What Books First Made an Impression on You as an Intro to the Assassination?

[BettyO]

We've had so much fun with Theodore Roscoe that I thought it would be fun to try and discover just what books "led" us into Assassination research in the first place.  What books did you read that peaked your interest?

My favorite of all, of course, was Roscoe's Web; second to that was, of course Twenty Days, the quintessential "picture book" of the assassination and then Oldroyd's Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, which I positively loved, as well as Clara Morris' book.  

What are your favorites?

[Linda Anderson]

Your book, Betty!  After I read about the assassination attempt on Seward in Team of Rivals, the next book I read was Alias Paine and then I was hooked.

[chuckciao]

HI Betty,
Your book certainly would be high on the list but I think that Kaufmann's American Brutus is my favorite because it is highly readable, very well organized and is the best at giving me the feel of being there. He is also excellent at imparting many details often left out by other authors.

[Roger Norton]

Betty, most of the books I would cite have already been mentioned. I started reading in the 1960's, so I would add George Bryan's book to those that have already been mentioned by other folks. Another book I like that rarely receives mention is "A. Lincoln: His Last 24 Hours" by W. Emerson Reck.

[Mr Hess]

It started for off with Jim Bishop's book
Then 'Twenty Days' came out and it was lifelong obsession time for me.....

[Mark]

The description in Elizabeth Keckleys book aroused me. Then Dr. Leale's book or paper on the last hours.

[Linda Anderson]

Thank you, Betty, for your gracious compliments.

My husband gave me a Kindle for Christmas but I haven't opened it yet.  I guess now would be a good time!

[JohnE]

Twenty Days did it for me.

[Rob Wick]

For me as a young child it was LeRoy Hayman's The Death of Lincoln, which I got from Scholastic Books probably around 1970 or 1971. As I've stated before, I really didn't intend to focus on Lincoln's assassination, and of the 300-plus books I have on Lincoln, the assassination represents only a small amount. On my Conger blog I once posted what I considered to be the 5 books everyone should have on the assassination and included American Brutus, Blood on the Moon, Beware the People Weeping, The Lincoln Murder Conspiracies and The Great American Myth. If I was to revise that list I would add The Evidence.

Best
Rob

[Mark]

I love my Kindle, Linda.  You'll find so many out of print ebooks for free.

I found Elizabeth Keckleys Behind the Scenes for free. I liked it so much I bought hard copies for family and friends. Its a short quick read.

http://www.archive.org/details/behindscenes00keck

That site has an amazing selection of ebooks.

[Mark]

I'd bet the Nook Color is better than the Kindle for graphics. Thats the shortcoming of the Kindle. I miss the good illustrations.

[Rob Wick]

Actually, rooting the NookColor DOES void the warranty. I work for BN and have had to explain that to several customers who mention that.

Best
Rob

[Rob Wick]

Betty,

We have a couple of employees who have rooted theirs as well, but what the bookseller at your store told you is wrong (and if he/she is telling other people that, their management needs to know because it could cause a big problem if someone brings one back in). We've sold a lot of NookColors since they came out. My biggest problem is having to explain to customers why I don't have one...I can't very well tell them that BN doesn't pay its employees enough to afford one (and we only started getting a discount on them about a month ago).

Best
Rob

[John Stanton]

My introduction to the Assassination is so different from all I read here, I HAVE TO chirp a little. I bought some acreage in King George County that became my farm, in 1980, and scraped  the ground for a septic field. We uncovered belt buckles, bullets, shrapnel, etc. What's This?  A neighbor referred me to a man named William A. Tidwell, who owned and operated a vineyard, nearby. he would know. We arranged a meeting ( no house yet ). When I arrived (from Alexandria) there was another man here, his name was James O. Hall, finally Bill arived. We stood there for hours, while they showd me how Booth (Who He?) came out of the Nanjemoy and went around Mathias Point. They told me this farm was the spycamp.  The first books I read were the King George County Deed books. Then the Potomac Flotilla Log Books. I learned some stuff that they didn't know. The first book I OWNED, was "Come Retribution", only because my name was in it. It all started there, and never eased up. I am so proud of these events and the results, I can't express myself. I'll have to tell you about the "Mail Drop" that I found, and they confirmed,at another time. How can I not continue to research?

[BoothBuff]

Twenty Days for me. I've had it for 30 years, it's falling apart, but what a wealth of information.