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

by James L. Swanson

4.12 · Rating details · 23,433 Ratings · 2,024 Reviews

The murder of Abraham Lincoln set off the greatest manhunt in American history. From April 14 to April 26, 1865, the assassin, John Wilkes Booth, led Union cavalry and detectives on a wild twelve-day chase through the streets of Washington, D.C., across the swamps of Maryland, and into the forests of Virginia, while the nation, still reeling from the just-ended Civil War,

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Kindle Edition, 469 pages

Published (first published 2006)

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May 29, 2010 Jason Koivu rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: history, non-fiction, crime

How the heck did Swanson manage to make this very well-known story so riveting? I mean, everyone knows that (UNNECESSARY SPOILER ALERT MOSTLY JUST FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE SPENT YOUR LIFE LIVING IN A CAVE---->) President Lincoln was assassinated at Ford's Theater by stage actor John Wilkes Booth.

Everyone with a lick of American history learnin' has heard the story. Most also know that Booth was subsequently caught, and yet Manhunt is genuinely exciting. You have to admire a writer who can en ...more

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Aug 23, 2008 S. rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, read-in-2009

I suggest reading "Manhunt" backwards. That way, when you get to the end, Lincoln hasn't been fatally wounded, Mary Todd hasn’t tottered over into madness and that poor couple of horses haven't been shot and sunk in the swamp.

Seriously though, this account of JW Booth’s capture is worth reading. The drawback is sometimes the writing lays it on too thick. It works effectively at the beginning: the assassination itself, for example, is gripping. And since Booth was an actor, the Shakespearian allu ...more

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Sep 09, 2017 Mariah rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I love this author and I'm trying to read every book by him, so of course I needed to read this one and I am so glad I did. James is a fantastic writer that writes for all abilities and understandings.

A fascinating tale of murder, intrigue, and betrayal. A gripping hour-by-hour account told through the eyes of the hunted and the hunters, this is history as you've never read it before.

The murder of Abraham Lincoln set off the greatest manhunt in American history -- the pursuit and capture of Joh ...more

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Oct 24, 2008 Will Byrnes rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, american-history

After Booth did his thing at Ford’s theater, it took the combined forces of the United States, Virginia, Maryland, private pursuers and even Confederate soldiers to track down Booth and his partner in crime. Swanson gives us a beautifully detailed blow-by-blow of the actions that took place before, during and after the killing. There was material in here that was new to me, namely that the assassination of Lincoln was not the only one planned for the day, or the only one attempted, or that Booth ...more

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Aug 29, 2008 Matt Chittum rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Anyone who loves history, or just a good yarn

Recommended to Matt by: good reads

This was positively Shakespearean. Not in the poetry, but in the sheer drama of it. The plotting, the conspiracy, the murder. Swanson does a terrific job of cobbling together a stunningly complete and compelling narrative of Booth's time on the lam while armies hunted for him, all from interviews with the subjects, court transcripts, newspaper accounts, and other books written by those involved at at the time. He reveals the roots of Booth's motivation, and his ego, along with that of his co-con ...more

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Aug 03, 2012 Gerry rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I had always known since schooldays that John Wilkes Booth had assassinated President Abraham Lincoln but I had no idea of the background and the follow-up to his action.

'Manhunt' most certainly clears that little matter up for it is a stupendous account of the 12-day chase for the killer as well as setting the scene for the deed and giving later detail about what happened to the various key locations in the story.

Once begun it is difficult to put down, for the action rolls on and on without let ...more

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Apr 04, 2012 Michelle rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I enjoyed the book and learned ever so much more about that point in our history than I ever did in school. I appreciate the accounts were taken from primary sources, newspapers and other research - for that reason I have more confidence in the intrepretation by Swanson. I certainly recomend it for people who learned a light version of the events, like myself, and have a curiosity as to what could drive a person to assassinate a president.

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Sep 02, 2017 Saleh MoonWalker rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, history, crime

Brilliant! Absolutely haunting. The medical, investigative and historical details of Lincoln's assassination make you feel as if you were there, watching every second of John Wilkes Booth's cunningly calculated violence and a great president's inevitable and horrific death. Swanson's amazing account places you in the room as Lincoln lies dying and carries you across the countryside as Booth escapes. This historical book is almost impossible to put down.

