Customer Reviews

Blood on the Moon: The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln

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Many years ago I read Jim Bishop's "The Day Lincoln was Shot" and for the first time learned in greater depth about John Wilkes Booth and his accomplices. Edward Steers's new book, "Blood on the Moon", goes much farther in untangling the web of men and women who took part in the Lincoln assassination. Controversy will always surround the events concerning Lincoln's murder but Mr. Steers has done a magnificent job in attempting to set the record straight.

The reader will be reminded that Booth's original plan was to kidnap Lincoln and take him across Confederate lines. It wasn't until late March, 1865 that Booth's plans changed to killing Lincoln and other officials high up in the U.S.government. Mr. Steers writes in a detailed but moving prose, carefully laying out the cases for the guilty. He particularly targets Dr. Samuel A. Mudd, whose name has been attempted to have been cleared by historical revisionists. I felt Mr. Steers's best chapter recounts Booth's escape through the Maryland countryside and his subsequent death in Virginia. The final chapter, too, regarding Lincoln's last trip home to Illinois is moving.

The book is accompanied by some good photos...one taken of Lincoln's death bed moments after his body was removed and one of Lincoln lying in state....the latter only discovered in the twentieth century after being lost for years. However it's Mr. Steers's connecting the pieces of the conspiracy puzzle that set this book apart from the rest. Nicely readable and often riveting, I highly recommend it.

This meticulously researched and reasoned book by Edward Steers both tells the story of Lincoln's Assassination and builds the case against those involved.

Much of the book reads like a detective story. Since Lincoln's death, various publicity seekers, conspiracy buffs and doubters have disputed various aspects of the story. The issues Steers deals with -- and convincingly -- are ones that have plagued the assassination story for a long time. By assembling documentary evidence from a vast array of sources, Steers builds strong cases that: Dr. Mudd was a part of the conspiracy to capture Lincoln and was a confederate of Booth -- and was expecting to help Booth escape from Washington; Mary Surratt was also a part of the conspiracy and thus justly convicted; the harebrained conspiracy theories involving Vice President Johnson or Sec. of War Stanton in the assassination are just that; The Confederate Secret service was active in supporting a kidnapping of Lincoln, knew Booth and provided him with resources; the top levels of the Confederate government (including Jefferson Davis) were aware of kidnap schemes (though no claim is made that Davis or others in the Confederate high command knew of or supported the assassination plot).

The book deftly does several things. While telling the story of the assassination plot and Confederate secret service activities, it builds the case implicating individuals found guilty by the government but whose involvement has been questioned over the years. Steers also tells of and demolishes notions that Booth really escaped and that an imposter was buried in his tomb -- notions that had some currency in the early Twentieth Century. Steers provides a thorough examination of the case of Dr. Mudd -- proving his complicity in the Lincoln conspiracy and rebuking those family members who to this day try to exonerate Mudd as an innocent doctor who executed his Hippocratic Oath for the lame Booth when he came calling to his home after the murder. (Steers has also written a book solely on this topic "His Name Is Still Mudd")

This is an impressive work. Steers deftly melds both the story of Lincoln's assignation plot with the detective work proving the case against those who claim mistake or cover-up. It is well written and makes good use of primary sources. Although I have read and enjoyed "The Day Lincoln Was Shot," I'd have to rate this as the Lincoln assassination book to read.

Kudos to author Steers for this comprehensive, thought-provoking volume. In reviewing the now familiar events surrounding the Lincoln assasination, Steers gives dimension to the assorted individuals involved in the tragic saga. "Blood On The Moon" is replete with fascinating and little known facts that grab the reader's attention, among them:

1. David E. Herold's anguished response on being captured;
2. George Atzerodt's half-hearted flight from justice and his odd preoccupations while waiting for the inevitable arrest;
3. Lewis Powell's surprise reunion with the Seward doorman, the reaction of both betraying the former's guilt.

Steers shows why those who believe Powell was mentally deficient might rethink the matter. As for Mrs. Surratt's complicity, defenders of the pious widow dismiss evidence against her as merely circumstantial. Perhaps, but Steers shows how the military trial and prosecution were appropriate, cautious, and reasoned -- and that even a devout, religious soul can, like her son, have sinister motives.

Here, too, we find a Dr. Mudd who may indeed have been a kindly practitioner, but who also was a racist driven by dark impulses; his ties to Booth seem undeniable.

Steers' reference to a present-day tour group stopping on the interstate by the (former) Garrett farm evoked a smile, for I myself just rode on the Booth Escape Route Tour on September 1, 2001. "Blood On The Moon" has ignited a strong desire to repeat the trek, armed now with a better appreciation for the sheer desperation of the fugitives.

Well-researched and truly illuminating, Steers book is highly recommended to the lay reader interested in the fateful events surrounding April 14, 1865.

