Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Killing Lincoln

My goal is to read 100 books by the end of 2013.  I just finished book 13.

Killing Lincoln by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard
Summary:  This books covers in great detail the time of April 1 - April 26, 1865, including the last few battles of the Civil War, Lee's surrender, the assassination of President Lincoln, and the manhunt for John Wilkes Booth.

I love history, and this book was absolutely fascinating.  I was amazed at how thrilling it was - I knew the North would win and Lincoln would die, but the details were so complete that it felt like I was right there.  I even stopped reading the book just as Booth was entering Lincoln's box at the theater, my heart pounding, as if the assassination wouldn't happen if I didn't read about it (I was able to keep the book closed for 5 minutes before finishing the entire thing in one sitting).  The book was well-researched and well-written.

A must-read for anyone with the slightest interest in history.  I can't wait to read "Killing Kennedy" by the same authors.

Quote of the Blog:
"If I am killed I can die but once, but to live in constant dread is to die over and over again." ~ Abraham Lincoln

3 comments:

  1. I am fascinated by the life of Abraham Lincoln, but am not sure that I could get past the fact this book is written by an egomanical jerk. But, maybe I'll give it a go.

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  2. There was no personal opinion or current day analyzing, which was a very pleasant surprise. Although I believe he wrote it because he seems too controlling to have other people's words in his mouth, it was not obvious based on the book itself.

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  3. I was with Mandi - but if you say it's not full of crazy politico I will give it a shot.

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