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Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever

(Bill O'Reilly's Killing Series)

Bill O'Reilly (Goodreads Author),

Martin Dugard

4.03 · Rating details · 89,732 ratings · 6,408 reviews

A riveting historical narrative of the heart-stopping events surrounding the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, and the first work of history from mega-bestselling author Bill O'Reilly

The anchor of The O'Reilly Factor recounts one of the most dramatic stories in American history—how one gunshot changed the country forever. In the spring of 1865, the bloody saga of Ameri

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Hardcover, First Edition, 324 pages

Published September 27th 2011 by Henry Holt & Company

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Feb 22, 2012 Stephanie rated it liked it

Recommends it for: Bill O'Reilly fans

Recommended to Stephanie by: Book Club

You know what my biggest problem with this book is? Bill O'Reilly. I just can't get past the fact that a pompous, bombastic talk show host gets to write a best-selling historical non-fiction book when there are real historians (you know, the kind with Ph.D.s that know how to use footnotes) that can't even find jobs.

To be fair, it's very readable. O'Reilly and his co-author (who, alas, no one will remember) write in a very engaging manner. They do fall into the trap of over-speculating, saying t ...more

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Feb 11, 2012 Leslie rated it liked it

Just for the record - Bill O'Reilly is a conceited ass. His book jacket description of himself (gag) almost made me not read the book, but alas, it's this month's bookclub choice, and since I attend every book club without fail I did indeed give in to peer pressure.

Other than being terribly sad and kindof a downer obviously, it wasn't that bad. Lots of interesting details were included I'd never heard of before, and the novel form made it easier to read even if they did wildly speculate some of ...more

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Nov 16, 2011 babyhippoface rated it it was amazing

Shelves: grown-up-stuff, civil-war-era, mystery-thriller, historical

When I walked into the theater to see the movie "Secretariat", I already knew Secretariat had won the Triple Crown. Still, my anxiety (and my pulse) increased during every race scene, and I cheered every victory. I chalk that up to terrific storytelling and a great director. And that's the same way I felt about this book.

Obviously, I knew what was going to happen before I read page one, but I found myself hoping someone would stop arrogant and narcissistic John Wilkes Booth before he could carry When I walked into the theater to see the movie "Secretariat", I already knew Secretariat had won the Triple Crown. Still, my anxiety (and my pulse) increased during every race scene, and I cheered every victory. I chalk that up to terrific storytelling and a great director. And that's the same way I felt about this book.

Obviously, I knew what was going to happen before I read page one, but I found myself hoping someone would stop arrogant and narcissistic John Wilkes Booth before he could carry out his plan. Ooh, that guy really made me mad. And that stupid, lazy, and irresponsible guard who left his post at Ford's Theater on April 14, I wanted to smack him. I gained new respect for players in the story I hadn't known much about before, lost some for others, and am still wondering what to think about others (Stanton, I've got my eye on you).

Barring some amazing historical discovery of hidden documents, we will probably never know much more about Lincoln's assassination than we do right now. O'Reilly and Dugard researched thoroughly (resources are referenced, though not in distracting footnotes) and included different theories of the events in their storytelling. Words and thoughts attributed to people in the book come from diaries and personal narratives written by those people or others involved. The authors have done a terrific job of turning history into a thriller. Battle scenes were dynamic and described as though they were being witnessed first-hand. (Of course, that's because those details came from diaries written at the time.) I guarantee, I retained more of the facts surrounding this event than I would have if I'd read a typical historical book on the subject.

I'd recommend this to anyone who is a Civil War buff, a Lincoln fan, or likes thrillers in general. This isn't a typical read for me, but I have the highest respect for Abraham Lincoln and all he stood for in the face of hatred and injustice, so I was interested in this book. I really, really liked it. When I started reading it, I went to the library and checked out a couple of big, coffee table-type books on Lincoln so I could find photos of people and places this book talked about. I read about the same events, the same theories. My guess is that many people who criticized this book harshly did so more because they have a personal problem with Bill O'Reilly than anything else. (Some reviewers here on goodreads complain about "many historical inaccuracies" but fail to mention any specifically, which lends credence to that theory, I think.)

