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Lincoln's Assassins: Their Trial and Execution written by James L. Swanson, Daniel Weinberg Studio : William Morrow by William Morrow Release Date : 2006-10-31 Publisher : William Morrow Released : 2006-10-31 Availability : Usually ships in 1-2 business days Number of Items : 1 EAN : 9780061237614 Avg. Customer Rating: (based on 17 reviews)
List Price : $39.95 Our Price : $7.99
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Product Description |
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Acclaimed as the definitive illustrated history of Abraham Lincoln's assassination, Lincoln's Assassins, by James L. Swanson and Daniel R. Weinberg, follows the shocking events from the tragic scene at Ford's Theatre to the trial and execution of Booth's co-conspirators. For twelve days after the president was shot, the nation waited breathlessly as manhunters tracked down John Wilkes Booth—the story that was brilliantly told in Swanson's New York Times bestseller, Manhunt. Then, during the spring and summer of 1865, a military commission tried eight people as conspirators in Booth's plot to murder Lincoln and other high officials, including the secretary of state and vice president. Few remember them today, but once the names Mary Surratt, Lewis Powell, David Herold, George Atzerodt, Edman Spangler, Samuel Arnold, Michael O'Laughlin, and Dr. Samuel Mudd were the most reviled and notorious in America. In Lincoln's Assassins, Swanson and Weinberg resurrect these events by presenting an unprecedented visual record of almost 300 contemporary photographs, letters, documents, prints, woodcuts, newspapers, pamphlets, books, and artifacts, many hitherto unpublished. These rare materials, which took the authors decades to collect, evoke the popular culture of the time, record the origins of the Lincoln myth, take the reader into the courtroom and the cells of the accused, document the beginning of American photojournalism, and memorialize the fates of the eight conspirators. Lincoln's Assassins is a unique work that will appeal to anyone interested in American history, Abraham Lincoln, the Civil War, law, crime, assassination, nineteenth-century photographic portraiture, and the history of American photojournalism. |
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Excellent |
This is more of a picture book than a text-laden history book, but it's the appeal of the many photos, pictures, illustrations, and even cartoons that make this book a fascinating one to read. The book includes photos of all the conspirators, in life as well as death, along with other interesting details such as a letter Booth wrote as a teenager. Today few remember that John Wilkes Booth was the teenage heart-throb of his day, making it all the more shocking when he was involved in the assassination.
The details of the trial sound like something from some fantastic kangaroo court, not the U.S. For example, the defense had no time to marshall their case, interview or call witnesses, or even to meet much with their clients. The jury was composed of generals and military men, not civilians, and their decision would be final, with no right of appeal.There were indeed judges in the courtroom, but they were watching from the audience.
The public and the press constantly talked about their favorite conspirators, of which the young, handsome and dashing looking Lewis Powell was the favorite, who attempted to kill secretary of state William Seward with a Bowie knife on the night of the assassination, rather than the president, but was foiled. Even the decision of who to prosecute left many questions unanswered, as several suspects with far more incriminating evidence weren't even brought to trial, whereas others with less evidence were tried and executed. The authors suggest that this might have had more to do with who actually plotted the murder vs. who was involved with post-assassination attempts to shelter Booth.
However, it's the stunning visual presentation here rather than the now well known history that is the star here. This book will be enjoyed by any history or Americana buffs or anyone interested in a well done presentation of a unique event in our history. |
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Lincoln Conspirators in pictures and text. |
Excellent addition to any Civil War library. Text has nothing really new but reads very easily. The "gold mine" in this book are all the photos, some of which are new to me.
Quick read and terrific service from the vendor. |
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GREAT READING & PICTURES |
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Great reading leading up to the hangings of the shooting of President Lincoln and even greater pictures which have never been displayed before , I have a collection of 150 civil war books and this will be a great additon to my collection |
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reads like a movie |
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This is an EXCELLENT book. The pace reads like a movie. The characters are expertly depicted and the author presents a flow of events that kept me reading continuosly. The sparse use of photos bothered me at first but then I realized that I liked it better not to have too many images. |
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Certainly worthwhile. |
Although I detest Mr. Swanson's attitude toward the assassination & "scholarship", I am very pleased with my copy of this book. It has a great deal of fine photographs, and makes a very enjoyable purchase for that reason only. Unfortunately, the authors titled the book very oddly -- as those who went on trial were not Lincoln's assassins, and some of them were not even privy to the plan at all, and equally unfortunately, the actual assassin is given only 2 or 3 photographs out of the many included. There was also an sickening decision made when there are pages and pages of essentially identical photos of the hanging, which are not only revolting but very repetative, and could have been greatly reduced to make room for more interesting & varied photographs. That aside, I found the painting by Lew Wallace, given an honorary spot in the front of the book, to be perhaps my favorite assassination-related picture to date. I am very grateful for this book.
P.S. Reprinting the cover to look more like Manhunt? Bad idea. The 1st edition was so much prettier. |
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