The Plot to Kill John Wilkes Booth

[Jim Garrett]

If I die of acute indigestion tonight, blame my death on this horrid little book! I read it while eating dinner (yes, it's that short; but I can't tell you how many pages without counting them because the pages are not numbered!). Another strike against self-published books, although this one was supposedly done by Martian Publishing. I do believe martians had something to do with it. Who else would title one of the pieces "A Conspiracy Theorist's Wet Dream!?"

I have just been subjected to conjectures that Stanton was the mastermind behind kidnapping Lincoln; that the act at Ford's Theatre was intended to be a kidnapping; that John Wilkes Booth had to be silenced so that he could not reveal that Stanton was his boss; that Boston Corbett became John Wilkes Booth and traveled to England, India, Mexico, Oklahoma; that Booth's body was identified in 1869 by removing the boot from his left leg and having the foot come with it because of the broken bone; etc.

And, are you ready for this? Henry Rathbone was the real assassin of Lincoln. It all stemmed from a plot hatched in Troy, New York, a town that the author has everyone coming from - right down to Holt. The problem is, only Boston Corbett appears to have fit that bill.

Icing on the cake includes Clara Harris having an affair with both Booth and President Lincoln (thus giving Rathbone a double motive). Even poor Ward Hill Lamon gets a name change and becomes Lamon Ward in this waste of paper.

I'm sorry if I spoiled the plot for you, but the plot spoiled my dinner! Please don't waste your time and money on this little gem.

I guess it wasn't a total waste of my time and money; I did learn two new words from the book: "ulsterette" (Donna and Rick might already know this term) and "persiflage." Your homework assignment for the night is to define both words.

Thanks for the heads up. I was about to pull the trigger on that book. HAH!