The Day Lincoln Was Shot

Book Review

This book written by Jim Bishop is an hour-by-hour account of what happened on April 14, 1865. "The Day Lincoln Was Shot" begins at 7am. April 14, and closes at 7am., April 15th, 1865. This book opens with President Lincoln getting out of bed worried about a dream in which he saw himself dead.

The author begins by saying, "This is a book about a day, a place and a murder." He starts it all describing the morning of Friday, April 14, 1865. He describes Lincoln as an old frail man who doesn't have much energy for anything. An example he wrote about was when Lincoln came out of his bedroom, faced with desperate men grabbing his arm begging for his help. Lincoln replied, "I'm sorry" and kept on his way. It seems like President Lincoln may be frail and old but his spirit was strong and undefeatable. The author projects him as a man who enjoys the simple things of life. Maybe a bit precise in his own ways, but nonetheless a friendly man. The author tells about so many people that were Lincolns' friends, and so many small details about the days that led up to Lincolns' assassination. He describes the conspiracy as if he was there and almost puts you in the midst of every conversation and every decision made. John Wilkes Booth first decided to get rid of Abraham Lincoln the day after the presidential election of 1864. The author describes Booth as a strong man and somewhat smart. He was emotionally immature but very prideful in his own ways. Booth was a southerner by choice and decided to contribute to the confederacy in a big way. He first decided to capture Lincoln. The author says he had no fear for life. After Booth thought up his schemes, he finally decided upon one. He tested it and perfected his attack. He got his conspirators together and they talked and planned it out. They even had alternative options in case they needed to change any of their plans. The author has such small descriptions of every day and what people did, you can get lost in this book. The author goes through every hour before and after the assassination of Lincoln. He speaks about who talked to who, who ate and drank what, what they were doing, what time they went, etc...It gets somewhat overwhelming to interpret what the author is saying because he has so much detail as if he saw it all. So lets skip every hour until we reach the hour before the murder. It was 9pm outside of Ford's