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50 Book Challenge #3: Manhunt

By "Milbarge" and "Fitz-Hume"

Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer by James L. Swanson. (Amazon, B&N, Powell's) This one is pretty much exactly what the title says: a very thorough, detailed, researched telling of the aftermath of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. It's really more about John Wilkes Booth's flight than it is about the hunt for him, but there's plenty of detail about his pursuers. And let's face it -- Booth was fascinating, and became ever larger than life every day he eluded capture. He and his co-conspirator David Herold, who was on the run with Booth, are especially well-developed, but Swanson provides many asides about the other characters in this drama.

I think the Lincoln assassination still reverberates partly because the entire event was so dramatic -- literally staged. It was the stunning climax of the nightmarish Civil War. I also wonder if the Lincoln assassination helps make it easier for modern-day nuts to believe conspiracy theories. Lincoln's murder, of course, really was part of a conspiracy -- first to kidnap the President, later to murder him -- arranged by a small group with limited resources, and actually only part of an attempted coup. Of course, things were a little different then. Still, I think there's something there. It's not really part of the book, but it's interesting to see how close the conspirators came to pulling off their plan.

Finally, one quibble that almost rises to the level of a criticism. Swanson a couple of times refers to a rebel soldier who betrays Booth's location as "Booth's Judas." I thought it was a little curious to essentially compare Booth to Jesus, but I wrote it off to an overcooked literary device. But then Swanson relates that Herold denied being a part of the conspiracy when he was captured, and in fact claimed a few times not to know Booth at all. Swanson alludes to Peter denying Christ three times. That was enough for me, but Swanson tops it off by explicitly equating Booth to Jesus when he asks for water after being shot by Union cavalrymen. Come on! One or two of these allusions might have been forgettable, but together they seemed jarring and took me out of the climax of the book. Swanson clearly reveres Lincoln, so it's an odd choice in an otherwise fine book.

Anyway, I liked Manhunt, and despite the wealth of detail, it's quite readable. But it's probably only necessary for big Lincoln or Civil War completists.

(Previous 50 Book Challenge reviews)

Full post as published by Begging the Question on January 25, 2008 (boomark / email).