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Oct 22, 2016 Sara rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, history, gripping

It probably goes without saying by now that any time I delve into historical non-fiction the first thing that occurs to me is how little I know about my own country's history. It's never exactly sold to your average American school kid as anything other than the dry memorization of dates and the odd recitation of speeches like the Gettysburg Address. I mean my god we called it "Social Studies" when I was in school.

I wish we'd read things like Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer when I It probably goes without saying by now that any time I delve into historical non-fiction the first thing that occurs to me is how little I know about my own country's history. It's never exactly sold to your average American school kid as anything other than the dry memorization of dates and the odd recitation of speeches like the Gettysburg Address. I mean my god we called it "Social Studies" when I was in school.

I wish we'd read things like Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer when I was a kid because I guarantee I would have had A's across the board. History doesn't just come alive the way James Swanson writes it, it jumps up and grabs you and throws you smack into the middle of an America still drowning in the chaos of civil war, just barely beginning to rise up from the mire and rebuild only to be thrown into turmoil once again with the assassination of President Lincoln.

We're all pretty familiar with "sic semper tyrannis" and some of us even know the stories of men and women lining the railroad tracks for miles to see Lincoln's funeral train ride past but the story of those frantic hours and days following the assassination when the depth of the conspiracy to topple Lincoln's government was yet unknown and Booth was nowhere to be found isn't the sort of thing commonly found in history books.

Swanson takes the reader through a concise, dramatic retelling of the titular 12 days following the assassination during which Booth attempted to cross into the more sympathetic deep south, the manhunt that comprised literally thousands of people determined to find him, and the men and women who found themselves suddenly becoming part of history when Booth sought their help.

This really is an amazing book. I had to read it for a book club and was fully prepared to be bored out of my mind. There are fewer better surprises then being thoroughly entertained by a book you were sure you'd hate.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that Swanson has a tendency toward the dramatic which is somewhat fitting given his subject but "humanizing" historical subjects goes a long way toward making them, well, human. This is absolutely the first time I've ever considered John Wilkes Booth as anything other than a footnote or a character in a musical. This poor, melodramatic, misguided, miserable mad man really thought he'd be a hero lauded through the ages as the man who brought down America's own Caesar. Swanson clearly sympathizes with Booth's situation and with that of his compatriots who, however misguided, certainly seemed to feel justified in what they were doing. You get a sense of how the "southern code" and "death before dishonor" really were a way of life for these people rather than Hallmark card sentiments. I can't say I understand aiding and abetting the dude who shot Lincoln but I get why some of these people thought it was the right thing to do.

This is a book about the hunt for Lincoln's killer so its understandable that Swanson doesn't really get into the why's and wherefore's that led up to the assassination or really even what went into the conspiracy that bound all these people together still I couldn't help wanting a little more of a sense of how these men and women were bound to each other on a personal level. We learn, for instance, every tiny detail of the attack on Secretary Seward but we never really learn what drew Lewis Powell into Booth's plot or what was behind the ferocious violence with which he attempted to carry out his role.

And its heavy on the dramatic interpretation as I've said. There are plenty of "surely Booth must have felt the cold breath of death blowing toward him as the cavalry edged ever closer" moments where Swanson takes more than his share of creative license and goes a bit bonkers with the adjectives.

But books like this are the only way we get to see what may have happened at these civilization altering moments in history that are otherwise left to dusty textbooks and poorly executed reenactments on the History Channel. I can deal with a little flowery prose if it means I get to hide in the woods with Booth while enraged Union troops hungry for his blood scour the countryside or pace the halls in Washington D.C. with Secretary Stanton while he pours ever ounce of himself into bringing Lincoln's killers to justice and end the war his president died for.

Swanson took me there, to that time, with those men and women who shaped the course of our country without ever knowing they were doing it. And for that I say, well done sir, well done. ...more

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Mar 25, 2009 JD Carruthers rated it did not like it · review of another edition

I was impressed by James Swanson's book, Manhunt: the 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer, but unfortunately not favorably so. To begin, Swanson treats his subject in such light and casual detail that any serious student of history or anyone with an academic interest in Lincoln's assassination would be poorly served to waste time with this book. Swanson's intended audience is strictly the retail public.

