Murder at Ford's Theatre: A Chronicle of An Assassination [Paperback]

Brendan H. Egan Jr. (Author)

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Brendan Egan, Ed.D., has been an educator for many years and for many decades has had a consuming interest in Lincoln assassination. Research was ongoing in the Washington, D.C., area, including historical locations and Booth's escape route. Dr. Egan currently lives in Sarasota, Florida.

Product Details

• Paperback: 390 pages
• Publisher: Xlibris (August 22, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1425768555
• ISBN-13: 978-1425768553
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,387,361 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid Chronology of the Lincoln Assassination, April 22, 2011

By 

Bruce Trinque (Amston, CT United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Murder at Ford's Theatre: A Chronicle of An Assassination (Paperback)

Brendan Egan's "Murder at Ford's Theatre" naturally invites comparison with other studies of the Lincoln Assassination such as Edward Steers' highly-regarded "Blood on the Moon" and Anthony Pitch's "They Have Killed Papa Dead!". Egan's book is less analytical than Steers' work, and less colorful than Pitch's volume; where it excels is in its detailed narrative, presented in a straight-forward chronology (bolstered by a meticulous timeline in an appendix) that makes the sequence of events and cast of characters readily accessible to readers who are not familiar with the details (ir even to clarify them for someone who has already read much on the Assassination).

Egan's book could well serve as either the only book that an interested general reader might read about the Lincoln Assassination or as a starting point for further study of the many mysteries and continuing debates.

The chief weakness of the book is the absence of an index, which would greatly help rapid checking on specific points.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE BEST Lincoln assassination book in print!, November 3, 2010

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pmdjn (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Murder at Ford's Theatre (Hardcover)

Having been interested in the Civil War and Lincoln most of my life, I have read almost every book on the assassination I could lay my hands on. Well, put down MANHUNT: THE 12 DAY CHASE FOR LINCOLN'S KILLER (James Swanson) which, although unprecedented in its novel-like style, still leaves plenty of room for questions and arguments that are better covered by a book with the scholarship of MURDER AT FORD'S THEATRE. (As for the work of Ed Steers' BLOOD ON THE MOON, his late arrival to popular new theories leaves me a bad taste. And he has been consistently inaccurate on certain events at Ford's Theatre besides [such as with Mary Lincoln]).
The selling points of Egan's book are its more accurate (vs. colorful) retelling, wealth and scope of research and detail, and balanced findings. All of the latest big-selling assassination books by long-time students are referenced, and questions big and small are discussed, such as: "What, when and where did Booth shout after shooting Lincoln?", and "Was his leg broken in his jump from the President's box?"
As for perhaps the most burning question, were Confederate officials behind the assassination, Egan gives no final answer except to let the history of the US government investigation and trial speak. Previous Confederate covert sabotage and kidnapping plans, as well as rebel government association with John Wilkes Booth, are discussed. However, by seemingly stressing the solitary nature of Treasury Secretary Judah P. Benjamin as the official in these cases, Egan implies government involvement to be limited or indirect, almost making Benjamin seem a solitary rogue official ala Oliver North.
Still, it is what is not said in Egan's book and in others that may allow the reader come to the "pro-conspiracy" side. As a reader follows the fascinating maze of Booth's travels and contact of Confederate sympathizers, both for supplies and for protection before and after his crime, can it not be said that this underground itself constituted a deeper murder conspiracy far beyond the 8 people convicted? Even Lewis Paine, before being hanged, said that not even a fraction of those involved had been caught.
Overall, a vastly interesting work on an endlessly interesting subject.

2.0 out of 5 stars Biased and Poorly Written, October 28, 2011

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Melissa Hunter "darred29" (Bethel Park, PA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Murder at Ford's Theatre: A Chronicle of An Assassination (Paperback)

Incomplete sentences. Many. Very biased. Mrs. Surratt had bad eyesight.

If you enjoy books that are written in a staccato rhythm, without a care of massive repetition or bias, this is the history book for you. I would be tempted to file this under fictionalized history for the overall tone, and cannot think of one thing that I really learned from reading this.

It really hurts to write this, as I'm about to become an Eagan, too, but seriously, the author's mania about Mary Surratt's eyesight was evident by the end of the first chapter. I would suppose that others who are fascinated by the Lincoln Assassination will be interested in reading this, but I fear that those who have NOT read much else would consider this the best book on the assassination.