I anticipated. Not only do we get the chase of Lincoln’s killer, but also the plotting, the killing, and the emotions of Booth that followed. The book title really doesn’t do the content any justice, especially if readers are specifically basing their choice to read Chasing Lincoln’s Killer on the book title.
Beginning with the Confederacy surrender, Chasing Lincoln’s Killer rapidly escalates from a recounting of history into that of one man’s enduring hatred for the heroic man that just about everyone else has come to love, past and present. Painting a picture of a criminal that’s more encompassing than that of Abraham Lincoln may seem radical, but Swanson objectively develops every bit of Wilkes Booth’s character, realizing his mustache as iconic an accessory as Lincoln’s top hat.
Not sparing a single gory, gruesome detail from the murder scenes at Ford Theater and Secretary of State Seward’s house, Swanson speaks to many young (especially male) readers’ innate enthusiasm for blood and guts: “…tiny bits of gray matter from Lincoln’s brain oozed on to the cream-colored silk fabric” [of Laura Keane’s dress] (p. 72).
An ongoing theme of Wilkes Booth’s “acting performance of his career,” careening through the South charming and conning everyone he came into contact with, while tens of colonels and soldiers were on his heels, is meticulously kept throughout. The dramatics lasted up until his dying day, exclaiming, “Well, my brave boys, prepare a stretcher for me!” (p. 171).
Closing the book out much like an episode of Law and Order, Swanson traced his closing notes back to the beginning, with the four original conspirators finally reuniting once again at John Wilkes Booth grave. All dead. Simply written at a cut throat pace, and may be a great way to get middle and young high school readers to ease into historical nonfiction without forcibly feeding them presidential facts. This is a great way to make history feel just as potent and extreme as today’s mystery and fiction novels, while inadvertently seducing readers with the hidden facets of historic horror.
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Sep 21, 2012 Kathleen Lake cusick rated it 5 of 5 stars

Have you ever wanted to be like a fly on the wall, or on the sidelines of the most influential moments in world history?? Did you ever ponder what was it like for Napoleon in his final days in power at Waterloo, or who Hitler was conversing with and what they were saying at the end of World War II? Well if these lesser known facts interest you, then this story would be for you. The author has pieced together the events surrounding one of the most horrific events in American history, the assassin...more

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Sep 18, 2012 Andrew rated it 5 of 5 stars

Chasing Lincoln's Killer
James Swanson
Non- Fiction
208 Pages

The book, Chasing Lincoln's Killer is about the murder, death of the 16th President, Abraham Lincoln. This book also includes the chase of 26 year-old actor, John Wilkes Booth which includes his run through Maryland and Virginia. The chase includes Booth and his accomplice David Harold running through the two states with the help of tothers who let them stay with them. This journey was especially hard for Booth who had a broken leg from j...more

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Apr 10, 2012 Johanna rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: engl420

***INFORMATIONAL/NON-FICTION***
The book chronicles the events that surrounded the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. The author follows John Wilkes Booth and his accomplices through the planning, carry out, and aftermath of the killing of the president. From the hatching of the plan, the details of the actual killing, and the maneuvers of both the guilty party and the manhunters, the author weaves a tale of intrigue and deception.