Swanson begins his book with "a note to the reader" in which he makes the claim, "This story is I was impressed by James Swanson's book, Manhunt: the 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer, but unfortunately not favorably so. To begin, Swanson treats his subject in such light and casual detail that any serious student of history or anyone with an academic interest in Lincoln's assassination would be poorly served to waste time with this book. Swanson's intended audience is strictly the retail public.

Swanson begins his book with "a note to the reader" in which he makes the claim, "This story is true" and that all the words in quotation marks are taken from original sources. A careful reading of the text exposes this bold claim as a dubious piece of obfuscation. For example, on page 29 Swanson quotes the text of a letter given by John Wilkes Booth to an actor friend John Matthews (the text of the letter appears in italics). However, later in the text (pages 148-149) Swanson relates how Matthews panics after the assassination and he burns the letter from Booth. In the notes Swanson admits that the letter he quotes was not the original (since it was destroyed) but rather a recreation based on Matthew's recollection and based in part on the manifesto in Booth's diary. I suppose one might argue that since the letter appears in italics and not within quotes, it is subject to a greater degree of license, but that logic really falls flat in this reviewer's estimation. Swanson ruins his credibility as a writer by failing to make clear in the text that this letter is not an original but rather a recreation. Furthermore, there is no conceivable reason for glossing over this important detail except to make the story somehow more dramatic. Swanson should take note that this story does not need his added drama.

There are several uses of literary devices that range from inappropriate to downright offensive. Swanson has the lamentable habit of attributing to characters in his story motives that he cannot possibly substantiate. Consider the contrasting motives of women attending the deaths of Lincoln and Booth respectively. On page 84 actress Laura Keene is described as a brazen opportunist who ruthlessly insinuates her way into the presidential box for the sole reason of achieving some kind of fame for being a part of history. In all due fairness, no one could really speculate on what Laura Keene's motives were except Miss Keene herself. The book's end notes do not indicate Laura Keene ever claimed that she was a self serving opportunist, and it is unlikely that she would have even if it were the truth. It appears that for whatever reason, Swanson does not like Laura Keene and has decided to portray her in a pejorative light. On the other hand, Lucinda Holloway who ministered to the mortally wounded Booth on the porch of the Garrett farm receives favorable treatment. When she procures a lock of hair from the corpse of the murderer, Swanson denies that she is "craven relic hunter who lusted morbidly, like so many others, for bloody souvenirs of the great crime". One might ask why she is not to be considered a morbid relic hunter. Instead, Swanson portrays Lucinda Holloway as a tragic and romantic heroine, giving comfort to the misguided assassin in his last moments. Swanson seems perfectly comfortable with his portrayal of Holloway as a romantic heroine even when in the next paragraph she interferes with the investigation by stealing the dead actor's field glasses. It appears that in Swanson's estimation, bringing a pitcher of water to the side of an assassinated president is opportunistic, but stealing property from a dead murderer and tampering with evidence is a romantic adventure. This reviewer considers that the author has no factual basis upon which to base these characterizations, and that furthermore it represents a distorted view of moral values.

And speaking of distorted moral values, this reviewer was disturbed by Swanson's obvious and inappropriate infatuated sympathy with the murderer John Wilkes Booth. On several occasions, Swanson draws parallels between John Wilkes Booth and Jesus Christ. For example, he repeatedly refers to Willie Jett as a "Judas". Also, on page 336 when Booth is shot and captured, David Herold attempts to maintain Booth's alias by insisting his name is Boyd and Swanson characterizes the ruse as "In captivity, the assassin's disciple denied him thrice". A few pages later on 341 the wounded Booth is on the porch of the Garrett house and is thirsty. Swanson writes, "As strangers at Golgotha did for Christ on Good Friday's cross, Lucinda answered his plea..." In this reviewer's humble estimation, Booth as a murderer has little in common with Jesus who was not a murderer, and drawing parallels between the two is patently absurd and even offensive. This is not literary license; it is more like literary licentiousness.

While reading this book I made notes of a number of other shortcomings in the text, such as on page 320 where Swanson describes Booth holding his pistols in his hands and then contradicts himself a paragraph later by writing that he is reaching for his holstered pistols. Or in the epilogue where Swanson suggests that Booth has been forgiven for murdering the most popular president in U.S. history. Suffice it to say that a complete catalog of all the lamentable characteristics of this book is not included in this review.

