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As a reasonably intelligent person with a strong interest in history, it sometimes bemuses me how little American history stayed with me after 12 years of schooling in that country. This could be variously attributed to a poorly-constructed curriculum, uninspired teaching, or lack of application on my part, but in any case an informal poll of my acquaintance tells me that this ignorance is quite widespread and is commonly compounded with a profound lack of interest in the subject. I hope this tendency doesn't work against James Swanson, because while I admit to approaching this 400-page tome with some skepticism, I was agreeably impressed and very much enjoyed the reading of it. Although I know we covered Abraham Lincoln's assassination more than once in school, I have no memory of ever learning that there were two other intended victims and several assassins involved in the plot; I knew very little about Lincoln, Wilkes Booth, or the tenor of the times. Swanson ably addresses all these lacks, clearly having researched this event meticulously and informed himself to a highly detailed degree. Thankfully, he not only informs the reader, but also tells an excellently constructed tale, with strongly-drawn characters and splendid pacing. The narrative begins a few weeks before the assassination, at Lincoln's second inauguration. We are introduced to Booth, who was there: a brooding and quixotic man, despairing over the South's imminent loss of the Civil War and in no way inclined to accept defeat. Chillingly, it is at this event that Booth realizes, as he tells a colleague, how easily Lincoln could be killed. When the announcement is made that Lincoln will attend the theatre, Booth is inspired to seize the opportunity and has only a few hours to organize a plan to bring the entire government into disarray and, he hopes, invoke a resurgence of the South. Swanson takes us through the plotting and preparation, simultaneously showing us the doomed President and his companions as they approach the fatal moment. We see the massive confusion surrounding the shooting, and the frantic efforts to save Lincoln; meanwhile Booth's confederates are approaching other targets. The depiction of the brutal attack on Secretary Seward and his family is hair-raising, intensely compelling reading, while the story of the man assigned to kill Vice-President Johnson is just pathetic. We then watch Booth's efforts to escape, hampered by a broken leg, helped by various sympathizers, while a massive hunt is mounted to find him. Despite knowing the ending – a hazard inevitable to any true-crime story – I found this book to be suspenseful and engaging. If only history in school had been anything like this exciting.
Reviewed by Diana Sandberg, March 2007
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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