This is an incredibly well written book. Mr. Steers weaves a logical, thorougly understandable trail of events that lead to Lincoln's assassination, and the hunt for J. Wilkes Booth afterwards. His writing also shows how the attitudes towards Lincoln changed with his murder. Lincoln was not well loved in the North, and many there were wary of his suspension of civil liberties and his desire to franchise African-American soldiers. No wonder Booth thought he would be a hero. Mr. Steers also makes a strong case against Dr. Mudd, whom many nowadays want to paint as an innocent person caught up in post-assassination hysteria.

I have had the pleasure of hearing Mr. Steers talk, and he is a fascinating speaker as well as an excellent writer.

This book, along with "Twenty Days", belong in every Lincoln collection.

Having just read "Blood on the Moon", let me offer my brief comments to make this book part of your required reading.

Dr. Steers is the 19th century special prosecutor who presents a prima facie case with detailed evidence which is well researched and highly organized, proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that John Wilkes Booth and Dr. Samuel Mudd were guilty in President Lincoln's assassination. He asks several questions which a prosecuting attorney would regarding motivation: Did Booth act alone? Were Dr. Mudd, Mary Surratt, and others as innocent as they claimed? With testimony given at the time, and a multitude of letters written and corroborated by many witnesses, you the jury are presented facts, beyond a shadow of a doubt that there was a conspiracy and the aforementioned parties were indeed guilty. "Blood on the Moon" will become the definitive piece on Lincoln's assassination.

Last year, I visited the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Musuem in Springfield, Illinois. At the Musuem, they had a temporary exhibit called "Blood on the Moon". It was a fascinatating exhibit and when I saw that the exhibit's name was taken from a book, I started looking for the book to go slightly more in-depth about the assassination. The book is pretty good. The beginning is good and I liked all the photos that were included in the book. But there are two reasons why I couldn't give this book 5 stars: there were parts that I had a hard time keeping myself interested in. A slight bit of dry reading. The second reason is the author's repeated repeatings of somethings in the book. I'm not quite sure if the author forgot that he had already mentioned those facts or perhaps is underestimating the readers intelligence in remembering what they've read but I was annoyed that some things that I had already read kept popping up. I prefered the parts of the book when the author wasn't just reeling off facts and put things into action. The story of the assassination was fascinating and I liked how the author included maps of all the various Booth getaways. I also found the information about Lincoln's final trip back to Springfield very interesting.

So I wouldn't say this would be a book for anyone who is more interesting in maybe the story-telling aspect of this part of history since the telling of fact upon fact might bore some people slightly. But I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in learning about the Lincoln assassination and especially anyone who was lucky enough to see the Blood on the Moon exhibit at the Abraham Lincoln Musuem.

This book is the story of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Not the assassination that they teach in the history books but a much more in depth view of the conspirators that were involved. Most people don't know that the Federal Government actually arrested ten people for the conspiracy and assassination and hung four along with killing John Wilkes Booth during the man hunt. The conspirators were tried by a military tribunal and not in civilian courts.

This book goes very in depth at the contacts and relationships that these conspirators had. The countryside is discussed as well as events leading up to and after the shooting. It talks of previous plots of the Confederacy to kidnap Lincoln and of the Federals to kidnap Jefferson Davis. The book did, at times, read a little like a history book. So much detail that it seemed to drag in spots but only for short periods before it revived itself.

This is a very good book that students of history will love. That Civil War buffs will enjoy also. It is more of a book for high schoolers and up as at times it is tedious because it has so much information to process. Overall, I enjoyed it greatly. But then again, I love history. Check it out, see what you think.

Having spent many years reading every book I could find on the Lincoln assassination, I was a little skeptical at first, too many nutty conspiracy theories and Stanton bashers are out there already. But I'm pleased to say that the author of this excellent book has certainly done his homework. The main attraction here is the documented proof of Dr. Samuel Mudd's involvement with Booth. It was more than just a casual acquaintance and it was NOT a coincidence that Booth sought Mudd's help after the former broke his leg after leaping from the presidential box at Ford's theater.Steers doesn't worship anyone, unlike other Lincoln authors have done in the past, rather he presents the players and the facts, warts and all. If you are SERIOUS about the topic, put this tome at the top of your list.

This book was obviously well researched. Steers fluently documents the series of events surrounding the Lincoln assasination. His telling of events is easy to follow. After reading this book, I have a better understanding of the people involved in the conspiracy and the roles they played in carrying out this tragic event in American history. This is definitely a book you want to buy for your Lincoln bookshelf. Steers paints a clear picture of the Lincoln assasination, however for a truly enjoyable companion read, I would suggest "Lincoln Assasination" by Swanson and Weinberg. The high quality photos in the Swanson/Weinberg book enhance your undersatnding of the events told by Steers. The two books bring the story to life!

This is finally the definitive book on the Lincoln assassination. It clears up many of the misconceptions about the event. It is throughly documented and the sources back up the author's assertions.

The book is well written. One chapter entitled, "The Wound is Mortal" is particularily poignant. It is the best and most moving description of the death of Lincoln I have ever read.

This is a book that was needed, and now we have it.