Presidential Assassins

[J. Beckert]

Gene came close to my thoughts on Booth except for the rivalry with Edwin. Booth was very successful in his own right. The bi-polar angle might be spot on, but I don't know enough about that. The drinking didn't help things, for sure. One of the most telling things I've read about Booth was how a woman he met in Paris thought he was crazy. Scary crazy. She said he awoke at night to converse with spirits and would pace across the room at night like he was wielding a sword. She wanted nothing else to do with him. I believe, even by today's standards, if he were brought to justice, it would be a given that he was sane enough to stand trial.