Life in the Time of COVID-19

Killing Lincoln:  The Shocking Assasination that Changed America Forever  by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard 

I am really not into politics or let’s just say I am not into discussing politics with others. It is a topic that brings out the worst in people and who needs that. That is why when I saw that this book was co-authored by Bill O’Reilly I almost passed it over. His books are usually not the ones I pick up and start reading. But it just so happens that there are a few Presidents that I find extremely interesting to read about.  They are Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Bill Clinton.  That makes two republicans and one democrat.  But it is not their politics that are the thing I find most interesting it is the man himself.

And so one Sunday morning I was reading the Washington Post and in the book section there was a write up on this book.  It peaked my curiosity and so I decided to read the book.  It truly did not disappoint.  The book although non-fiction is extremely interesting to read, not dull and boring like some history books tend to be. But as Bill O’Reilly says it is written as a thriller. The book is engaging from the beginning.  So much so that you actually feel like you are right there in the thick of things.  It starts with the battle of Petersburg and continues of course through the assassination of Lincoln. The Battle scenes were written so that I felt like I was there.  Descriptions of the men and the conditions were so real and captured the emotions, weariness, desperation and at time the elation these soldiers felt.  The authors gave great insight into the psyche and personality of General Grant and Lee as well. Their description of the movement of the conspirators and the President are so well written I felt like I was walking on the streets with them.  I must admit that it does help that I live in the DC area and have been down these streets myself.

At the end of the Civil War Lincoln was the most hated man in America. He received about three hundred pieces of mail per day and many were threats from people who wanted him dead.  In fact according to this book, Lincoln had very strong feeling that he was not going to live.  He taunted death by walking and riding through the streets of DC where anyone could come up to him and do the deed.  He was advised by many people that he was a target but he felt he needed to be close to the people.  He even dreamed of his own death.  To him it seemed it wasn’t if but rather when and somehow he made peace with this knowledge.

And of course what good would a book on the assassination of Lincoln be without going into great detail about the man who did the deed John Wilkes Booth.  This guy was a home grown terrorist.  He felt it was his duty to save the South and the Confederacy and he was the best man for the job.  Being the actor and narcissist that he was he felt this was going to be the greatest role of his life and he did everything he could to make sure that people knew it was him so that he would go down in infamy.  He certainly achieved that. 

The book also touches upon the idea that there was a conspiracy to kill Lincoln.  That aspect always has to be discussed in circumstances such as these just like those that surround the death of President Kennedy.

In closing, I highly recommend this book and when you read it, please come back and leave me your comments.

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