The Murder of Abraham Lincoln (Treasury of Victorian Murder) (v. 7)

From Publishers Weekly

This latest volume of Geary's series A Treasury of Murder Books" rel="tag">Victorian Murder is a must-read for those who are only familiar with cursory details of Lincoln's assassination. Geary's meticulous research and vivid illustrations create a fascinating narrative that covers the 62 days between March 4 and May 4, 1865, and provide a wealth of information on murderous thespian and Southern loyalist John Wilkes Booth and his co-conspirators, some of whom backed out of the assassination plot. Geary paints Booth as a man with an exorbitant need for attention and aggrandizement. History shows he achieved the attention he sought, but rather than being hailed as a hero to the South, Booth found himself regarded as an utter villain by those whose favor he hoped to garner. Geary also gives much attention to the bizarre elements of the case, such as Lincoln's ominous dreams of his own death, the strange actions of Secretary of War Edwin McMasters Stanton and the shockingly lax security around the president, all the more alarming when coupled with obvious hints beforehand that something foul was afoot in the capital. With his elegant pen-and-ink art and knack for sifting memorable and unusual details from history, Geary renders this familiar true story in riveting and thorough detail.
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From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up–This book will have even reluctant readers immersed in history. It covers Lincoln's assassination, the events that led up to it, and the aftermath. Geary also makes a point of bringing up still-unanswered questions, like the whereabouts of the missing pages of John Wilkes Booth's journal. Readers will learn many unusual facts, including why the Grants might have declined the Lincolns' invitation to Ford's Theatre and how Booth's body was identified after his death by the initials he had carved into his right hand. Many of the black-and-white drawings are very striking, some filling all or most of a page. Notable images include those of Lincoln's prophetic dream about being assassinated, the removal of Lincoln's brain dislodging the flattened bullet, and Booth being shot while the tobacco barn burned around him. This last image is one of the few instances of fictionalizing (we can't know what Booth looked like at that moment since we don't even know who shot him), but otherwise this is as factual as any book a student would use for research. Readers who were fascinated by the engrossing story of Booth and his family in James Cross Giblin's Good Brother, Bad Brother (Clarion, 2005) will enjoy this graphic novel, but even teens who know nothing about the tragedy will find their heads chock-full of information when they're finished reading this book.–Andrea Lipinski, New York Public Library
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