Chasing Lincoln’s Killer: The Search for John Wilkes Booth (review)

For young readers who are more fascinated by Abraham Lincoln’s death than by his life, Swanson adapts his adult work Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer. Following a concise summary of background on political and martial events immediately preceding the assassination, Swanson dives right into Booth’s rabid Confederate loyalty, his previous plans to kidnap Lincoln, and the ultimate conspiracy to murder the President, the Vice-President, and the Secretary of State. Frequent lapses into the breathless prose of creative nonfiction run amok (“Booth turned the doorknob and pushed open the vestibule door. There was no guard! No one stood between him and the president of the United States!”) are simultaneously heart-racing and cheesy. More problematic, particularly for readers who take up this title with prior interest and knowledge, is the utter lack of source notes and citations, without which it is difficult for Swanson to substantiate, for example, his take on actress Laura Keene’s actions after the shooting, or to reconstruct in minute and bloody detail the scene at the Seward residence as Lewis Powell attacked the Secretary of State. Those who have little interest in investigating a paper trail of historical evidence, though, will find this a quick and undeniably exciting pursuit, with the generous inclusion of photographs and period artwork adding to the thrill of the chase.