Description: On April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth shot President Abraham Lincoln, who died the following day. It was the first assassination of an American president, and the murder horrified and sickened the public. Although many Americans demanded immediate retribution for this shocking crime, the rapid roundup of suspects, their trials, and their punishments -- especially the executions of Mary Surratt, Lewis Paine, George Atzerodt, and David Herold -- eventually enraged most citizens. They wondered aloud about the proceedings. Had the witnesses told the truth in the courtroom? Had all of the evidence been made public? Were others besides the accused involved in the Lincoln murder plot? If so, who were they?

There are many books on Lincoln, but this is the first to examine the plot and the conspirators carefully. Zeinert explores the repercussions of their trials in the struggle between the legislative and executive branches of government during Reconstruction. As in her other books, she quotes liberally from first-person sources such as Booth's diary, the testimony of witnesses, letters, accounts by others involved, and President Andrew Johnson. And finally, she follows the twists and turns of conspiracy theory over the ensuing 100 years that have involved such figures as Pope Pius IX, Secretary of War Stanton, over twenty Booth imposters, and even a plot to snatch Lincoln's body.

This book will give young people not only the thrilling read of a true detective story, but a good grasp of how a society in straits reacts to a cataclysmic event. And, finally, they can judge for themselves: Was justice served in the aftermath of Lincoln's assassination?

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