Chasing Lincoln's Killer (2009)

Author: James L. Swanson | Page Count: 208

Chasing Lincoln's Killer is a novel about not just President Lincoln's assassination, but also the entire conspiracy behind it and of course the ensuing manhunt. Following many participants, we see the story unfold from the planning to well past the manhunt and trials of the guilty parties. The text presents the story as a more contemporary suspense novel rather than a history lesson, but still uses many details from transcripts and diaries of the participants as well as numerous photos from the period depicting many things from newspaper articles to actual photos of the conspirators. We learn a bit about how they felt about the events they were a part of.

What we don't really see in the novel is more of the historical causes and such that precipitated and allowed this tale to happen. This dumbing down is necessary for the books intended audience of young teenagers, so I can't really fault it for that. Don't want to scare the kiddies with the boring nuts and bolts behind the words. The book is well-paced and easy to read not just because of Swanson's writing, but also the layout itself. The big font and spaces are also intended to make it easier for a younger audience without the reading skills to handle a regular novels' length and small text. The book would be half the length otherwise.

Interesting subject matter written in an easily digestible style over 14 chapters that could serve as a launching point for the curious to learn more on their own.

3 Booth could have just strolled into the White House out of 5

The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors (2004)

Author: James D. Hornfischer | Page Count: 427

“In no engagement in its entire history has the United States Navy shown more gallantry, guts and gumption than in those two morning hours between 0730 and 0930 off Samar.” - Samuel Eliot Morison.

Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors recounts the events of October 25, 1944 in the Battle off Samar; one of the greatest military mismatches in naval history. Read how the tiny US task unit Taffy 3 came to face the powerful Japanese Center Force including the famous Yamato; the largest battleship ever put to sea and larger than all the American ships combined. The sailors of Taffy 3 fought a desperate battle using anything and everything at their disposal to keep the Japanese from reaching their objective which was to disrupt the invasion forces at Leyte Gulf. As part of a larger strategy, this would keep the US from taking the strategically important and resource-rich Philippines.

James D. Hornfischer writes a narrative that is crisp and engrossing which is a nice change from some other military histories that are often too rigid for their own good. Pictures and diagrams give a clear picture of the larger battle while the story provides a more personal point of view from various sailors. One stand out example is two sailors going down a hallway when an explosion rocks the ship. One looks over to his shipmate he was speaking to only moments ago… and sees his headless body walk several paces before collapsing. One of many things that sailors experienced.

If military history is your thing, you can’t do much better than this tale of courage in the face of hopeless odds.

4 torpedoed cruisers out of 5