The book is well-written, exciting, and kept me interested until the very end. The only problem was that this time, Secretariat was shot before he could reach the finish line. ...more

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Dec 15, 2012 Sandra rated it liked it

Recommended to Sandra by: Becky Herrick

I read some of the Goodreads' reviews for this book and honestly, some of them are just stupid commentaries on Bill O'Reilly, the TV talk show host. I already know who Bill O'Reilly is and didn't want anyone to opine - just tell me what you thought of the book, for Pete's sake.

Yes, Bill O'Reilly has written books and no, I hadn't read any of them. This one was on loan to me by a friend and I wasn't inspired to read it until after I saw the movie, "Lincoln." I agree with the reviews that describ ...more

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Oct 03, 2015 Britany rated it really liked it

Shelves: audiobook, books-to-film, non-fiction

I kept hearing about this book and no matter what your politics are, this story is worth reading. I listened on audio- the author, Bill O'Reilly narrates (which can be grating at times if I'm being truly honest, but he is passionate!). I found myself on the end of my seat (literally!). Even though, we all know the story about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, I never knew all the details that led up to that detrimental night. This felt more like a narrative thriller than a historical non-fic ...more

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Feb 10, 2013 Jennifer rated it it was amazing

Shelves: book-club, books-read-2013

LOVED this book! I don't love that a great man was killed, but I love the way this book was put together. It did feel like a suspense novel...but full of history and truths that I have never heard about.

I liked how the chapters headed with the date and the time, and switched back and forth between Pres. Lincoln and JW Booth. I feel it gave both sides very well. You could almost understand the feelings Booth had and his reasoning for what he did, in his mind anyway.

I was doing very well just rea ...more

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Dec 07, 2012 Lori Mcdaniel rated it it was amazing

Shelves: freddie-mercury-the-definitive-biog

this book was very intriguing. i could not put it down. historical narrative that seriously reads like fiction. but -it's not! i particularly liked the pace of the book as each chapter revealed the timeline laid out before you. you literally feel that you are witnessing history as it is happening. this book chronicles one of the darkest times in our nation's history- the civil war and the disturbing emotions among the north and the south as they battle to the bloody end. i had no idea that gener ...more

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Nov 27, 2011 Sheila DeChantal rated it liked it

In the spring of 1865, after a long day of meetings, Abraham Lincoln alongside his wife Mary, took to the theater. While Lincoln knew that he had a lot of enemies and had even thought there was a good chance he would be assassinated, he had no idea that his life was about to end.

John Wilkes Booth was an anchor and charismatic ladies man as well as an impenitent racist. His hatred for Lincoln burned so strong it was obsession. He stressed over the details for months... working out accomplices in ...more

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Feb 04, 2013 Timothy Lugg rated it really liked it

Shelves: history

The assassination of President Lincoln is one of those historical events that makes me cringe every time I think of it because of the tragic consequences. Lincoln would have been a far better man to handle reconstruction than Andrew Johnson by virtue of the fact that Lincoln had fought so hard to preserve the Union and Johnson nothing. Lincoln was already on record as desiring to give the states relatively easy terms to rejoin the Union and likely had a million more ideas in his head that would ...more

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Dec 30, 2014 Kelli rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audio

Lincoln's assassination was a devastating event following the deadliest war in American history. It is so unfortunate that President Lincoln, a man portrayed as being deeply distraught over the massive divide in our country, was never able to participate in the reconstruction and unification of that broken nation. Always interested in this topic, I watched this while visiting my dad last summer and subsequently grabbing the book from his bookshelf, only to recently opt for the audio version from ...more

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Jan 20, 2013 Chuck rated it it was amazing

I don't often give books five stars, but I found it hard to criticize this book. I received this as a Christmas present from my mother-in-law and she couldn't have picked anything I would have enjoyed more. The book was thoroughly researched and well-written. It did present some interesting theories about a wider conspiracy than history normally reports, but it wasn't overly conspiratorial.

