Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer (P.S.) [Paperback]

James L. Swanson (Author)

Book Description

Release date: February 6, 2007 | Series: P.S.

The murder of Abraham Lincoln set off the greatest manhunt in American history. From April 14 to April 26, 1865, the assassin, John Wilkes Booth, 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 and sadness.

James L. Swanson's Manhunt is a fascinating tale of murder, intrigue, and betrayal. A gripping hour-by-hour account told through the eyes of the hunted and the hunters, this is history as you've never read it before.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The Greatest Manhunt in American History

For 12 days after his brazen assassination of Abraham Lincoln, John Wilkes Booth was at large, and in Manhunt, historian James L. Swanson tells the vivid, fully documented tale of his escape and the wild, massive pursuit. Get a taste of the daily drama from this timeline of the desperate search.

April 14, 1865 Around noon, Booth learns that Lincoln is coming to Ford's Theatre that night. He has eight hours to prepare his plan. 10:15 pm: Booth shoots the president, leaps to the stage, and escapes on a waiting horse. Secretary of War Edwin Stanton orders the manhunt to begin. April 15 About 4:00 am: Booth seeks treatment for a broken leg at Dr. Samuel Mudd's farm near Beantown, Maryland. Cavalry patrol heads south toward Mudd farm. Confederate operative Thomas Jones hides Booth in a remote pine thicket for five days, frustrating the manhunters. April 19 Tens of thousands watch the procession to the U.S. Capitol, where President Lincoln lies in state. Wild rumors and stories of false sightings of Booth spread.
April 20 Stanton offers a $100,000 reward for the assassins, and threatens death to any citizen who helps them. After hiding Booth in Maryland, Jones puts him in a rowboat on the Potomac River, bound for Virginia. More than a thousand manhunters are still searching in Maryland. In the dark, Booth rows the wrong way and first ends up back in Maryland. April 20-24 Booth lands in the northern neck of Virginia, and Confederate agents and sympathizers guide him to Port Conway, Virginia. April 24 Booth befriends three Confederate soldiers who help him cross the Rappahannock River to Port Royal and then guide him further southwest to the Garrett farm. Union troops in Washington receive a report of a Booth sighting. They board a U.S. Navy tug and steam south, right past Booth's hideout at the Garrett farm. April 25 The 16th New York Calvary, realizing their error, turns around and surrounds the Garrett farm after midnight that night.
April 26 When Booth refuses to surrender, troops set the barn on fire, and Boston Corbett shoots the assassin. Booth dies a few hours later, at sunrise. April 26-27 Booth's body is brought back to Washington, where it is autopsied, photographed, and buried in a secret grave.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

Thomas has done many solid jobs of acting in all mediums since his television days on The Waltons, but it's the memories of the wide open American country tones of his flexible voice that add immeasurably to his reading of the audio version of Swanson's intensive new book about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and the full-throttle hunt for the conspirators who planned and carried out the deed. Thomas's nuanced but never hyped narration serves as a seamless link between the words of the individual characters he brings to life. Some of the voices work better than others: his Lincoln is perhaps a bit too young and straightforward, especially compared to the darker, richer oratory of actors connected to the role such as Raymond Massey. But his John Wilkes Booth is just about perfect, catching the desperation and increasing lunacy of an actor getting ready for his role in history. And the other major characters—plotters, hunters, politicians, distraught family members—all bring a familiar story to exciting new life.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 496 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks; Reprint edition (February 6, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060518502
• ISBN-13: 978-0060518509
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (415 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,186 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #9 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Historical > United States > Civil War > Military Leaders
  • #11 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( L ) > Lincoln, Abraham
  • #33 in Books > History > Americas > United States > Civil War

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.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

195 of 206 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Manhunt: An Exciting Account of Booth's Murder of Lincoln February 25, 2006

By C. M Mills TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

The most notoriously infamous murder in American history occurred on Good Friday April 14, 1865. President Lincoln was

shot with a derringer by John Wilkes Booth (1838-April 26, 1865) in a murder most foul!Booth came from the most renowned acting family America. He was a superb actor, rake and handsome man who favored Southern Independence, hated the blacks and viewed Lincoln as a tyrant. Booth killed Lincoln after several earlier kidnap schemes went awry.

As an avid Civil War buff and student of the Lincoln assassination this is one of the two best books on the murder of the railspliter. The other great book on this topic is Edward Steers.Jr's classic "Blood On the Moon."

This book is not as dry as Steers book and could serve as the basis of a motion picture or better yet mini-series on the horrific event.

In great detail Swann tells us what really happened on the 12 day flight by Booth and his fellow conspirator David Herold on their flight to the Garrett family barn near Port Royal, Va. where Booth was shot to death by Sergeant Boston Corbett and

Herold was captured. (Herold along with George Atzerdot; Mary

Surratt and Lewis Powell would die on the scaffold on July 7, 1865.

