Definitive Sources

[Dave Taylor]

I believe that the most "definitive" book out there about the Lincoln assassination is American Brutus: John Wilkes Booth and the Lincoln Conspiracies by Michael W. Kauffman. While there are many wonderful books that have been written about the assassination and there are a few of the older ones that I have an affinity for, I do not feel any other book, past or present, can match American Brutus in terms of research and sheer volume of knowledge. When people ask me which book to read on the Lincoln assassination, I always recommend Kauffman's book because it is, hands down, the best researched book on the subject.

When it comes to learning more on just Booth, then my recommendations are John Wilkes Booth: Day by Day by Arthur F. Loux and Fortune's Fool: The Life of John Wilkes Booth by Terry Alford. Both of these books are wonderful sources to understanding the complex character of John Wilkes Booth. The amount of research and time spent writing these books shines through in every page.

My last three "definitive" books are not ones that you would read cover to cover, but ones that are essential to use when researching different aspects of the Lincoln assassination. They are the trio of edited books that have been put out by William Edwards. All of them are available digitally, which makes it so much easier to use them in research due to the search function. I am constantly using these books in my research:

The Lincoln Assassination: The Evidence edited by William Edwards and Edward Steers

The Lincoln Assassination - The Rewards Files edited by William Edwards

The Lincoln Assassination Trial - The Court Transcripts edited by William Edwards

My other recommendations are some books that do not provide a definitive look at the assassination in general, but provide great focus on one aspect of the story. To delve into other aspects I highly recommend: Alias "Paine": Lewis Thornton Powell, the Mystery Man of the Lincoln Conspiracy by Betty Ownsbey, The Assassin's Accomplice: Mary Surratt and the Plot to Kill Abraham Lincoln by Kate Clifford Larson, Memoirs of Lincoln Conspirator by Samuel Bland Arnold, His Name Is Still Mudd: The Case Against Doctor Samuel Alexander Mudd by Edward Steers, Jr., The Assassin's Doctor: The Life and Letters of Dr. Samuel A. Mudd by Robert Summers, Backstage at the Lincoln Assassination: The Untold Story of the Actors and Stagehands at Ford’s Theatre by Thomas Bogar,Lincoln's Final Hours: Conspiracy, Terror, and the Assassination of America's Greatest President by Kathryn Canavan, In The Footsteps of an Assassin by Michael Kauffman, A True History of the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln and of the Conspiracy of 1865 by Louis J. Weichmann, The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln: Flight, Pursuit, Capture, and Punishment of the Conspirators by Osborn Oldroyd, J. Wilkes Booth: An Account of His Sojourn in Southern Maryland After the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, His Passage Across the Potomac, and His Death in Virginia by Thomas A. Jones, and at some date in the future (I hope) Inside the Walls: The Final Days of the Lincoln Conspirators by Barry Cauchon and John "Jeff" Elliott. I'm sure there are, many, many other books that I can't think of right now that delve deeply into specific aspects of the Lincoln assassination. There are also a plethora of books about the Booth family, if you're interested.

That's my two cents on the matter, anyway. To me, American Brutus is the most definitive but we are lucky to have many wonderful books on the subject.