Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard - Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination That Changed America Forever

87. Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination That Changed America Forever by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard (2011)
The Killing Series Book 1
Length: 336 pages
Genre: Non-Fiction
Started: 13 October 2012
Finished: 16 October 2012
Where did it come from? From Amazon
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 6 December 2011
Why do I have it? Mareena bought this book as an early Christmas present for me last year, along with eight other ebooks which she downloaded on to her Kindle for me to read.

The American Civil War was an incredibly bloody four year long conflict, that mercifully came to an end in the spring of 1865. Amid the tremendous toll suffered by both sides, President Abraham Lincoln's generous terms for Robert E. Lee's surrender are devised to fulfill President Lincoln's dream of healing a divided nation. The former Confederates were allowed to reintegrate into American society with no ostensible repercussions to be visited upon them by the populace.

Simmering hatred and resentment still bubbled among a few members of society, even as America began the slow process of reconstruction and healing from her battle wounds. John Wilkes Booth - a popular stage actor, charismatic ladies' man and impenitent racist - gathers around himself a similar group of four angry and resentful men who simply could not tolerate the outcome of the Civil War and the fact that Abraham Lincoln was President of the United States. A plot to kidnap President Lincoln, as well as several members of his cabinet, changed to an assassination plot on the night of April 14, 1865.

On a night of what was meant to be joyous celebration, Abraham Lincoln, his wife Mary Todd Lincoln and a group of their closest friends and acquaintances went to Ford's Theater to watch a performance of the play, Our American Cousin. At precisely 10 o'clock that night, one gunshot changed America's future irrevocably. A furious eleven-day manhunt ensued, as John Wilkes Booth became America's number one most wanted fugitive.

I really enjoyed this book. It was very engrossing for me, and was a book that I have wanted to read ever since it came out last year. I have always thought that I should increase my knowledge of American history, as I have been a naturalized American citizen since 1989. As I read this book, I found myself - a definitely staunch supporter of the Union - sympathizing with the Confederacy, because of the immense hardships that the soldiers of the South faced and struggled through during the Civil War. If I may say, as General William Tecumseh Sherman did in an address to the graduating class of the Michigan Military Academy on June 19, 1879 - War is Hell! - for both the victors of any war, as well as for those who are defeated.

I would give Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination That Changed America Forever by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard an A+! This book might not have been as interesting to me as my favorite book from September, Henry and Clara by Thomas Mallon was, but both books were so close together in terms of my rating system, that the difference between them was barely noticeable to me. I give this book five shiny gold stars! :)

A+! - (96-100%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight