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

by James L. Swanson

Hardcover, 2006

Status

Available

Call number

364.1524097309034

Genres

Collection

Your library

Publication

William Morrow (2006), Edition: 1st, Hardcover, 464 pages

Description

The murder of Abraham Lincoln set off the greatest manhunt in American history. From April 14 to April 26, 1865, the assassin 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, watched in horror. A Confederate sympathizer and a member of a celebrated acting family, John Wilkes Booth threw away his fame and wealth for a chance to avenge the South's defeat. Based on rare archival materials, obscure trial transcripts, and Lincoln's own blood relics, this book is a fully documented work, but it is also a tale of murder, intrigue, and betrayal, an hour-by-hour account told through the eyes of the hunted and the hunters.--From publisher description.… (more)

Media reviews

The Independent, UK

But for the most part the narrative - which relies on numerous first-hand and contemporary accounts, as well as Swanson's own retracing of Booth's steps - has a convincing feel, full of detail and dialogue. Manhunt is an enjoyable, and often exciting, portrayal of what must have been twelve of the

most turbulent days in American history

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User reviews

LibraryThing member ThoughtsofJoyLibrary

This is the historical account of the John Wilkes Booth chase after he assassinated President Lincoln. The 12 days it took to apprehend him are told in detail, along with the events that led up to the assassination and following his capture.

I thought this was absolutely excellent! The rich

components make it a complete and fascinating story from beginning to end. There are many characters in the book and each are very purposefully explained in terms of how they fit into the plot, so I did not experience any confusion. Also, it is told with fluidity and suspense, even though we know the outcome. I now feel well-versed on the assassination of President Lincoln and have already shared unknown details with family and friends. :) Great book.

Originally posted on: Thoughts of Joy

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LibraryThing member joshberg

This meticulously researched history about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and the ensuing hunt for John Wilkes Booth is presented like a literary thriller, and thrill it does. Somehow, it doesn't seem to matter that we know what's going to happen; Swanson brings the times to life with

fascinating details about the leading figures, and a real feel for drama.

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LibraryThing member LisaMaria_C

The author James L. Swanson isn't a historian but a journalist. He has been however, as he put it, "obsessed" with Abraham Lincoln since childhood and a collector of memorabilia regarding the assassination and someone who had read exhaustively on the subject even before he began formally

researching this book on his assassination by John Wilkes Booth and the 12-day hunt for him. I didn't get farther than the assassination though, and the issue is one of style. Let me give you the passage that stopped me reading:

The actor's black pupils flared wide, adjusting to the darkness, while also fixing on the only available light in the dim claustrophobic chamber--a faint pinpoint emanating from the peephole that somebody, probably Booth, had bored through a right-hand panel of the door to box number seven.

Oh please. I've gotten sick and tired of this kind of In Cold Blood tarted up history. There is, of course, absolutely no way Swanson could know Booth's pupils "flared wide" (although I concede Swanson might be able to infer it) and certainly no way he could know on what Booth fixed his gaze. Only Booth could know, and I can't believe he imparted such details in a letter. That completely lost my suspension of disbelief in what is supposed to be a non-fiction account. Nor is Swanson the kind of stylist--a Truman Capote, a Tom Wolfe, an Erik Larson--for whom I'm willing to forgive such excesses. (And God, the melodrama!)

And it's so unnecessary. After this book I turned to reading Shelby Foote's The Civil War. This also purports to be a "narrative history" and Foote's background is as a novelist, not a historian. But he never steps over the line. Foote writes in the Bibliographical Note in the back that he "employed the novelist's methods without his license... Nothing is included here, either within or outside quotation marks without the authority of documentary evidence which I consider sound." And I'm willing to take Foote's word for that, because there's nothing in the 150 pages I've read so far that makes me doubt it. And yet his book flows and has all the vividness of a novel--and truly powerful prose. Foote also said in that note that the historical record is so rich, he didn't feel any temptation to imagine details--what was difficult was what to omit.

Because yes, it is possible to write good history that makes for good reading. It's a shame Swanson didn't take note how to do it from Shelby Foote.

