The wife and I have been watching Manhunt and I would really like to read a book about it too see how far off the show is from what actually happened. I did a little research and nothing really stuck out as being above the rest. Your recommendations are appreciated. Thanks

American Brutus by Michael Kauffman is excellent and pretty complete.

That Manhunt show is a good one.

Killing Lincoln is pretty good, but it's 'pop history.' I wouldn't consider it a 'scholarly' book. That's the only book on the subject I know of. . .

Blood on the Moon: The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln

First portion of the book's preface:

In 1997 the Surratt Society, in Clinton, Maryland, published the Abraham
Lincoln Assassination Bibliography by Blaine V. Houmes. The bibliography was
the first of its kind devoted exclusively to Lincoln's assassination. Listed are
approximately 3,000 entries representing 2,900 journal, magazine, newspaper,
and newsletter articles and 100 monographs. This number represents
roughly 20 percent of the general bibliography (16,000 entries) devoted to
Abraham Lincoln. The majority of the 3,000 "assassination" entries are the
product of nonacademic or avocational historians who drew most of their
material from secondary sources and anecdotal reminiscences that are questionable
or can be shown to be incorrect. Many of the assassination books
that have included primary sources have relied heavily on secondary sources
in their interpretation of the events associated with Lincoln's death.

In Blood on the Moon I have relied principally on primary sources and
sought independent corroboration of the recollections of those persons who
figured prominently in the story. The principal primary sources that form
the core of documents concerned with Lincoln's assassination are found in
Record Group (RG) 153, Records of the Office of the Judge Advocate General,
and Record Group 94, Records of the Adjutant General's Office, located
in the National Archives Record Administration (NARA). These records
are published as microfilm copies (M-599 and M-619 respectively) and are
available from the National Archives as well as several libraries and research
facilities throughout the country.

The principal file, M-599, is known as Investigation and Trial Papers
Relating to the Assassination of President Lincoln or the "Lincoln Assassination
Suspects" (LAS) file. These papers contain a wide range of materials
gathered mostly between April 15 and July 3, 1865. The records consist of
pretrial interrogations, letters offering information, and the verbatim transcript
of the trial proceedings taken down by court reporters skilled in the
use of phonography, a form of shorthand writing.

When researching Lincolns death, be sure to read up on Sgt. Thomas "Boston" Corbett. Credited with shooting John Wilkes Booth. His life before, during and after the war is quite a story.

If you study this subject, be sure to learn about the part played by Lew Wallace, who IMO was a great American not widely known of today.

He was a lawyer before the Civil War, and a Union General commanding troops on the battlefields during the war. After the war he was the military judge who presided over the trials of the Lincoln assassination conspirators. After that he became the governor of the New Mexico Territory, and had direct and personal dealing with Billy The Kid. And then he wrote one of the greatest novels of all time: Ben-Hur.

quote:

Originally posted by MRBTX:
That Manhunt show is a good one.

Yes, we are enjoying it. Brings up different personalities, ideas, and how the manhunt played out. Good show. (On Apple TV)

I always thought Mudd was just a. Country Dr following his Hippocratic oath but in Manhunt he is a very committed Southern sympathizer.

I have a book called 'Twenty Days' by Dorothy Kunhardt and Philip Kunhardt Jr.

Its a large format paperback, seems to be well written and documented

I'd be willing to loan it to you if you promise to return it.

quote:

Originally posted by nhtagmember:
I'd be willing to loan it to you if you promise to return it.

Or get if off Amazon for $3.50.

quote:

Originally posted by nhtagmember:
I have a book called 'Twenty Days' by Dorothy Kunhardt and Philip Kunhardt Jr.

Its a large format paperback, seems to be well written and documented

I'd be willing to loan it to you if you promise to return it.

Thanks let me see if I can get it off Amazon with free shipping.

that works

There’s currently one or two hardbacks and several paperback copies of Blood on the Moon on eBay for $10 or less. I just picked up a copy to add to my Civil War library.