I didn't enjoy this book because of the genre - I'm not a...more

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Mar 20, 2012 Zach rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book is an action filled true story that is very fast paste because it's one of those books you don't want to put down. It is about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Although, he's like not even the main character (of course without him there is no assassination), but the main characters are John Wilkes Booth, George Atzerodt, Luther Baker, Colonel Lafayette Baker, Colonel Everton Conger, Captain Samuel Cox and others. Lincoln was shot at Fords theater on April 22, shot by a small, sho...more This book is an action filled true story that is very fast paste because it's one of those books you don't want to put down. It is about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Although, he's like not even the main character (of course without him there is no assassination), but the main characters are John Wilkes Booth, George Atzerodt, Luther Baker, Colonel Lafayette Baker, Colonel Everton Conger, Captain Samuel Cox and others. Lincoln was shot at Fords theater on April 22, shot by a small, short-barreled, pocket-size handgun designed for concealment and to hide good. It had a .44 caliber ball weighing nearly an ounce, and was deadly strong. It gets very into detail, it describes the great manhunt for the assassin and all of those who end up helping him out in anyway.
John Wilkes Booth, was the assassin of Lincoln. His FULL plot did not work as planned. In fact, the only thing about his plot that worked was that he killed Abe. Everything else didn't quite go his way. He planned to have two of his associates kill both the Secretary and the Vice President. One chickened out and one was unsuccessful. Booth hoped that by killing them that it would give the Confederates (the south) another chance at winning the war. Well, it didn't at all help them out, in fact, many of the people in the south were disappointed at the fact that one of their men killed the president.
I truly did like this book, it's not one of the books where you just say crap to get a good grade. My favorite part of this book is how into depth it gets. I am not going to say anything in particular word for word, but especially love when it is time for him to fire at Lincoln and while he does. If you are a drama queen, you will probably think its a little disturbing for you.
I highly recommend this book to anybody. Although, with the exception of a part or two, even girls will love this book. I didn't rate it a 5 star for no reason, the author does an extremely good job of hooking the reader and keeping their eyes glued to the book. I love the way the author writes. Read this book, find out whether you like the ending, and find out if the government took punishments a little too far? Or if they caught everybody? Read this amazing book and find out.

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Mar 13, 2012 Anthony Valdez rated it 5 of 5 stars

So my book was about how Abraham Lincoln was assasinated by John W. Booth. This story starts out with Lincoln having a wonderful day and decides to go to the theater to watch a play that starred Booth. Booth was with the Confederates in the civil war but secretly. When the Union won the war he was outraged! So he had a plan to kidnap the president but he failed to do so. Booth then shoots Lincoln in the theater and runs and barly escapes the rage of the people. He then goes to hid in the south....more

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Feb 16, 2012 Susan rated it 4 of 5 stars

I picked up "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James Swanson from the library, because I'd seen it in a book order form the kids brought home and it looked interesting. None of the kids was apparently interested, but I read it. I love history, and this is a YA book (probably geared to about grades 4-6?) dealing with Lincoln's assassination and -- well -- the hunt for John Wilkes Booth.

I enjoyed this book. At just under 200 pages, it was just enough detail about the 12 days that Booth was on the run....more

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Jan 03, 2012 Adam Lovell rated it 4 of 5 stars

The story is about John Wilkes Booth planning then killing President Lincoln, and he is on the run and it is just tracking what he is doing. The main Characters are George Atzerodt, Colonel Lafayette Baker, Luther Baker, John Wilkes Booth, Colonel Everton Conger, Captain Samuel Cox and others. Most of them are helping plan to kill Lincoln but a few are just there at the time helping protect the president. The main Characters did run into problems in it like some were injured, some chickened out...more

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Oct 10, 2011 Meghan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-literature, non-fiction

We all know John Wilkes Booth killed Abraham Lincoln. But he was not alone in this conspiracy. James L. Swanson gives us a play by play of what happened before, during and after the assassination of Lincoln. I was enthralled by this book. Although it could be read in one sitting I was glad it did it in parts. I could not get the chase of Booth out of my head when I put the book down. I was saddened reading about Lincoln’s death and mourned with the country. I was in awe of all the events that S...more

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Jul 25, 2011 Matthew Kresal rated it 4 of 5 stars

As someone interested in Presidential assassinations I got this book for the subject matter rather then for its reading level. Thinking back to some of the history books I read during my own youth I was expecting that this book would bring the story down to basics. Not only was that assertion wrong I found that Chasing Lincoln's Killer is better written then some of the adult oriented history books I've read.

Author James Swanson has done his research and done it well. Based on his adult book Ma...more As someone interested in Presidential assassinations I got this book for the subject matter rather then for its reading level. Thinking back to some of the history books I read during my own youth I was expecting that this book would bring the story down to basics. Not only was that assertion wrong I found that Chasing Lincoln's Killer is better written then some of the adult oriented history books I've read.