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LibraryThing member MerryMary

Excellent almost hour-by-hour examination of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and the manhunt for John Wilkes Booth and his associates in the days that followed. The research is admirable and the writing is clear and engrossing. The story is full of all the little details that make a narrative

come alive.

The picture we are drawn is of a man so consumed with hate, and with such an inflated view of himself and his abilities, that he was able to simultaneously plan such a terrible crime and not bother to plan the details than might make it successful. It was both cold-blooded and incredibly sloppy.

Two areas that I found really interesting were the examinations of Mary Surratt and Dr. Samuel Mudd. I had grown up with the idea that poor Mary and Sam were caught up in the hysteria and were really not guilty of anything. According to the research of this author, I was wrong on all counts!

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LibraryThing member jopearson56

Excellent book, had to stop on page 205 as it was due back at library;must check out again and finish one day!

LibraryThing member nbmars

A good, albeit melodramatically told story detailing the escape and capture of John Wilkes Booth after his assassination of Lincoln. Making Booth's getaway his focus, Swanson barely touches on more than the two-week period in question. Thus, while we get a good deal of information about Booth's

last two weeks (moreso, for example, than from "Lincoln and Booth: More Light on the Conspiracy"), we get very little perspective, background, or theories about the suspected broader conspiracy. Moreover, Swanson spends a great deal of time, and deservedly so, on Dr. Samuel Mudd, but oddly, hardly any time at all on the Surratts. The CD benefits from an actor's reading (Richard Thomas), but, like so many other audiobooks, it is rife with mispronunciations. (JAF)

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LibraryThing member BoundTogetherForGood

This was a very good book that filled in many of the details of Lincoln's assassination.

LibraryThing member delphica

(book #21 in the 2007 challenge)

The author takes a close and detailed look at the events of the days following the Lincoln assassination, and plus a lot of good background information. He pays a lot of attention to Booth's conspirators (especially Lewis Powell and the attack on Seward), which is

satisfying because so often they are more of a side note. I know I shouldn't even read those "for discussion" questions many books are including in the back these days, but there was one that set me off, "Have we, nearly 150 years after the great crime, forgiven John Wilkes Booth?" Maybe I am out of the swim of things, but I didn't even realize this was on the table for consideration. Hello? NO. I haven't even forgiven Aaron Burr yet, and he has more of a case since Hamilton shares the poor judgment of having agreed to an illegal duel in the first place.

Grade: A
Recommended: Good for history buffs, I think even if you already know a lot about the Lincoln assassination, you will find some new things here.

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LibraryThing member osodani

This is a fantastic story. Swanson does a great job explaining the events, making you feel like you are there as they unfold. My only gripe is that too often he repeated certain obvious facts, while other times he left explanations for later in the chapter. However, I found this book riveting.

LibraryThing member brianfstevenson

This book reads like a novel, and although you know how it is going to turn out, your heart is beating in places when the pursuers are getting close. While the story of Lincoln's assassination has been told many times, and most people know that Booth did not live for long after his bloody deed, the

story of the manhunt is comparatively unfamiliar, and as gripping as any fictional suspense scenario that could be created. Despite his perpetration of a dreadful and cowardly crime, the reader can only feel pity for the wretched Booth as his options evaporate. Swanson is even handed and non-judgmental, and even shows a sense of humour (Fords Theatre, converted to records storage, collapses when someone files one piece of paper too many: a purported account of the manhunt by a horse is a 'first hoof' account.) Recommended.

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LibraryThing member Badgerbars

Excellent. Real interesting parts of the book I thought about long after I put it down: a celebrity struck teenager with the dying Booth, a poor man who turned down a fortune rather than turn him in, and other things. I'd write more, but I'm in complete agreement with the other reviewers.

LibraryThing member KidQuislet

Detailed account of the Lincoln assassination and the days after in the hunt for the conspirators. Well written and extremely interesting, the full story is all here. Best book on the topic out there.

LibraryThing member Bibliofemmes

A better book than I thought it would be. Coming from Springfield, IL, and being thoroughly surrounded with Lincoln lore, the events of the assassination were intriguing. cp

LibraryThing member bookwormteri

Ugh. I really thought that this was a boring book with some interesting tidbits in it. I like history and it was written in a way that was not difficult to read, but BORING....

