After reading three other books on the Lincoln Assassination all in succession, this one was quite different. While the others focus more on John Wilkes Booth and the assassination, this one is a biography of the Booth family. While J.W.B. died before anybody could fully understand motive, and the remaining Booth family members refused to discuss this in public, Titone does an amazing job with her meticulous research and presentation of the facts. This book ends where the others begin.

Understanding the rivalry of J.W.B. and his brothers, namely Edwin, puts the motives of the Lincoln assassination fully into place. She fills in the gaps in the story and answers questions the the other books miss - largely because it was the all-important back story. After reading this, the first thing I said was, "Ahh, I get it now."

We are getting much closer in scholarly research to fully understanding the Lincoln Assassination, the players and even the motives.

However, that being said, I rate this an A minus because she gets a few basic facts wrong about the assassination that others have already corrected (including some of her source material), plus it had a tendency of droning on and on mid-way through the volume.

Still, it was better than rating it a B or a B plus - and is a MUST READ for anyone who wants to understand why the events happened on that fateful day.

If asked about what sequence to read this volume I can only say this - make it first on your list of the four books I recommend, or make it the last, don't read it in the middle. If you read it first, you will find a few gaps and discrepancies that are corrected in the later books. If you read it last, as I did, it will shed some light on the previous readings. If you read it in the middle, you will be utterly confused. Nonetheless, make sure you read this book.