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L Verge · (This post was last modified: 12-09-2015 06:12 PM by L Verge.)

A new book on the 1865 Conspiracy Trial is now available. Avenging Lincoln's Death: The Trial of John Wilkes Booth's Accomplices by Thomas J. Reed has been published by Rowman & Littlefield and Fairleigh Dickinson University Press and is selling for $75. Because of the steep price, the Surratt Society (of which Dr. Reed is a member) will publicize the book in the February newsletter, but not sell it in the gift shop at Surratt House.

Skimming the contents (book just arrived on my desk today), it is well-organized under a variety of topics familiar to assassination students who have studied the various aspects of the military commission. The author assisted lawyer Candida Ewing Steel in 1997 with the Mudd efforts to "Free Dr. Mudd" and went on to teach classes on the Lincoln assassination. It was from his students, that Dr. Reed got the encouragement to write this book.

BettyO · (This post was last modified: 12-10-2015 06:23 AM by BettyO.)

Just looking through it on Amazon, I found errors - to wit: he has Powell enlisting in the "First Florida Infantry." Cue the buzzer... Wrong! Powell was in the 2nd Florida Infantry, Company I, Hamilton Blues. Also states that Powell "deserted." I seriously doubt that someone as fanatically devoted to "The Cause" as Powell seemed to be, ever "deserted."

Don't know why people can't seem to get the simple known or apparent facts straight! Sorry, but not worth $75.00.....better to put my 75 bucks toward the conference this spring!

Gene C · 12-10-2015, 07:02 AM

I agree with Betty, based upon a quick review of the Amazon web page for the book.
http://www.amazon.com/Avenging-Lincolns-...%27s+death

The product detail shows 246 pages. If you click on the image of the book, "look inside", the table of contents shows there are fewer than 170 pages of text, slightly less than 70% of the books total printed pages. The book does have an extensive index of over 35 pages, that seems a lot for only 170 pages.

Based upon the table of contents this book appears to take a legal view of the case and trial of the conspirators, with the last chapter entitled An Unconstitutional, Unfair Trial.