Definitive Sources

[TRose]

Greetings...a general question. i have read well over 60 books and hundreds and hundreds of articles (many of which came from the surratt courier) on the assassination. foolishly, there have been moments when i have felt i knew everything there was to know...silly boy! Because it only takes mere moments being on this site for me to realize i do NOT. Can anyone who has a few moments please list their top five go-to books/resources on the assassination, please? And, if time permits, why these are must reads? Thanks so much!

[RJNorton]

Hi Tony. I do not have a top 5 - we have so many great authors on this forum - but, IMO, a couple in the category of "don't miss" are Twenty Days and The Web of Conspiracy.

[Eva Elisabeth]

Just to clarify - you are looking for assassination books where you would find lots of sources given?
John Fazio's "Decapitating the Union" compiles many topic-related. "We Saw Lincoln Shot" and "JWB Day-by-Day" would also be amongst the first on my mind.

[Gene C]

It's been a while since I have read them, but I always liked Weichmann's book, the Great American Myth by George Byran, and Lincoln's Assassins by Roy Chamlee. For a more recent good book try They Have Killed Papa Dead by Anthony Pitch.
I'll agree with Roger's mention of 20 Days (that's the classic that got so many of us hooked). I haven't read John Fazio's, so I can't comment on it.

I think these are must reads as they seem to have stood the test of time, were well written (Weichmann got a little tiresome at certain points) and cover well the overall subject of the assassination.
Check out this thread
http://rogerjnorton.com/LincolnDiscussio...d-132.html

Since you have read well over 60, what were your favorite 5?

[TRose]

It's been a while since I have read them, but I always liked Weichmann's book, the Great American Myth by George Byran, and Lincoln's Assassins by Roy Chamlee. For a more recent good book try They Have Killed Papa Dead by Anthony Pitch.
I'll agree with Roger's mention of 20 Days (that's the classic that got so many of us hooked). I haven't read John Fazio's, so I can't comment on it.

I think these are must reads as they seem to have stood the test of time, were well written (Weichmann got a little tiresome at certain points) and cover well the overall subject of the assassination.
Check out this thread
http://rogerjnorton.com/LincolnDiscussio...d-132.html

Since you have read well over 60, what were your favorite 5?

Thank you for your response! I have Twenty Days on my shelf unread so now it's gonna get some usage. They Have Killed Papa Dead will be next! As for the ones I've found the most helpful and thorough, I would say Fortune's Fool, Come Retribution, JWB Day by Day, The Lincoln Murder Conspiracies, and Blood on the Moon. Decapitating the Union is a fascinating read, as well, and really challenged my thoughts on the whole conspiracy. I don't have Chamlee's book, so I guess I'm getting that one! Thanks again for your advice and input!

[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.

[L Verge]

I have to agree completely with Dave's list, especially his comments on American Brutus. While I do not agree with some of Mike's ideas, he has done a massive amount of research on his own as well as benefitting from having known and conversed with some of the Old Masters in the field. Make sure that you read his notes also; they add so much to the overall text. I worry that the average reader has just picked up on (and run with) his theory about Booth's broken leg, ignoring much of the well-documented history that is so much more cogent for true historians.

Coupled with the other suggestions made here, I don't think you can go wrong in developing your own thoughts on our favorite subject. Start reading now, and you should be well-versed in about 1-2 years...!

[RJNorton]

How many Lincoln assassination books are there in total? The one estimate I can recall seeing was by Dr. Ed Steers when he wrote a review essay of Bill O'Reilly's book in 2011. Within his review Ed wrote, "Of the 125-plus books that have been written on Lincoln’s assassination..." And that estimate was 6 years ago!

[J. Beckert]

A must read, in my opinion, is Bill Richter's "Sic Semper Tyrannis - Why John Wilkes Booth Shot Abraham Lincoln". Aptly titled, Bill's book explains exactly why Booth shot Lincoln. It banishes the common and threadbare beliefs that Booth was crazy, a drunkard, failed actor, etc. It delves into the political beliefs of both men (you may be surprised at Lincoln's), which is a good way to get a handle on both of their thinking. It also does so through the lens of their times, which some modern authors can't do without injecting their own modern political leanings.

[L Verge]

A must read, in my opinion, is Bill Richter's "Sic Semper Tyrannis - Why John Wilkes Booth Shot Abraham Lincoln". Aptly titled, Bill's book explains exactly why Booth shot Lincoln. It banishes the common and threadbare beliefs that Booth was crazy, a drunkard, failed actor, etc. It delves into the political beliefs of both men (you may be surprised at Lincoln's), which is a good way to get a handle on both of their thinking. It also does so through the lens of their times, which some modern authors can't do without injecting their own modern political leanings.

I agree, Joe, and I regret having failed to mention it previously. Bill brings a lifetime of critical thinking and research to his writings - some of which are guaranteed to ruffle tail feathers - but, as Joe says above, Bill is so well-versed in total 19th-century society, culture, and politics that he can analyze things from a variety of angles without the modern slant that some current authors give their work.

As for how many books have been published over the years: Well over a decade ago, Blaine Houmes of this forum produced a wonderful compendium of books, articles, pamphlets, etc. that had been written up to that time. We sold it in the Surratt House gift shop until it became outdated. It was very extensive at that time, so we can only imagine that it might have doubled in size since then.

[wpbinzel]

All are great suggestions. The one book that influenced my view of events surrounding Lincoln's assassination more than any other single book is Come Retribution, by Tidwell, Hall and Gaddy. When I first read it in the mid-1990's, it was a game-changer for me. It has also influenced the writing of those who have come along after them. Also, a book that I (and I suspect a lot of others on this Forum) keep at my fingertips is Ed Steers' The Lincoln Assassination Encyclopedia. Not only is it an invaluable reference book, but I have learned a lot of what I did not know that I did not know from reading it.

Someone once told me that while you are doing research, if you find that you have more questions about the topic than when you started, you are doing it correctly.

[Eva Elisabeth]

Weichmann's book is a source itself (although not the most "neutral" as written to self-defend) and well worth reading, too, IMO.

[RobertLC]

In addition to the excellent books that have been listed so far, I will mention two others that I did not notice in the list.

Beware the People Weeping, by Thomas Reed Turner. The author examines public reaction to Lincoln’s assassination.

Secondly, A. Lincoln His Last 24 Hours, by W. Emerson Reck. This book is small, but full of details. It is one of my favorites.

Bob

[Eva Elisabeth]

Secondly, A. Lincoln His Last 24 Hours, by W. Emerson Reck. This book is small, but full of details. It is one of my favorites.

Same here (how could I forget?!) - no other is that complete, stringent and informative on all Abraham Lincoln "experienced" on his last day. Also I second "Sic Semper" is a "must".

[RJNorton]

We've come a long way since Lincoln's Last Day by John W. Starr, Jr. (1922). The books now available on those last hours are so much more complete!