I enjoyed the description of Lee's desperate attempt to avoid Grant's army as he fled Petersberg, VA and t ...more

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Nov 18, 2012 Nancy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I strongly dislike Bill O'Reilly for reasons that are obvious to those who have listened to him speak on political matters. It's not only that I disagree with most of what he says, but I especially object to his smug, superior attitude. However, I considered reading his book after he hawked it on TV several times and my cousin strongly recommended it. Even though she and I are political polars, I respect her opinion, and she assured me that O'Reilly was unbiased in this historical piece. I obtai I strongly dislike Bill O'Reilly for reasons that are obvious to those who have listened to him speak on political matters. It's not only that I disagree with most of what he says, but I especially object to his smug, superior attitude. However, I considered reading his book after he hawked it on TV several times and my cousin strongly recommended it. Even though she and I are political polars, I respect her opinion, and she assured me that O'Reilly was unbiased in this historical piece. I obtained a set of CDs from our local library in order not to enrich O'Reilly's coffers; I had nothing to lose.

Surprisingly, I enjoyed the book. It didn't contain much material new to me since I have read several detailed accounts of Lincoln's life written by serious historians. However, I found the early section of this book, which provided descriptions of the last battles of the Civil War that I was not familiar with, especially interesting. I knew most of the events leading up to and including the assassination as well as its immediate aftermath. What set this Lincoln book apart from more scholarly works was its approach; the authors related Lincoln's assassination as an adventure story, and they did it well. This made the subject accessible to readers with a casual interest in history, and that is a very good thing. We all need to know our history. It is what I attempted to do for my students during a long teaching career, and I applaud the result here.

I did find that occasionally events were presented as accepted fact when they are actually disputed by respected historians. The authors narrated these without mention of the controversy, but for the most part, this did not happen. For example, O'Reilly presented a fair discussion of the conspiracy theory surrounding the role Secretary of War Edwin Stanton may have played in the Lincoln assassination. I suspect he has a strong personal view on this, but he presented a balanced account.

So I recommend this book. It's fairly short and moves quickly. It presents an engaging account of one of the most important events in American history. My cousin says Killing Kennedy is even better. I'm dubious, considering O'Reilly's political leaning, that he will be objective, but I'm willing to give him a chance. I have the the book on hold at our library. More to follow... ...more

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Nov 25, 2011 Michael rated it it was amazing

Shelves: nonfiction, my-all-time-favorites, american-history, biography

I loved this book. I cannot get enough from authors who write good historical narratives. Reading a book by Bill O'Reilly I wasn't sure what to expect. The real question is what part did Martin Dugard the co author play in the writing of this book? Whatever, the books writing reads like a story. This book does not bore you on dates, military battles, who is my right or left flank. No the reader is thrust into the last few months of the Civil War. The fall of Richmond and the surrender of Lee. Wh ...more

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Nov 28, 2011 Christina rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, non-fiction-history

The only things I remember about the Lincoln assassination were that he was shot in the back of the head at the theater by John Wilkes Booth, so this was an educational as well as an entertaining read.

The book begins at towards the end of the civil war and so the battle scenes were a real attention grabber. Things get a bit dull during the build up to the assassination, but are absolutely heart stopping during the murder and aftermath.

