An Unofficial 'The Rest Is History' Reading List

591. The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln: Manhunt for the Killer (Part 2)

August 13, 2025

Description

How was President Abraham Lincoln murdered on Good Friday 1865, at Ford’s Theatre, just five days after Robert E. Lee’s surrender? Who was John Wilkes Booth, the racist actor with southern...
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Books Referenced

American Brutus

Author: Michael Kaufman

Context:

Described as 'an actually brilliant book on John Wilkes Booth' that provides detailed accounts of the assassination, including evidence about the peephole in the presidential box and Booth's final moments. Kaufman's thesis is that Booth was fundamentally an actor who lived in make-believe and constructed a dramatic persona for himself.