Powell had sought to kill Secretary of State Seward in his bed where he was recovering from a painful carriage accident. He failed. George Atzerodt failed to even try to assassinate Vice President Andrew Johnson living in the Kirkwood Hotel.

If you want to excite a young person in American history this is a wonderful place to begin. Swann can write well and simply about complex events regarding the assassination. Finishing this book I have a new respect for Secretary of War Edwin Stanton who led the manhunt for the killers....

The book has many period illustrations, letters from the participants in the ghoulish search and a final chapter alerting us to the fate of the chief characters in this American Tragedy.

I stayed up until 1 AM last night reading this excellent and

exciting book. Very well recommended! Read more ›

53 of 55 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling treatment, with some new information... February 24, 2006

By William E. Adams

Format:Hardcover

I've read several accounts of the death of Lincoln and its aftermath over the past 50 years, but not any of the recent publications, until picking this off the library shelf last week. I enjoyed it immensely. The flaws mentioned by prior reviewers are probably justified, but if, like me, the weakest part of your Lincoln lore was the escape and capture of Booth, this is a sufficient remedy for that gap. It is detailed enough, with interesting notes, yet it does read like a novel. One comes to feel sorry for Booth's suffering on his 12-day run, while not excusing his foolish crime, which did the South more harm than good. More photos would have been nice, including some modern views of the Maryland/Virginia locations. I've been to Ford's Theater and the Peterson House, and Swanson's treatment of those locales is nicely done. Although billed as the story of the manhunt, Lincoln does not die until page 139 of a nearly 400-page text, so the actual killing, and the simultaneous attack on Secretary of State Seward, are depicted in more-than-adequate detail.

39 of 42 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Bucky Sappenfield - Terlingua, TX February 13, 2006

By George R. Sappenfield

Format:Hardcover

I have been reading about the Lincoln assassination for over 45 years and this is the best book to date. It is riviting, filled with heretofore unrevealed details and updates. A wonderful read! Mr Swanson has done a lot of research and has woven a thrilling story...yet it is all true! He could not make these things up! Great book. Thanks

33 of 36 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars compelling read, but not without flaws.. February 16, 2011

By M. Sutter

Format:Paperback

There is no doubt that this is a compelling page turner, well written and researched. But upon finishing and taking a step back, it leaves an imperfect, maybe even unsettling, impression with me
.
First, in a sense, "Manhunt" might not be the best title, because while it does chronicle the 12-days that Booth was on the run, it is largely told through his eyes, not those of his pursuers. So maybe "Flight" or "On The Run" might give anyone who hasn't read it a more accurate idea of the narrative.
Second, the author clearly takes generous liberties in filling in the thoughts and motives of everyone involved, especially Booth, to the point where the reader has to wonder whether the narration has crossed the line from non-fiction to fictional novelization.

Put the two together, and you have the bigger issue -- a jarringly sympathetic portrait of Booth. Which is not to say that Booth didn't have sympathetic qualities or even believe in actions were justified. He surely must have. But I found too often, especially as the book wears on and the narrative becomes even more focused on Booth, that the author brushes aside his obvious flaws - among them his extreme bigotry, violent streak, hot temper and consistent deception of friend and foe alike - to paint him as something of a martyr. As the book nears its close, the author really seems to go all in, depicting Booth's pursuers as incompetent glory seekers and Booth... well, I'm telling the truth here, there's actually one passage in which a character who helps authorities is compared to Judas and another passage with a direct comparison of Booth to Jesus as he lay dying and tended to.

Again, there's much to like about this book and I recommend reading it.... But since so many people have given it such sterling (5 star) reviews, I thought I would try to communicate a bit about what bothered me about the narrative. It's very good, but can't see it as 5 stars. Read more ›

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars You'll burn midnight oil reading this exciting story - and you already know how it ends! June 5, 2006

By Emerson Randolph

Format:Hardcover

History is made vividly exciting in this detailed and well-written account of a critical event in United States history. Swanson has the instinct of a novelist, but every word of this page-turner is true. Don't start reading this book unless you have blocked out some time. You won't want to put it down. Everybody quotes Paul Harvey at about this point, and I will, too. If you think you know everything there is to know about the Lincoln assassination, think again. Swanson gives you "the rest of the story." John Wilkes Booth was a Shakespearean actor whose personal story is as Shakespearean as even the Bard himself could create. To Booth, all the world really was a stage and in jumping from the box at Ford's Theater he thought he was playing the role of a lifetime. Indeed, he was. Swanson helps us saddle up and ride with Booth on his frantic escape through Maryland and into Virginia, where he thought he would be haled as a hero. If you love history. If you like to feel as if you are there, you will treasure this book.