Today, there is a tremendous and an apparently overwhelming amount of literature about Lincoln’s assassination. Even then, James L. Swanson’s “Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer” does not induce skepticism among those who are interested in knowing more about this tragic event in American history because he offers them something new. In fact, Swanson approaches this material with a rationally new angle. Many Americans are under the misconception that John Wilkes Booth, a successful actor, was devastated by the victory of the Union in the Civil War and assassinated Lincoln, who had been elected as the U.S. president for the second time, in a fit of rage. Of course, this is simply a misconception, and clarifying this misconception is one of the things that Swanson manages to accomplish in his book. Americans who believe that Booth assassinated Lincoln because he was “nuts” really need to read Swanson’s book and find out the truth.
Most storytellers shy away from recalling this sprawling narrative. However, Swanson quite competently enters the minds of Booth and the others who conspired with him in Lincoln’s assassination, and he analyzes their emotions, motives and sympathies. Many co-conspirators ultimately became a part of Booth’s plan, which was initially something entirely different than the assassination that was ultimately carried out. Swanson clarifies to his readers that Lincoln’s assassination that carried out on April 14, 1865 was originally a kidnapping plot. Swanson agrees that Lincoln's history was definitely not brief or concise, however, he also adds that even Booth had a complicated history, especially considering the fact that he came from a distinguished family of some of the finest stage actors of that era. An ironic fact that Swanson reveals about Booth is that Junius Brutus Booth, Wilkes Booth’s father and an actor specializing in tragic roles, had once joked that he would assassinate President Andrew Jackson.
Perhaps the maneuvers and motives of Booth and his cohorts may have been analyzed more piercingly and thoroughly in works by authors published several years ago. Moreover, perhaps Swanson's version of the tragic event does not manage to exceed the perspicacity and poignancy of these works from the past. However, he does manage to successfully rationalize the aftermath of the assassination into a version that depicts an action-adventure angle of the events. Swanson has written “Manhunt” in such a manner that readers of all tastes can easily delve into the narrative and the non-fictional drama that actually took place pervades throughout the book. In fact, the emphasis of the book is the last twelve days of John Wilkes Booth, his journey to evade getting caught, his eventual capture by a heroic cavalry officer, and his ultimate demise. Swanson uses his scrupulous research to add captivating details to the historical events during those twelve days after Lincoln’s assassination.
After reading “Manhunt,” it becomes evident that Swanson must have conducted a great deal of research for this book, and his account of the assassination and the aftermath that followed that is contained in this book is quite vivid. Today, no American could imagine someone walking into a crowded theater, shooting the American President in the back of his head, jumping down from the balcony, and getting away with it. Of course, this is what Booth exactly did, and to some readers this may actually seem fascinating. In his historical account, Swanson specifically traces Booth’s footsteps from the moment he left the Ford Theater in Washington D.C. after the assassination up to his capture in the Garret Farm in eastern Virginia, emphasizing the extent to which Booth tried to evade his pursuers. Once Booth’s meets his death, Swanson begins concluding his narrative, mentioning the fate of his co-conspirators, the ones who were hanged and those who were spared.
Throughout his book, Swanson not only gets his readers excited but also makes sure that the events he describes simple enough to understand for them. He is aware of the turf he is treading on; however, at times he tends to transverse it with superficial plausibility. Swanson’s “Manhunt” is clear and vigorous, and he does not sacrifice accuracy and at the same time he does not seem to pursue it vigorously either. Swanson succeeds at offering a constantly changing overview of the story in 400 pages, even though describing it in serious detail would take a lot more space. Swanson makes it very clear why he wrote this book. He uses the word “manhunt” in the book quite frequently. The language that Swanson uses to describe Booth has a modern ring to it, and the result is that at times it seems that Swanson is actually praising Lincoln’s assassin, not for what he did, rather for who he was.
James L. Swanson’s “Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer” is a fascinating account and narrative of one of the most chronicled event in American history. Swanson’s main purpose behind writing this book is to shed some new light on the leading characters of this particular story, namely John Wilkes Booth, and those who conspired with him and those who pursued him until his capture. Even when the story begins to near its end with Booth cornered in the barn, Swanson still manages to stir up the tension of those final moments. However at the same time, at least initially in the book, Booth also provides his readers with an overview of the political area in Washington, D.C., after the Civil War came to an end. Perhaps, Swanson depicts Booth as a larger than life figure; however, he does not sympathize with the assassin, and simply makes an attempt shed light on his last twelve days from a different angle.
Works Cited
Swanson, James L. Manhunt, The 12-Day Chase For Lincoln's Killer. 1st ed. New York: Harper Perennial, 2007. Print.
