Manhunt by James L. Swanson (2006)

Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer by James L. Swanson (2006)

As we near the end of the year, I’m finally able to finish up the remnants of our annual Siblings’ Book Club, and I had been greatly looking forward to this historical narrative of the Lincoln assassination. James L. Swanson does not disappoint in this gripping account.

Note: this post includes Amazon affiliate links.

Book Cover Manhunt by James L. Swanson (2006)

Manhunt: One of Two Fantastic Books on the Lincoln Assassination

I can’t continue with this review without first referencing the only other great book I’ve read on this topic, Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever by Bill O’Reilley and Martin Dugard (2011). Both books are rife with detail and absorbing to anyone with an ounce of historical interest or patriotism, but they also come at the event from different angles.

Whereas Killing Lincoln emphasizes the emotions and events that led up to the assassination—and the assassination itself and its aftermath—Manhunt obviously draws our attention exclusively to the hunt for John Wilkes Booth. The lead-up and killing are but a two-chapter preamble. Taken together, these two books are like a powerful one-two punch of dramatic adventure, absorbing and instructive.

Some Things I Learned

James L. Swanson seems to remove himself entirely from this historical narrative, giving us facts and oh so many quotations from original sources. It’s nice in a way, to know we’re getting history unfiltered through an opinionated voice. It allows us to relive the event, almost as if we were there tracking it day by day in person, all the way up to that 12th victorious sunrise.

I learned a few things that I must have missed in my other readings. For example, I wasn’t aware that Lincoln was killed on Good Friday, and that many pastors from the pulpit begrudged his choice of activities that day—attending a theater rather than a church—even while he lay dying.

I also learned that Booth wrote a full manifesto that he hoped would be published in the days following the murder. He waited patiently in those bushes for his words, his purpose to be revealed, but they never were. Thankfully we get to peek into his diary from those 12 days on the run. It’s an insightful albeit uncomfortable exercise to enter the man’s delusion.

Scenes from the Past, Shades of the Present

Throughout this book, I was floored both by the way John Wilkes Booth viewed himself and the way many of his partners viewed his crime. Booth saw himself as a hero, and others suggested that his act was a necessary evil. Sound familiar?

The past two years have seen more assassination attempts on American soil than we’ve seen in 60 years. Names like Luigi Mangione, Thomas Matthew Crooks, Ryan Routh, Cody Balmer, and Tyler James Robinson are just more anti-hero loser names we’ve added to the list of American assassins.

Take this book-opening quote from John Wilkes Booth. How closely does this reflect how the Far Left currently feel about Donald Trump—or Charlie Kirk—for that matter?

This man’s appearance, his pedigree, his coarse jokes and anecdotes, his vulgar similes, and his policy are a disgrace to the seat he holds . . . he is . . . the tool of the North, to crush out, or try to crush out slavery, by robbery, rapine, slaughter and bought armies . . . a false president yearning for a kingly succession . . .

—JOHN WILKES BOOTH TO HIS SISTER AT A PRIVATE HOME SHORTLY BEFORE PRESIDENT LINCOLN’S REELECTION IN NOVEMBER 1864

History is cyclical, so it’s perhaps no surprise that hatred still reigns in the hearts of men, but it’s hard to believe so many today still view violence as the only means of silencing those with whom they disagree. In 2025, the media and elected officials fan the flames of unrest. In the 1960s, perhaps it was the professors and celebrities. In Lincoln’s day, it was the Southern sympathizers and racists.

And what a shock it was to read (several times, in fact) the published warnings that those who would celebrate Lincoln’s death would be considered accessories after the fact and subject to arrest! We wouldn’t have enough prison space in the Western Hemisphere to handle the celebrants on Bluesky and X in the wake of Trump’s attempted assassinations and Charlie Kirk’s death. Goodness, even James Comey has publicly called for Trump’s execution through his not-so-subtle shell game.

The world is a sick place, not because murder still happens, but because people celebrate when it does. I quote Charlie Kirk himself here:

You can tell a lot about a person by how they react when someone dies. (Charlie Kirk)

The fact of the matter is the sickness the world experiences can be diagnosed: Sin. It has it symptoms, murder being just one. But it also has a cure—and I encourage people to get serious about learning what that cure is by reading this article: “The Gospel of Jesus in Six Minutes.”

Conclusion

This was a gripping book, and it’s been exciting to relive this event. Even though I’ve read other books and seen documentaries on this very subject, it somehow never gets old. It’s hard to say why—I don’t particularly love death! But I do love the mystery. I love the hunt. And of course I love justice, and in incredible tale, Booth got his.

Now here’s to hoping for the same for those who’ve committed similar crimes recently…or who are planning to try again.

Want more? Get Elliot’s Weekly Digest.

Manhunt: One of Two Fantastic Books on the Lincoln Assassination

Some Things I Learned

Scenes from the Past, Shades of the Present

Conclusion

Read More Books Written by and about U.S. Presidents:

Like this:

What do you think?Cancel reply

Categories

Recent Posts