I had some problems with the writing style. I really liked ...more

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Mar 10, 2020 Sarah rated it liked it

Shelves: read-in-2020, popsugar2020, aty-52

As an Australian, I was familiar with a few details of the assassination of Lincoln, but was pretty hazy on my knowledge of the American Civil War. I'd also never heard of Bill O'Reilly. (I'm imagining him as something like an American version of Alan Jones).
This is definitely "pop-history", and the author unashamedly declares in his prologue that it's "history written in the style of a thriller". As I listened to the audiobook version, I did require several minutes of adjustment (volume, speed ...more

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Mar 18, 2012 Jeff Richey rated it really liked it

Unfortunately, I think many may pass this novel by because co-author Bill O'Reilly is such a polarizing voice in political commentary today. Quite frankly, Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America is one of the most riveting examples of historical non-fiction that I have ever read. Anyone with an interest in the U.S. Civil War, U.S. politics, and/or the U.S. Reconstruction era would be amiss in not taking advantage of the obviously laborious research and effort put forth ...more

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Jul 09, 2012 Brian rated it did not like it

Written slightly better than a 6th grade book report, this book manages to drain all the interest from a fascinating topic. It was basically a string of short, wiki-articles in chronological order. I couldn't find a single original thought in the entire 282 pages. It appears that each chapter is actually a watered-down, simplified summary of an article written by someone else.

The fact that Bill O'Reilly's name appears in ALL CAPS and a larger font than the title of the book provides a fairly goo ...more

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Jan 20, 2012 Ric rated it really liked it

Clooney, Pitt or DiCaprio? Well, who will it be? Consider: John Wilkes was a handsome, well-recognized, full-of-himself actor. And according to O'Reilly, he was angry and looking for more fame. So he assassinates a sitting US president. It's too good to be fiction. And history belongs to the best story-teller.

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Mar 18, 2012 [Name Redacted] rated it really liked it

Shelves: action, real-world, politics, war, history, biographies

There appear to be two kinds of people who read this book: those who hate Bill O'Reilly and those who enjoy the book. Every negative review I've read has invariably been prefaced by a profession of hate for the polarizing pundit, followed by vague intimations that the book has flaws and a grudging admission that the book itself actually wasn't bad; every positive review either seems to come from someone who likes O'Reilly or doesn't seem to care one way or the other about him. I am definitely on There appear to be two kinds of people who read this book: those who hate Bill O'Reilly and those who enjoy the book. Every negative review I've read has invariably been prefaced by a profession of hate for the polarizing pundit, followed by vague intimations that the book has flaws and a grudging admission that the book itself actually wasn't bad; every positive review either seems to come from someone who likes O'Reilly or doesn't seem to care one way or the other about him. I am definitely one of the latter. I've seen his show often enough to know that most of the criticisms leveled against him are empty, emotional invective based on what the critics THINK they know about him, and come as a result of his statements being taken out of context, but I am also "politically agnostic" and so have little patience for pundits in general.

All that said, this book is NOT ABOUT BILL O'REILLY. What is more, he's not the only author -- he teamed up with Martin Dugard for this book. No modern parallels are drawn, no modern commentary, and I get the feeling that both authors take history seriously and are genuinly enthusiastic about the history of the Civil War within its historical context.

This is a book about the final weeks leading up to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, sixteenth president of the United States of America. It is about the final battles at the end of the US Civil War, the last gasp of Southern secessionism and the various personalities that oversaw this tragic but formative period of American history. It is about the human beings who lived through these events and the impacts they had, for good or ill. Do O'Reilly and Dugard put their personal stamps on the text? Absolutely. These men clearly adore Lincoln, detest Booth, cheer for the North, are pro-abolitionist, pro-black, and pro-Mary Todd Lincoln. But they also do their best to balance all this with honest appraisals of the people and events: Lincoln's fondness for "blackface" comedy, Mary Todd Lincoln's apparent pscyhological instability, the suffering and humanity of the Southern military, the infighting among Northern troops, the hatred many Northerners felt for Lincoln before his death, and the popularity of John Wilkes Booth before the assassination are all included. I particularly admire the authors' evenhanded approach to Lincoln's expansion of the Federal government's power & authority, given that -- as far as I'm aware -- Bill O'Reilly is openly opposed to Federal "overreach" today.

