Those who wish James L. Swanson’s MANHUNT offered as much detail on the deaths of John Wilkes Booth’s conspirators as it did on Booth himself will find it in LINCOLN’S ASSASSINS: THEIR TRIAL AND EXECUTION. Co-written with Daniel R. Weinberg, ASSASSINS serves as a coffee-table companion to MANHUNT — still the best nonfiction book of the year — but don’t call it a sequel: Originally released in 2001, it’s being brought back to life in the wake of MANHUNT’s success.

The first 35 pages or so offer a text recap of the true-life tale MANHUNT so compellingly conveys: the murder of President Abraham Lincoln at the hands of Booth, a delusional madman, and his subsequent getaway, which lasted all of 12 days. Those who helped Booth – in planning the act, in botching similar assassinations at the same time and in helping him elude capture – all found themselves targets of an enraged nation calling for their heads to be tied with a loop of strong rope. They got it.

In the 100 pages that remain, Swanson and Weinberg largely let pictures tell the story. Boasting more than 300 images (Swanson has quite the collection of memorabilia), ASSASSINS gives you great insight beyond the standard textbook depiction of the Ford’s Theatre tragedy. This includes newspaper pages with woodcut illustrations, memorial cards (both well-intentioned and opportunistic), reward posters, photos of the conspirators’ weaponry, handwritten letters, court records of the trial and, most tellingly, photos of Booth’s crew. Their stoic faces say it all

Look to ASSASSINS to supplement MANHUNT, not replace it. –Rod Lott

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OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THIS AUTHOR:
• MANHUNT: THE 12-DAY CHASE FOR LINCOLN’S KILLER by James L. Swanson