The most appropriate way to describe this book is to quote Booth's last words: "useless, useless". Swanson's preference for florid melodrama and casual disregard for accuracy in detail ruins the book for any serious student of Lincoln history. And his obvious sympathy for the murderer rather than his victims is likely to leave an unfavorable impression for the casual reader seeking an introduction to the subject. There are already two excellent books on the subject that should appeal to all audiences, serious academic and casually curious. These are Blood on the Moon by Edwin Steers, and American Brutus by Michael Kaufmann. To say that Manhunt is superfluous under the circumstances would be too much of a kindness. ...more

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Feb 04, 2015 Christopher rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, american, 21st-century, audiobooks

There's something magical about a book that is so thoroughly and meticulously researched, yet reads effortlessly and with great entertainment value. It's so easy to make history feel stuffy and dry, but this book is far from it. This is the illuminated kind of nonfiction, aiming more for portraying life than delivering data into the reader's head. Perhaps not for history buffs, but more for people like me, who got solid Bs in history class because text books are so much less interesting than col ...more

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Mar 01, 2008 Michael rated it liked it · review of another edition

Read this book for a fascinating glimpse into the mid-19th century, not for the writing. The author uses first-hand accounts, trial testimony etc. to re-construct some events leading up to Lincoln's assassination and then, mostly, the manhunt for John Wilkes Booth and his co-conspirators. (Did you even know there were co-conspirators?) It includes many long quotations from correspondence, diary entries, witness statements etc., all of which I greatly enjoyed reading. The author's own writing lef ...more

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Mar 16, 2009 Kressel Housman rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: history, non-fiction, presidents, true-crime, american-civil-war

I read this as a follow-up to Sarah Vowell’s Assassination Vacation, but whereas that was history mixed with humor, this was 100% history that read like a detective/adventure story. I was definitely on the edge of my seat in spots, especially at the end. Earlier in the book, however, I had a more perverse reaction: I found myself actually rooting for John Wilkes Booth to keep evading the manhunters because I didn’t want the book to end. Mostly though, I am thankful to say, I hated him as much as ...more

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Feb 05, 2009 Bookmarks Magazine added it · review of another edition

James L. Swanson's Web site includes a glowing review quotation from Patricia Cornwell. The correlation is apt since critics find this nonfiction account of Booth's getaway as compelling as the best thrillers. Swanson, a legal scholar with the Cato Institute and a Lincoln historian, knows the assassination inside and out; he's been studying Lincoln since he was a child, and his previous book (with Daniel R. Weinberg), Lincoln's Assassins, was a photographic and archival study of Booth and his co

...more

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Jan 18, 2009 Alicia rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I really liked this book a lot. I had no idea what all was involved with the assasination of Abraham Lincoln. It makes me wonder what they teach us in school. I highly recommend reading it.

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Jan 02, 2017 Andrew Hiller rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I have to admit I'm a bit stymied as to how to review this book. The tale told is a non fiction, well-researched, dramatic narrative of the hunt for John Wilkes Booth, murderer of Abraham Lincoln. The confusion is based mostly in that the book is well-written, has great details, quotes, and descriptions. It's pacing is more than solid. In fact, the story moves at almost a sprinter's pace. The characterizations are far from wooden and revealed information I wasn't aware of it... and yet, I found I have to admit I'm a bit stymied as to how to review this book. The tale told is a non fiction, well-researched, dramatic narrative of the hunt for John Wilkes Booth, murderer of Abraham Lincoln. The confusion is based mostly in that the book is well-written, has great details, quotes, and descriptions. It's pacing is more than solid. In fact, the story moves at almost a sprinter's pace. The characterizations are far from wooden and revealed information I wasn't aware of it... and yet, I found myself often distracted, distanced, and in disharmony.

In short, everything is there for me to like the book and there are moments I definitely got into it and yet some equally powerful magnet pulled me away from it. I can't say that I didn't enjoy Manhunt. On the contrary, it was stimulating, but there was something dissonant about it.

Perhaps, it was that by writing large parts of it from Booth's point of view the story it humanized him and his suffering in a way that made me uncomfortable. I did not and I do not want to root for Booth... a man that killed Lincoln for foul reasons... not southern glory, but the bleak ignorance of racism. Yet the book urges this by telling the story through Booth's words, Confederate sympathist and conspirators' words, etc. His escape from justice becomes one that is seen as heroic and at times almost noble. I think that didn't sit well with me. Booth's flight was likely desperate and by using this source material the flight becomes romanticized.

I find nothing about Booth's actions or course noble. His was an attack whose ultimate goal was to keep the black man in bondage. It was about racism and hate. Again, the book doesn't ignore this, in fact, it actively connects Booth to future villainy, lynchings, and other hateful racist branches of the American tree. Moreover, there is an effort throughout the book to straddle the line between how the North and South... or history itself views him.

That may be why the book doesn't sit well with me. I don't buy Booth as either a hero or anti-hero and so the central narrative of his flight kept missing the mark. In reading it, I kept feeling it was like listening to a really pure and beautiful soprano who hits those perfect notes that always give you a headache and make you wince.

I guess in the end what I would say is that this is a very good book, but not a good book for me. ...more

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Mar 02, 2011 Natalie rated it liked it · review of another edition

Okay, so I liked this book and there was a lot of new and interesting information. It's interesting to note that there were two other assassination attempts, both of which failed, and other men involved in the assassinations. The writer wrote it in a way that was very engaging. But the last half of the book was a bit odd. It seemed like the author was sympathizing with Booth. He even compared him to Christ in two instances I can think of. That's what really got me.

After thinking about it a whil Okay, so I liked this book and there was a lot of new and interesting information. It's interesting to note that there were two other assassination attempts, both of which failed, and other men involved in the assassinations. The writer wrote it in a way that was very engaging. But the last half of the book was a bit odd. It seemed like the author was sympathizing with Booth. He even compared him to Christ in two instances I can think of. That's what really got me.

After thinking about it a while I can see why he wanted to portray Booth that way. He wanted us to see that he was a human being. He had a family who loved him. In his own mind he thought he was doing the right thing. He'd never murdered a man before. At first he was planning on just kidnapping Lincoln. But then the war ended. We have no way of knowing how the country was in that time. Brother fighting against brother for what they thought was right. Emotions were high and loyalties were strong. The South had such a strong culture loyalty and hospitality. It was crazy how much that played into people helping Booth. So I can see why Swanson portrayed him that way and could get past it, except those references to Christ really get me, that he would compare an assassin to Him.

After researching Swanson more it sounds like he really loves Lincoln, even shares his birthday. But he didn't say much about him. It even made me think he didn't like Lincoln that much. I guess he was just focusing on Booth. Swanson is also very dramatic in his telling of history. It helps the reader get into it, but, for my taste, he overdid his puns and cliches and all that.

So, I would definitely recommend this book. It's very interesting and easy to read, but I could do with a little bit less dramatization. Booth was an actor so Swanson kept making remarks about playing a part and drawing his last breath on the stage of life, and it started to drive me crazy! But other than that, it really was a good read. Lots of interesting information. ...more

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Aug 04, 2011 Judy rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

April 1865 was one of the most momentous months in American history. Richmond fell to Union troops, Jefferson Davis was on the run, the government of the Confederacy collapsed, Lincoln was assassinated, and a 12 day manhunt was launched for his killer, John Wilkes Booth. In Manhunt, James Swanson has written an incredible book taking the reader through the days before the assassination to the capture, killing and burial of Booth, to the trial, imprisonment, and execution of co-conspirators, to t ...more

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May 01, 2012 Julie rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: type_non-fiction, author_male, pub_post-1945, history, war_us_civil

All most people know about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln is a vaguely-remembered grade school history lesson involving a theater box, a gun and an actor named John Wilkes Booth. I can't say I was hankering to know more, but when my book club chose this book, I was mildly interested. As it turns out, "mildly interesting" is also a good description for the book itself. The author gives a blow-by-blow account of the physical movements of Lincoln's murderer in the days immediately prior to an ...more

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Feb 08, 2011 Terry Lucas rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I was reading the chapter where Booth is about to shoot Lincoln and I found myself sitting tensely in the chair with the book close to my face and hurredly turning the pages to find out if he gets away with it, or does he get caught! Hellooo-oooo!!!
This book is so well written that it swoops you up into the excitement and blood-pumping emotions of the aftermath of Lincoln's assassination. Booth is not demonized, nor is he glorified. This is an interesting recount of what was going on around Was ...more

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Sep 10, 2010 Richard rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This book solidly succeeds in the genre of works that promise to be of compelling reading to the non-history-minded reader while being based on solid historical research. James L. Swanson, a historian and attorney in Washington D.C., shows his knowledge of everything Abraham Lincoln. He provides a new twist to the subject of Lincoln's assassination and aftermath in a field which is jammed to the rafters with Civil War/Lincoln books.