Also worth noting is that this book is written in the form of a thriller and in present-tense. According to the author's note, this is because O'Reilly & Dugard wanted people to understand that history is more than a dry accumulation of names and dates and places, that "history" is the narrative we create from lived moments which seemed as immediate and intense to those living them as do our own lives. As a result there are no footnotes or endnotes (which, by the way, IS AWESOME for those of us who have to endlessly read foot/endnotes professionally), but there is a short catalog at the end noting all the primary and secondary sources they used and recommending certain books for certain topics. The overall intent of the book seems to be to convey the events of the assassination as part of a lived narrative and to encourage readers to do further research into the Civil War, the life of Abraham Lincoln, and the history of the American presidency. It succeeds admirably at both of these, and I think this would be an excellent way of introducing people to the idea of lived history. ...more

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Oct 19, 2011 Jacqui rated it it was amazing

Shelves: history

I recently had the pleasure of reading Bill O'Reilly and his co-author Martin Dugard's wonderful book "Killing Lincoln". This is a sensational book written as a contemporary thriller and takes full use of this technique to avoid being a dull regurgitation of dates,facts and figures. This book is a thoroughly researched and documented effort to accurately describe the shocking and horrifying murder of perhaps America's greatest President.

I must confess my knowledge of the Civil War era is extreme ...more

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Jan 23, 2014 Diane rated it liked it

Shelves: saw-it-on-a-friends-shelf, own-already, nonfiction, met-the-author

I enjoy the Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard books as they make for very 'readable' history lessons. And it was an excellent idea of one of my GR group members that we read a book about a president for the month of February.

Although I (and likely everyone) knows the story of President Lincoln's assassination, this book lent much detail of the 'behind-the-scenes' plotting and planning as well as insight into John Wilkes Booth. And added details to raise the question of whether or not he acted alon ...more

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Dec 18, 2012 Jonathan rated it it was ok

I really tried too hard to like this book because I was determined not to be prejudiced because I find Bill O'Reilly to be such a jackass......Unfortunately he proved me right with this book. It can't really be considered a scholarly work on the topic because of all the fantasy situations he continually puts into the minds of the reader...."Lincoln felt the breeze on his forehead...." "Booth thought this....Booth thought that.." Mary Todd Lincoln is portrayed as simply being a dumb cow. It just ...more

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Oct 16, 2012 Mary rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Anyone who likes non-fiction

Recommended to Mary by: Mareena bought this book as a Christmas present for me last year

Shelves: 96-100, non-fiction, read-but-unowned, favorites, 2010-2029, ebook, bought-from-amazon, read-on-my-daughter-s-kindle-nook

The American Civil War was an incredibly bloody four year long conflict, that mercifully came to an end in the spring of 1865. Amid the tremendous toll suffered by both sides, President Abraham Lincoln's generous terms for Robert E. Lee's surrender are devised to fulfill President Lincoln's dream of healing a divided nation. The former Confederates were allowed to reintegrate into American society with no ostensible repercussions to be visited upon them by the populace.

Simmering hatred and resen The American Civil War was an incredibly bloody four year long conflict, that mercifully came to an end in the spring of 1865. Amid the tremendous toll suffered by both sides, President Abraham Lincoln's generous terms for Robert E. Lee's surrender are devised to fulfill President Lincoln's dream of healing a divided nation. The former Confederates were allowed to reintegrate into American society with no ostensible repercussions to be visited upon them by the populace.

Simmering hatred and resentment still bubbled among a few members of society, even as America began the slow process of reconstruction and healing from her battle wounds. John Wilkes Booth - a popular stage actor, charismatic ladies' man and impenitent racist - gathers around himself a similar group of four angry and resentful men who simply could not tolerate the outcome of the Civil War and the fact that Abraham Lincoln was President of the United States. A plot to kidnap President Lincoln, as well as several members of his cabinet, changed to an assassination plot on the night of April 14, 1865.