Author James Swanson has done his research and done it well. Based on his adult book Manhunt (which I have yet to read) Swanson doesn't make the mistake many writers of history books for younger readers do: he treats his readers like intelligent people. Swanson uses his research to explain the backgrounds of the people involved and the context of the events taking place. Thankfully he does it without being either patronizing to readers who know the story or being boring to those who don't.

Swanson also treats the book more like a novel then a history book with his attention to details and events. Swanson doesn't just list events he describes them and goes into detail about them, giving the reader rare insight into the events of mid-April 1865 by bringing words to the mouths of long dead historical figures from actual words of those involved in the events. Swanson's descriptions of the places where the manhunt took Booth and his accomplices are worthy of any well-written novel and rarely found in the pages of a history book.

If there is any fault in the book it is that the first half of the book is dedicated to the events surrounding the assassination itself. Considering that the book is intended to focus on the manhunt that ensued after the assassination the first half of the book (approximately) focuses exclusively on the events of April 14th, 1965. While Swanson moves this section quickly and as well described as the rest of the book it seems a shame that half the book is spent on the assassination while other sections (in particular the trial of the conspirators) come across as being too short.

Yet while half the book is spent on events that surround the assassination, Chasing Lincoln's Killer is still a fine historical read. With its attention to dialogue and details, the book reads more like a novel then your average history book. The fact that it is written for a younger audience doesn't mean that Swanson brings the story down to its basics. The book is a gripping real life story that must be read to be believed. (less)

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May 13, 2013 Brandt rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: People who love U.S. history

My rating for James L. Swanson’s Chasing Lincoln’s Killer is a 5 out of 5 star book!

After the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, John Wilkes Booth was out and about running away from the Union for around 12 days. He had committed just about the biggest crime in U.S. history, he shot the president. While Booth and his accomplices didn’t put much thought or planning into the supposed to be triple assassinations they carried out one of the plans. The president killing. Booth was determined...more

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Mar 12, 2009 Amy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: teen-nf

Fabulous! This book by the author of Manhunt : The Twelve Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer is actually based on this book, but rewritten for a teen audience!

It provides just as much detail and information and includes pictures and photographs of the people and events relating to the story. I wish I had had a copy of the map at the end of the book when my book discussion group talked about Manhunt. It would have saved me a lot of time and trouble in drawing my own for the discussion!

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Apr 09, 2013 Sean C. rated it 4 of 5 stars

Chasing Lincoln's Killer
James L. Swanson
Non-Fiction
208 Pages

Chasing Lincoln's Killer is the story of how one of our greatest presidents of our history, was taken down by one of the greatest tragedies. It takes place at Ford's Theater, in Washington D.C. President Lincoln came to the theater to relax and unsettle after one of the most horrific wars in our history, the Civil War. After the war was mostly over why should Lincoln or anybody of office have anything to worry about? Well, there was sti...more

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Jul 17, 2012 Mr. Holt rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: sixth-grade-books-read

Chasing Lincoln's Killer is the "true" account of what led up to and followed that fateful night in 1865. While this is the author's kid-friendly version of Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer, it is certainly not a watered-down or sugar-coated version of what we as Americans believe to be the truth. It revealed a lot of very interesting tidbits of information about Booth, Lincoln's assassination, and the other horrific event that took place that same night. The author makes use of ph...more

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Jan 20, 2012 Kailey rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: y-adult, eng-356-goodreads

Chasing Lincoln's killer is a collection of history and reports by James L. Swanson to create a detailed tale of the details of Booth's assassination of President Lincoln, and being on the run. It was well supported, had amazing detail, and helped me understand, more in detail, that tragic event of the president's death.
I quite enjoyed reading this and picked it up from my love of history, and it proved to be very entertaining as well as informing. It was very accurate and had great photograph...more

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Nov 15, 2011 Jackson Radish rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: teen

I actually loved this book and learned a lot! It claims to be all researched from primary sources and all dialogue actual recorded dialogue.