Swanson's twist in writing of this period of national distress ...more

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Mar 25, 2009 Heidi rated it liked it · review of another edition

My husband read this first, and his succinct review was that "a whole lot of nothing happens." Yeah, that's about right!

However, I liked this book. Swanson obviously is fascinated by this topic, and it comes through in his narrative. Although he cannot know for certain the thoughts and motivations of the major players, his research seems so thorough that he is in a good place to make reasonable conjectures. Despite the absence of action throughout most of the book, he held my interest as well as ...more

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Nov 28, 2015 Sarah rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: biography-and-memoirs, non-fiction, audiobooks

4.5 stars - a fantastic look at Lincoln's assassination and the subsequent hunt for J. W. Booth. I had never read anything about the assassination before and after reading this I'm not sure if I ever need to. It was incredibly thorough but well-paced, realistic but not merely factual, and honest about the struggle of the injured Booth in escaping without making him into a hero.

Two notes:
1. This book was a little gruesome. It wasn't absolutely disgusting, but the injuries and assassination attem ...more

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Oct 03, 2012 Ryan Evans rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction, 2012, owned-books

I loved this book. Of course, it's nonfiction, but it reads like a high intensity, suspenseful, thrilling novel. It goes into details of the manhunt that I was not aware of before. And now that I've lived in DC for about 4 years, I found it fascinating how Swanson could transport me back 150 years. I honestly feel a more intimate connection with our nation's history after reading about this particular troubling episode.

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May 23, 2015 Hal rated it it was amazing

Shelves: top-shelf, civil-war, history, 15-reads, gen-non-fiction

A history book that truly reads like a novel. The old cliche that "I couldn't put it down" holds true for this vivid day-by-day and almost minute-by-minute account of the 12-day search for John Wilkes Booth.

I'll write a proper review of this great book after I spend some time gathering my thoughts.

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May 01, 2009 J.M. rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: civil-war, historical, nonfiction

Fascinating, in-depth look at the days between the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and the death of his assassin, John Wilkes Booth. Much of what I thought I knew was incorrect. I found this riveting and difficult to put down.

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Jun 16, 2016 Lydia rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Good to the end. There was so much I didn't know about the manhunt for Booth and his accomplices, or even about the assassination itself. I loved it!

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Aug 18, 2008 Pam rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Aaack! I really tried to like this book, but I thought it sucked! I will admit to not finishing it, so maybe it got much better after I put it down, but I just found it tedious and boring.

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Oct 15, 2012 Chris rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: history-america, civil-war-and-slavery, washington-dc

So if you think, you know everything about the Lincoln killing, you don't.

Read this book. It is written like a movie. After you read it, go to Ford's.

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Oct 11, 2010 Tomas rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. “The ball ripped through his chestnut-colored hair, cut the skin, perforated the skull, and… drove a diagonal tunnel through Lincoln’s brain.” The shot changed history. “Manhunt – The 12-Day Chase for Lincolns Killer”, a suspenseful non-fiction novel by James L. Swanson, communicates an era after the civil war’s effect in perfect clarity, primarily with the suspenseful and harrowing event of chasing down Lincoln’s killer, John Wilkes Booth. The suspense created from the massive manhunt portrays “The ball ripped through his chestnut-colored hair, cut the skin, perforated the skull, and… drove a diagonal tunnel through Lincoln’s brain.” The shot changed history. “Manhunt – The 12-Day Chase for Lincolns Killer”, a suspenseful non-fiction novel by James L. Swanson, communicates an era after the civil war’s effect in perfect clarity, primarily with the suspenseful and harrowing event of chasing down Lincoln’s killer, John Wilkes Booth. The suspense created from the massive manhunt portrays more than what people know today. This book not only sheds light on one of the most influential parts of American history, but it also describes a time in history where America was damaged politically weak, and trying to get itself back up from a national trauma. The author gives a different perspective to Booth, moves the plot along with different scenes, and more importantly makes a historical rendering interesting with character development.