On a night of what was meant to be joyous celebration, Abraham Lincoln, his wife Mary Todd Lincoln and a group of their closest friends and acquaintances went to Ford's Theater to watch a performance of the play, Our American Cousin. At precisely 10 o'clock that night, one gunshot changed America's future irrevocably. A furious eleven-day manhunt ensued, as John Wilkes Booth became America's number one most wanted fugitive.

I really enjoyed this book. It was very engrossing for me, and was a book that I have wanted to read ever since it came out last year. I have always thought that I should increase my knowledge of American history, as I have been a naturalized American citizen since 1989. As I read this book, I found myself - a definitely staunch supporter of the Union - sympathizing with the Confederacy, because of the immense hardships that the soldiers of the South faced and struggled through during the Civil War. If I may say, as General William Tecumseh Sherman did in an address to the graduating class of the Michigan Military Academy on June 19, 1879 - War is Hell! - for both the victors of any war, as well as for those who are defeated.

I would give Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination That Changed America Forever by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard an A+! This book might not have been as interesting to me as my favorite book from September, Henry and Clara by Thomas Mallon was, but both books were so close together in terms of my rating system, that the difference between them was barely noticeable to me. I give this book five shiny gold stars! :) ...more

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Mar 18, 2012 Annalisa rated it liked it

Shelves: book-club, memoir-biography

While it was interesting to learn some of the details about Lincoln's assassination that I didn't know, this book is often repetitive and circular, teasing you with Civil War sentiments it never quite delves into. I know the book is not about the Civil War, but I found myself wishing it included more facts about Lincoln's policies during the war, more of his speeches, more of the country's sentiments and situation to set the scene for what the country lost when he was assassinated. I also wish t ...more

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Oct 06, 2012 C.D. Coffelt rated it it was amazing

Sad to say, but Amazon is not the place to go for sincere reviews. After reading some of the vitriol about Killing Lincoln’s authors, even sincere comments from those who actually read the book and didn't care for it are suspect in my eyes.

I’ll go elsewhere from now on, not only for reviews but also to purchase. Amazon has lost its credibility. GoodReads is the place to go for honesty.
#
Killing Lincoln is a systematic process, following plausible, well-documented leads, laying out facts like a la ...more

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Jan 23, 2012 James rated it really liked it

A slow beginning to a riveting story. We know the main characters from the hurried lessons in our American History classes. Now we learn more about the conspiracy and the investigation after the murder that changed our country and took away one of the few real statesmen the world has known. A quick and easy to read page turner. This book remains me that American history was one of my favorite subjects in my yout(h). I have several historical novels lined up to read in the near future.

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Jan 09, 2014 Scott Rhee rated it really liked it

Shelves: nonfiction, history, politics, true-crime, conspiracy-theories

I was genuinely surprised to find myself enjoying "Killing Lincoln" as much as I thought I would, mainly because I have read other books by Bill O'Reilly, and I found them to be pretty self-serving and pointless. O'Reilly's famous "pithiness" and his "no-spin" approach is actually somewhat annoying and disingenuous to me, and I actually like the guy. Of the FOX news personalities, I find O'Reilly to be the most moderate and tolerable, which is perhaps not saying much. It's no secret that I am a I was genuinely surprised to find myself enjoying "Killing Lincoln" as much as I thought I would, mainly because I have read other books by Bill O'Reilly, and I found them to be pretty self-serving and pointless. O'Reilly's famous "pithiness" and his "no-spin" approach is actually somewhat annoying and disingenuous to me, and I actually like the guy. Of the FOX news personalities, I find O'Reilly to be the most moderate and tolerable, which is perhaps not saying much. It's no secret that I am a crazy liberal at heart, but I have always liked O'Reilly (even when he's an asshole, which is a large portion of the time), thanks in no small part to my late grandmother, who absolutely adored O'Reilly and referred to him as "that nice, handsome Irish Catholic newscaster", which I always found odd because my grandmother was as Protestant as one could get. But I digress...