It follows the events surrounding the Lincoln assassination starting with Booth learning that Lincoln would attend a play at Ford Theater earlier in the day of the assassination, his plans that day to murder Lincoln as well as the secretary of state and the vice president (both unsuccessful but described in the book--I never knew about this aspect of it), th...more I actually loved this book and learned a lot! It claims to be all researched from primary sources and all dialogue actual recorded dialogue.

It follows the events surrounding the Lincoln assassination starting with Booth learning that Lincoln would attend a play at Ford Theater earlier in the day of the assassination, his plans that day to murder Lincoln as well as the secretary of state and the vice president (both unsuccessful but described in the book--I never knew about this aspect of it), the carrying out of the assassination & assassination attempts, Lincoln's final hours (I had no idea that he didn't actually die in Ford Theater, but hung on for some 9+ hours while his brain was oozing out of the gunshot wound), Booth's flight from DC and his pursuit and finally capture.

Swanson artfully constructs all the pieces of information that is known about the events surrounding Lincoln's assassination into a compelling story. I did have trouble getting the names of everyone discussed straight--there were so many people involved and most names were ones I was previously unaware of, so there were characters I sometimes got mixed up (I'm never great with names, so that could be my problem).

There were not many female characters but there were a few brief but interesting stories about women included in the story. One woman was among those hanged for the assassination plot (I kept getting her confused with Mary Todd Lincoln because her first name was Mary, which was always confusing when I would realize it was definitely not Lincoln's wife they were describing) and I would have liked to have heard her story weaved into the narrative a little more, not sure why she didn't play a bigger role.

In all, I loved this book! I am not a huge fan of reading non-fiction stuff like this, but the story was written in a way that appealed to the part of me that loves fiction (the part of me that loves fiction also kept hoping he would fail at assassinating Lincoln and then having to remember that I already knew he didn't). I think teens learning about Lincoln would really enjoy this book!(less)

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Mar 10, 2013 Peggy rated it 5 of 5 stars

This story continues the saga of the life of John Wilkes Booth--what led up to his assassination of Lincoln, details of the event, and the manhunt to capture him. There were a lot of details that I had never read that made this a very interesting read. The book is written in a documentary style of writing that could have been dry and boring, but the personal stories and details make it a good style of writing. I was especially interested in how Booth was captured and what happened to him. There...more

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Mar 04, 2013 S. Miles rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Almost everybody knows about Abraham Lincoln's assassination, not very many people know about the 12-day manhunt that followed. That is what this book is about. Not the best book to read for fun, but is fairly enjoyable. I would not read this book as a thriller or for enjoyment, but instead for knowledge. (I read it for my middle school book project). It has tons of information on just the 12 days of the John Wilkes Booth manhunt, never skipping a detail, right down to how Samuel Mudd felt about...more

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About James L. Swanson

James Swanson is the Edgar Award-winning author of the New York Times bestseller Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer. Swanson has degrees in history from the University of Chicago, where he was a student of John Hope Franklin, and in law from the University of California, Los Angeles.

He has held a number of government and think-tank posts in Washington, D.C., including at the United St...more

More about James L. Swanson...

Books by James L. Swanson

Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer

Bloody Crimes: The Chase for Jefferson Davis and the Death Pageant for Lincoln's Corpse

Bloody Times: The Funeral of Abraham Lincoln and the Manhunt for Jefferson Davis

Lincoln's Assassins: Their Trial and Execution

$Chasing Lincoln\’s Killer and Bloody Times: The Funeral for Abraham Lincoln and the Manhunt for Jefferson Davis (2 Book Set)$

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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3790380-chasing-lincoln-s-killer?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328843231l/3790380.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3790380-chasing-lincoln-s-killer?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Chasing Lincoln's Killer by James L. Swanson[/url]

Chasing Lincoln's Killer

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