Read this one

In 84 Charing Cross Road, Helene Hanff noted that she only read non-fiction. She could get all the drama, comedy and tragedy she needed out it, with the added satisfaction that it truly happened. There are a number of authors, like Hampton Sides and Sebastian Junger, who can make a historical event far more exciting than any thriller. Working in nonfiction allows you to tell an exciting story, but to also connect it to larger issues. James Swanson's Manhunt is an excellent example of this.

The book subtitled the 12 Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer and it really is about the day of the assassination, the twelve day chase and the aftermath for those touched by the chase. While it starts off a bit slow as it introduces us to John Wilkes Booth, as soon as Lincoln arrives at Ford's Theater, the book becomes intensely gripping. Swanson makes a point that Booth was an actor, and that he acted theatrically whenever possible, even to his great detriment in his attempted escape. After one Virginian doctor refused to give him shelter, he took the time to pen a flowery letter condemning the doctor for his treachery. He did this with the cavalry hot on his trail.

The dramatic theme extends to the book's structure which switches from Booth and his naive crony David Herrold, to Secretary of War Stanton who led the chase, to the various seekers, to the conspirators and to the people Booth met along the way. Swanson highlights the near misses and the dramatic details. We see how Booth talked his way past the guards of the bridge out of Washington, how he hid in the woods and how he got lost on the Potomac River.

Those who helped Booth didn't turn out so well. One who helped him was Maryland Southern sympathizer Dr. Samuel Mudd. Mudd vacillated between helping someone with whom he supported and the protection of his family. He was eventually jailed on a isolated fort in what is now the Dry Tortugas National Park. Swanson notes that Mudd's family began a propaganda effort to say he really didn't help Booth at all and was mistreated. As I recall, the Park presented the Mudd family view. Swanson argues that Mudd actually tried to help Booth, but then realized this would cost him so concocted a story to clear his name.

This is the most entertaining book I have read in a long time.