Unlike some of the other books by O'Reilly, "Killing Lincoln" is NOT annoying. It's actually pretty good. Co-written by historian Martin Dugard, "Killing Lincoln" is a fast-paced historical account of the last days of Lincoln's life leading to his assassination and the subsequent manhunt of his killer, John Wilkes Booth. O'Reilly and Dugard have essentially written a true-crime book that reads like a suspense thriller. It's thoroughly-researched, engaging, and even somewhat moving in parts.

The book is written in four parts. The first part covers mainly the final battles and reconciliation between the North and the South during the final months of the Civil War. Lincoln's role in this part is actually somewhat small, as O'Reilly/Dugard focus mainly on the two primary forces of the War: Ulysses Grant and Robert E. Lee. For Civil War buffs, this part of the book is most likely Nirvana. I am not a war buff, but i will readily admit that this part was fascinating and certainly explained some of the highlights of that devastating and dark period in American history.

Part two alternates between Lincoln and Booth. It is eerie, on many levels, especially with some of the minor historical details that more than suggested that Lincoln knew what was coming. Not that an assassination attempt was all that unexpected---Lincoln was, after all, the most hated man in America at the time, even amongst those in his own party, and he pretty much knew it---but, in many ways, Lincoln treated his impending assassination as almost a given.

Part three, the longest part, covers one day, that horrible Friday that culminated in Lincoln being shot fatally in the head in his seat at Ford Theater. O'Reilly/Dugard deftly weaves an intense narrative as they show readers the events leading up to that moment.

Finally, Part four covers the manhunt of Booth, leading to his capture and death at Garret Farm.

One of the most notable things that O'Reilly/Dugard succeed in doing, beside shedding light on this brief but significant episode in history, is heralding the efforts and bringing to life some of the minor characters within this human drama. For example, I was immensely moved by the story of Dr. Charles Leale, the young 24-year-old medical doctor who, by fate, was sitting in the audience during "Our American Cousin" when Lincoln was shot. When the call went out that a doctor was needed, he immediately stepped forth and administered care. While Lincoln's wounds were mortal (Leale stated this after first examining Lincoln), the President continued to breathe, a combination of the man's fierce will as well as Dr. Leale's attempts at keeping him alive. Leale was the only one to sit at Lincoln's bedside for the entire time he remained alive. It is this example of the small, simple human details that make "Killing Lincoln" a compelling read.

I highly recommend "Killing Lincoln" for history buffs and fans of well-written dramatic stories. I actually look forward to reading O'Reilly's other subsequent books about other famous assassinations, "Killing Kennedy" and "Killing Jesus", although I do have to wonder what it is up with O'Reilly's obvious fascination with killing... ...more

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Jul 23, 2012 Walt Giersbach rated it it was ok

Lincoln’s assassination in 1865 was as shocking as President Kennedy’s almost a century later, but reflected a country still polarized by war. Killing Lincoln by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard unrolls the drama leading up to John Wilkes Booth’s infamous act while unveiling the band of amateur conspirators. In fact, history classes tend to skip over the widespread rabid hatred of Lincoln and the motley group that conspired to murder the President. Perhaps it’s good to be reminded of such things. Lincoln’s assassination in 1865 was as shocking as President Kennedy’s almost a century later, but reflected a country still polarized by war. Killing Lincoln by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard unrolls the drama leading up to John Wilkes Booth’s infamous act while unveiling the band of amateur conspirators. In fact, history classes tend to skip over the widespread rabid hatred of Lincoln and the motley group that conspired to murder the President. Perhaps it’s good to be reminded of such things. O’Reilly earlier wrote Killing Kennedy, so let’s hope there are no more presidential assassinations.

But how true is the fictionalized treatment? A seven-page index offers no sources, nor does the prologue, but O’Reilly fills his work with interior thoughts and imaginary conversations the way an éclair is puffed up with cream filling: light and airy, but not nutritionally good. This is history for non-history buffs, delivering a quick back story of the Civil War generals and their final battles, the political animosities blocking the generosity of our “greatest President,” the nationwide chase to find the assassin, and the tragic aftermath of hanging a possibly innocent Southern woman sympathizer. It’s a fast read and will deliver information you never learned in school.

