Lincoln's Assassins: Their Trial and Execution

This is a wonderful addition to the book collection of any reader of Lincoln or civil war history. I have studied the story of the Lincoln conspirators for nearly 20 years, and have read a lot of fine material on the subject, but this book contains amazing photos I did not know existed. Where one may have seen a single picture of the conspirators or their July 1865 hanging.......this book contains pages and pages of photos of them, taken shortly before their execution, often from the original glass negatives. Of course, it also contains a vivid narrative of their trial and last moments. Others have written superb accounts of these events. This book is "worth it just for the photos."

In this fascinating book, an accomplished author teams up with an avid Lincoln-ologist to produce an excellent work. This book has a fascinating account of the capture, trial and (in some cases) execution of John Wilkes Booth's fellow "conspirators," and an excellent collection of pictures and reproductions of important documents. Overall, I found this to be an excellent book. It has just enough text to be highly informative on the conspirators, without getting bogged down in minutiae. Also, it keeps a level-headed approach to the assassination throughout, eschewing the kind of theorizing that marks too many books on the subject. Yep, I highly enjoyed this colorful and highly readable book, and give it my highest recommendations!

This is a truly excllent monograpraph with some intriguing photographs and commentary not available before this account. This is a beautiful treatment of what happened to the almost mystical and undeniably lunaticical cadre of villains responsible for one of America's most horrifying and haunting domestic events. Like everything else that this dark chapter in US history provokes, these pictures catapult the reader back onto the streets of Washington D.C. where you stand as witness to this shocking tale.

"They are forgotten now, long buried in their graves." So begins this compelling pictorial book on the trial and execution of Lincoln's assassins. The photographs are excellent and have a way to drawing the reader back into the 19th century. People who were relatively unknown jump off the pages as flesh and blood who plotted one of the most evil deeds in our nation's history. Take time to read the copies of handwritten letters that Swanson has included. Written in cursive (a style that is almost lost in the 21st century), the letters bring the characters to life. Swanson and Weinberg's work is an important piece of our national history.

On April 13th I went on a John Wilkes Booth Escape Route tour inClinton, Maryland, and just by sheer luck, Mr. Swanson was in attendance and though it was the 3rd time I'd been on the tour, it was the best. He is a most enthralling person and though I didn't know who he was for almost an hour, he was obviously very knowlegeable on the subject of the assassination. He was kind enough to sign a copy of his book for me that I purchased in the Surratt Society bookstore and wrote a very lengthy and personal note in it-but I'm rambling- The book is simply fabulous-The text is extremely informative and the photos are the best I've ever seen-some are very rare and have never been published before-This book is a MUST for anyone interseted in either the Civil War or the Lincoln assassination- it's definitley top drawer and well worth ever cent-I can't recommend it highly enough!