Chasing Lincoln's Killer [Hardcover]

James L. Swanson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2009

Based on rare archival material, obscure trial manuscripts, and interviews with relatives of the conspirators and the manhunters, CHASING LINCOLN'S KILLER is a fast-paced thriller about the pursuit and capture of John Wilkes Booth: a wild twelve-day chase through the streets of Washington, D.C., across the swamps of Maryland, and into the forests of Virginia.

"This story is true. All the characters are real and were alive during the great manhunt of April 1865. Their words are authentic and come from original sources: letters, manuscripts, trial transcripts, newspapers, government reports, pamphlets, books and other documents. What happened in Washington, D.C., that spring, and in the swamps and rivers, forests and fields of Maryland and Virginia during the next twelve days, is far too incredible to have been made up."

So begins this fast-paced thriller that tells the story of the pursuit and capture of John Wilkes Booth and gives a day-by-day account of the wild chase to find this killer and his accomplices. Based on James Swanson's bestselling adult book MANHUNT: THE 12-DAY CHASE FOR LINCOLN'S KILLER, this young people's version is an accessible look at the assassination of a president, and shows readers Abraham Lincoln the man, the father, the husband, the friend, and how his death impacted those closest to him.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. The YA version of Swanson's bestselling Manhunt, this account of Lincoln's assassination and the 12-day search for his killer reads like a historical thriller, no matter that the narrative jumps among its locations and characters. As President Lincoln delivers victory speeches in April 1865, an enraged John Wilkes Booth vows death: "Now, by God, I'll put him through." Every bit of dialogue is said to come from original sources, adding a chill to the already disturbing conspiracy that Swanson unfolds in detail as Booth persuades friends and sympathizers to join his plot and later, to give him shelter. The author gives even the well-known murder scene at Ford's Theatre enough dramatic flourish to make the subject seem fresh. While Lincoln lays dying, Booth's accomplices clumsily attempt to kill Secretary of State William H. Seward, and Booth talks his way past a guard meant to bar him from crossing a bridge into Maryland. In focusing on Booth, the author reveals the depth of divisions in the nation just after the war, the disorder within the government and the challenges ahead. Abundant period photographs and documents enhance the book's immediacy. Ages 12–up. (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal

Starred Review. Grade 5 Up—This volume is an adaptation of Swanson's Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer (HarperCollins, 2006). Divided into 14 chapters and an epilogue, the sentences are shorter and chapters are condensed from the original but the rich details and suspense are ever present. Lacking are a bibliography and a notes section. Excellent black-and-white illustrations complement the text. Devoted to the South, John Wilkes Booth had planned to kidnap Lincoln and hold him hostage, but when that plan did not materialize, he hatched his assassination plot. Co-conspirators in Washington, Maryland, and Virginia helped him escape and evade capture for 12 days before being surrounded in a barn and killed. Readers will be engrossed by the almost hour-by-hour search and by the many people who encountered the killer as he tried to escape. It is a tale of intrigue and an engrossing mystery. With the approaching bicentennial of Lincoln's birth, this is a most welcome addition to all libraries.—Patricia Ann Owens, Wabash Valley College, Mt. Carmel, IL
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Press; 1 edition (February 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439903548
• ISBN-13: 978-0545204705
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (112 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #17,669 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #10 in Books > Teens > Education & Reference > History
  • #17 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( L ) > Lincoln, Abraham

More About the Author

James L. Swanson is the author of the New York Times bestseller Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer. He is an attorney who has written about history, the Constitution, popular culture, and other subjects for a variety of publications, including the Wall Street Journal, American Heritage, Smithsonian, and the Los Angeles Times. Mr. Swanson serves on the advisory council of the Ford's Theatre Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Campaign and is a member of the advisory committee of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Six Stars for This Book!, October 25, 2008

By 

Eileen Cunningham - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Chasing Lincoln's Killer (Hardcover)

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If any historical account for youth should get six stars, it is *Chasing Lincoln's Killer* by James Swanson. Written for ages 12 and up, this book moves at a quick pace and is chock-full of details that I had never seen before, my introduction to the subject having been a *You Are There* account of John Wilkes Booth by Walter Cronkite in the 1950s. Teachers, students, and homeschoolers will find this a valuable illustrated resource. Swanson has done a great job of making this historical account read like a novel. It includes dialogue, but all words and sentences in quotation marks are the actual words of eyewitnesses and participants whose works served as primary sources for this book. Atmosphere is included, but only that which would be apparent to a writer who put himself into the scene to imagine it. For example, the smells inside Surratt's tavern are listed as "wax, candles, oil lamps, tobacco, burning stove wood, whiskey, dirty clothes, and leather boots"--realistic details that help readers to place themselves in the company of the fleeing Booth and co-conspirator David Herold. Another plus is that Swanson does not take cheap shots at Mary Todd Lincoln or Boston Corbett, whose personal quirks are often used as grist for writers about Lincoln. Published by Scholastic Press, the book has ancillaries including a reading group activity guide, an educational poster, and downloadable activities on the publisher's web site. This book will grab the attention of any reader and spark interest in this great historical event. I myself am motivated now to read Swanson's New York Times bestseller, *Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer* on which *Chasing Lincoln's Killer* is based.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I loved it and my 9th graders did, too., February 2, 2011

By 

B. Dayton (Elk Ridge, ut United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Chasing Lincoln's Killer (Hardcover)

I am an English teacher and this is one of the few books I have taught where the students couldn't wait to get started. It did not disappoint them. It is a bit graphic at times, but those and other details really help to transport the reader back to 1865. I highly recommend this for English and even history classes.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for Middle and High Schoolers, October 24, 2008

By 

Ken Roberts "social historian" (Michigan United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Chasing Lincoln's Killer (Hardcover)

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Although what is written in these pages is nothing knew, it gives the younger reader (middle school and high school) the opportunity to learn, perhaps for the first time, the truth behind President Lincoln's assassination and the punishments that befell those involved.
History books in general tend to gloss over many of the horrors of the past - I never knew anything about the other conspirators of this deed except for Booth until adulthood - and the truth needs to be told. Not just of the murder itself but of the incarceration of the prisoners as well and how they were treated (you think prisoners today have it bad? I believe this book will change your mind!).
The author also does a fine job in the description department - one does get the feel for the times.
A book that I would recommend for all fans of history, but especially those that attend the mid to upper grades levels of our public school (or home school) system. An enjoyable read about a subject that never seems to grow old.