This is not a bad book, but somewhat thin after wading through Drew Gilpin Faust and Bruce Catton. By the middle of June, the book has spent 36 weeks on The New York Times list and is in fourth place among non-fiction works. This may say more about American reading tastes and Bill O'Reilly's popularity among a certain demographic than it being an original contribution to history.

Historical novels are an enchanting genre that leads readers into the dark corridors of the past. We walk unseen next to characters — some we’ve heard of and some fictional — who are explorers and adventurers, romantic lovers and nefarious brigands. Politicians are exposed, the self-righteous are quashed, and the meek inherit the earth before everyone goes home for the day.

Killing Lincoln is a non-fiction adventure set against a historical backdrop. Can we dare imagine the tall, gaunt President walking alone through the cheering throngs at war’s end, heedless to the warnings that he might be assassinated? Do we gasp seeing General Grant show up at the peace table in Appomattox with mud on his boots to remind the impeccably dressed General Lee how Grant was upbraided for sloppiness during the Mexican War? Do we titter to hear the conversation between Lincoln and his wife in the closed carriage en route to Ford’s Theatre?

Killing Lincoln is populist literary drama for our times, in which the past and the present exist contemporaneous with each other. It’s branded as “history” that really isn’t history. The drawing-room drama of Mary Todd’s spiteful resentment and state-room drama of Lincoln casually dropping in on Secretary of War Stanton could be played out today in a soap opera or on a cable channel.

Artist and writer Douglas Coupland calls this new literary genre Translit: “Translit novels cross history without being historical; they span geography without changing psychic place.” The contemporary reader is tossed into the past without having to leave the present. It’s almost as if, Coupland says, one “can travel back to Victorian England — only with vaccinations, a wad of cash and a clean set of ruling-class garb.”

In this case, we’re given gripping moment-by-moment drama. O’Reilly and his partner Dugard adopt the narrative tricks of short writing sections and quick cutting worthy of “breaking news” on CNN.
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Sep 25, 2012 Carl rated it liked it

A decent enough read. I could really picture the historical background and setting. While it is supposedly written like a thriller, I find it to be prone to errors as noted by one of the one-star reviewers here (i.e. talking about the Oval Office, which was not built when Lincoln was president, but in 1909 when Taft was president, and a gross misrepresentation of how Mary Surratt was treated -- she NEVER wore a hood while imprisoned, and she was NEVER on the "Montauk", etc.). Throwing in a long- ...more

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Nov 24, 2017 Shannon rated it did not like it

Shelves: for-history-buffs, audio-book, thrillers, books-reviewed

Boring narrator and boring focus. So much richness in this period and that's the best we get? Stopped after about 15% of the audio presentation.

OVERALL GRADE: D

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About Bill O'Reilly

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Bill O'Reilly's success in broadcasting and publishing is unmatched. The iconic anchor of The O'Reilly Factor led the program to the status of the highest rated cable news broadcast in the nation for sixteen consecutive years. His website BillOReilly.com is followed by millions all over the world.

In addition, he has authored an astonishing 12 number one ranked non-fiction books including the hist ...more

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“In reference to the search for Lincoln's killers as it took to the Maryland swamps:

"The method of searching the swamps is simple yet arduous. First, the troops assemble on the edge of bogs with names like Allen’s Creek, Scrub Swamp, and Atchall’s Swamp, standing at loose attention in the shade of a thick forest of beech, dogwood, and gum trees. Then they form two lines and march straight forward, from one side to the other. As absurd as it seems to the soldiers, marching headlong into cold mucky water, there is no other way of locating Booth and Herold. Incredibly, eighty-seven of these brave men will drown in their painstaking weeklong search for the killers.” — 5 likes

“Put down your guns and go home. Let’s rebuild the nation together. This was President Lincoln’s vision, to which Grant subscribed.” — 3 likes

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