LibraryThing member hannahbond

Swanson did a very nice job with this book. The level of detail provided about the assassination of Lincoln and the subsequent hunt for his killers makes it "real" to a modern reader. It reads like a suspense thriller -- very engaging until the end. One small complaint is that I would have

appreciated more insight into Booth's motives for leading the conspiracy, more information about his earlier life and career, and some indication of the impact of his notoriety on his family after his death.

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LibraryThing member LouRead

Excellent read. Meticulously researched history of the search for Lincoln's killer, that reads like a thriller. Swanson is a superb writer with a great sense of humour and timing. Don' t miss this one.

LibraryThing member jcbrunner

This is a thoroughly enjoyable book whose author knows the little details of the details of the event. He thus manages to truly recreate those fateful days when one shot by an angry actor doomed the construction of a juster and more equal society as promised in the Declaration of Independence.

As

far as the John Wilkes Booth's plot is concerned, it is remarkable how badly it was planned. Given the longterm preparations for Lincoln's abduction, the murder plot failed to include any contingency plans and allowed for too little margin of error. Given that Booth was a well known actor, he was a terrible choice of companion in an escape. If Brad Pitt shot, God beware, President Obama, how long could he really move around undetected? Booth's choice of both extensively hiding in places and moving was a bad escape plan.

Highly recommended. A must Civil War read for beginners and experts.

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LibraryThing member coloradoreader

Manhunt is the riveting story of John Wilkes Booth's escape attempt following the shotting of Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theater. This is a nonfiction work of history that reads like a novel. I thoroughly enjoyed the drama of Booth's twelve day journey.

LibraryThing member rossryanross

Unbelievably detailed, but Swanson is not a very good writer. He is good at building tension, and his skills as a storyteller are passable, but he has the grammar skills of a middling 5th grader.

One of the author's most damning traits is his tendency to change tenses in the SAME SENTENCE, making

it necessary to re-read what he has written to clarify when certain events have taken place.

Luckily for Swanson, his book's subject matter is damn near impossible to mangle. The hunt for Booth remains riveting no matter how bad the author is.

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LibraryThing member CuCulain42

Manhunt is one of the best history books I've read. Swanson's writing is excellent and his pacing is on par with a good fiction novel. This book is an excellent look at a man who had delusions of heroism.

LibraryThing member npl

Swanson provides a detailed yet riveting account of how John Wilkes Booth plotted and carried out Lincoln's murder, then eluded capture for twelve days. The action follows changes in the conspirator's plans through to Booth's exciting escape through the streets of Washington D. C. across the swamps

of Maryland and into the forests of Virginia. Although the ending is well-know, this retelling is surprisingly suspenseful and less well-known details of the crime and conspiracy provide fascinating "plot twists". The abundant and vivid details draw readers into the action, and grip them as tightly as any scripted crime drama on television or at the movies!

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LibraryThing member Gary10

Fascinating story of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and the subsequent search for John Wilkes Booth through the Maryland countryside and into Virginia. Stranger than fiction in many ways. The confusion of what to do with the dying president after the shooting, the bizarre plot led by Booth,

including plans to assassinate the Vice President and the Secretary of State, the bungled plans to find the assassins and the strange climax to the episode at the Garrett Farm. Striking how different the world looked 150 years ago.

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LibraryThing member ShanLizLuv

Yeah, well...This is just awful. You're better off with American Brutus or the biography his sister wrote.

LibraryThing member BrokenSpines

A thrilling read. Swanson rich descriptions of the swampy pre-industrial landscapes of Maryland and Virginia present a spooky backdrop for this horrifying story.

LibraryThing member noblechicken

A pretty thorough moment by moment read of the 12 day chase to catch Booth, from the perspective of Booth. A lot of gaps in the time line compiled and filled here to make quite an interesting read. A history not completely documented but speculated upon here with some good evidence, but mostly

relying on eyewitness testimony and speculation. Solid though, and a fine read for anyone interested. Also a good companion piece to the photographic book "20 Days" by Dorothy Meserve Kunhardt and Philip B. Kunhardt Jr. or Swanson's other book on the conspirators trial.

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