A. Lincoln: His Last 24 Hours

I have had A. Lincoln: His Last 24 Hours by W. Emerson Reck laying around the house for years. I'm sorry that it took so long to read this little gem. So much has been written about Lincoln and his assassination, but very little dedicated to his last day of life. Knowing this, Reck was encouraged by Illinois State Historical Library staff member, Marion Dolores Pratt, to correct this oversight. This project took over 30 years to come to fruition. Reck's search was made more difficult by the fact that "No schedule of appointments or meetings was kept, and newspapers of the day provided little or no information about the President's activities." Reck tried to flesh-out Lincoln's last day with the assistance of articles, personal letters, diaries, court transcripts, etc. He has tried his best to provide a time-line of what Lincoln did, who he met with, what were his thoughts, etc. throughout this fateful day. Even so, we will never know all the answers as there were so many discrepancies in what people saw and reported. One witness claimed to have seen Tad Lincoln riding with his parents in the afternoon (Tad was not present). Witnesses at Ford's Theatre continually contradicted each other. One patron said the theatre "was packed to the walls" while another claimed that "only a fair-sized crowd turned out." In the room where Lincoln died, there could have been anywhere from 11 to 47 people--it varied with each witness. What I especially liked about A. Lincoln" His Last 24 Hours were the facts and anecdotes that were new to me. For instance, in carrying Lincoln out of Ford's Theatre, his doctors wanted him moved next door to the Star Saloon. Owner Taltavull had the sense to stop them with the words "'It shouldn't be said that the President of the United States died in a saloon.'" Reck's book is a must-have for any Lincoln scholar and I'm glad that I have it for my Lincoln collection.

This book captures the readers attention and takes him on a step by step discourse of the hours before Lincoln's assassination. A very sad image is presented in the book because it's obvious Lincoln's last day of life may have been his happiest day of life. Lincoln was overcoming the anxieties of war, but was cut down when he had a handle on life. In this book the reader learns of the threats to the president's life and what could have been done to prevent Lincoln's death. Infortunately in 1865 all Booth needed to end the president's life was a passion against Lincoln. Great book!

I, too, purchased this book at Ford's Theatre. At first, I thought it would be one of those whodunnit books, but I was wrong. The author obviously put alot of effort, time & research into the book. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I finished the entire book during the plane ride back to Los Angeles. I lent it to my family members and they, too, enjoyed it!

History books must reach into the past to pull forward a tangible, feeling portrait of those who have lived before us. A. Lincoln: His Last 24 Hours is a brilliant account of a ever researched, fascinating topic. America may know the general idea of the Lincoln assasination, but this book reaches into the depths of a life that seems to come together in the course of one day. The life of America's greatest president was turbulent from its foundation, and a peace settled into the man who had an ironic foreshadowing of his own death. After reading this account, one can argue that Linocln was so relaxed, joyful and relieved. This may be due to the fact that he knew his life and accomplishments had run their course and he, along with the Unified country he fought so hard to solidfy was on the right track. Lincoln walking alongside the women in the garden admiring his beloved lemon tree, cavorting cheerfully with the energy-draining Mary Todd, and defiance in wanting to attend "Our American Cousin" are just some of the vignettes presented in luxurious vividity. All in all, one of the most entertaining reads I have had the pleasure to experience. A masterful look into a world past.

I bought this book at Ford's Theatre. I wish I had read it before seeing the murder scene. The strength of the book is its explanations of some of the myths associated with the crime. The author presents reasonable facts as to why certain events occurred that have been twisted and theorized in other articles. Another strong point is the re-creation of the day leading up to the visit to the theatre. One small irritating weakness was the presentation of several conflicting observations that still left me with doubts as to what really happened. I had the book read by the time I returned home from my 800 mile car trip to Washington. I could not put it down!