Booth already had plans to kidnap the president before. In his pent up rage because of the Union’s victory, Booth looked to more murderous plans, "The moment has arrived when I must change my plans. Many will blame me for what I am about to do, but posterity, I am sure, will justify me." This is something different, Booth's own writing, his own thinking. This gives a totally new look at Booth, and makes it seem like he isn't just a crazed murderer but a man with internal passion about his cause. What was Booth’s thoughts as he went up to the presidential balcony? As it turned out, much planning was done before hand, and Booth had supporters to his cause. He was not the only assassin on April 14th, his friends Lewis Powell, George Atzerodt, and Devid Herold were all in the conspiracy as well. Swanson gives an independent and unbiased report of Booth’s escape, revealing that Booth had assistance from David Herold in the 12 day chase, and this unbiased rendering is different than popular belief. In many instances, whoever tells the story of history can form history to their own views, and it seems that the author was purposely telling history in the formal and informative way to show that there is more to history than what we perceive. Looking at the facts more, we see more of Booth and what his emotions were during the manhunt.

The novel goes through several scenes throughout the story, and it can be recognized how the Civil War had an effect on these places. One good example is the difference in attitude between the states regarding Lincoln's murder. Some states were major confederate states, who didn't mind the murder or even celebrated it; and some were north Union states, having civilians in an outrage of the murder. This provides a hostile environment, such that Booth’s escape is hindered. With each character we see a part of their environment in the story, such as the economical static of families and their homes, and the emotions that are felt by people in their community. The scenery that is portrayed in the story gives the reader an idea of a time when America was weak from war, traumatized, and ready to find Lincoln's killer. The aspect of living is portrayed through the places that are visited, such as farm houses, and boarding houses (ex. Mary Surratt’s house). We see that the way of life in 1865 was way different than today’s way of living and transportation.

Over the course of the story, we see a profound change in characters. There are at least three different views of the story established: Booth from his conspirators, the general population of America, and the man hunters under the lead of Joseph M. Stanton. Booth and his ally, David Herold, goes through many obstacles in their escape, and this has a certain effect on the two fugitives. It can easily be seen the character of Booth and Herold; Booth with his need for publicity after the murder, and Herold’s urgency to get Booth to safety. Many people in America at the time of the manhunt had major changes in their own perceptions of the government. Lincoln wasn’t favored during his presidency, but his death spurred a change of heart by the nation, and the saw him almost like a martyr, "thousands of people continued to pour into Washington, D.C., to see Abraham Lincoln's funeral procession." This rapid change from war to peace, and then from peace to unrest from Lincoln’s assassination left the nation eager for resolution. Wanted posters were hanged up as an incentive for civilians to capture Booth. Swanson describes the social buzz at the time with a starting sentence, "It was a dangerous time to be a friend of John Wilkes Booth", and this meant that the people were prosecuting any supporters of Booth, taking matters into their own hands and punishing the supporters. The man hunters had more eyes on them from the public, so they had a major responsibility; they had to find the murderer. Massive amounts of soldiers and detectives were sent out into the country side. The government was rushing to find Booth and his accomplices, even arrested whoever was suspected of being a supporter of Booth, and this strategy was not normal of the government’s procedures. Still, at the time, everything changed dramatically, from the first shot (Lincoln's death), to the last shot (Booth’s death), and beyond.

America was weak already from civil war, and with Booth’s actions, it was weakened even more. Each headline that read “JOHN WILKES BOOTHS STILL AT LARGE” was another blow to the American people and its government. The, uncertainty, fear, anger, and other emotions are what swarmed over the US. This book is a good historical reference showing not only events that happened before and after Lincoln’s murder, but showing the psychology of the people at the time from April 14 to April 26 in 1865, the 12 day chase that had control over America’s early history. Even though the nation was in turmoil, Swanson in his own way portrays Booth as not necessarily evil, seeing that a good part of the nation (the south) also detested Lincoln already.
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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

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

"The President Has Been Shot!": The Assassination of John F. Kennedy

End of Days: The Assassination of John F. Kennedy

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

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“The best illustrated histories of the assassination are Twenty Days by Dorothy Meserve Kunhardt and Philip B. Kunhardt Jr., and Lincoln’s Assassins: Their Trial and Execution by James L. Swanson and Daniel R. Weinberg. Twenty Days contains more than three hundred black-and-white photos of the people and places connected to the assassination and Lincoln’s funeral.” — 0 likes

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