Bloody non-fiction

I do most of my library book selection on-line. I submit book requests and when the automated telephone system calls to tell me the books are in (the Maricopa County inter library loan system draws from 17 libraries) I go to the Southeast Regional Library closest to home and pick them up. I hardly ever browse amongst the shelves, but I always swing by the shelf holding the newest non-fiction on my way to automated checkout. This is where I have found some most interesting books. Both of these books were on the shelf a couple of weeks ago. How could I pick up one and not the other?

"My Thoughts be Bloody" was fascinating as it told the story of the Booth family and their acting tradition. John Wilkes Booth's father, Junius, was the most famous Shakespearean actor of his day, thus the author's quoting of Shakespeare in the title. The author, Nora Titone, is also an expert in 19th century history and this book is a treasure trove of many interconnected historical events leading up to the Civil War and assassination of Abraham Lincoln. It is also a psychological family drama. John Wilkes' older brother, Edwin, is the true heir of their father's talent and famous in his own right as the foremost Shakespearean actor of his time. John is one who does not recognize or honor boundaries and who is constantly in trouble and in need of financial help. The book begins in early 1800's England and ends with the Booth family's horror at the dastardly deed done by one of their own.

Poor Glen! We were on a road trip last week and I was constantly bombarding him with new information about 19th century America. Truly a fascinating read.


James Swanson wrote "Manhunt" which tells the story of John Wilkes Booth and Lincoln's assassination but also the 12 day hunt for Booth through Maryland and Virginia. I read and enjoyed it sometime ago. A movie based on "Manhunt" is currently in production.

"Bloody Crimes" is his second book and it juxtaposes the lives and final journeys of Abraham Lincoln, President of the Northern States and Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States during the final days of the Civil War. It includes detailed events following the assassination of Lincoln, funeral in Washington, D. C., and the funeral train which carried Lincoln's body across the northern states back to Springfield, Illinois. It also describes Davis' journey through the south after Richmond falls as he tries to evade capture during the same time period. This was indeed an incredulous time in the history of the United States of America. The book continues on to describe Jefferson Davis' two year imprisonment, long life back in Mississippi, death at age 80, and his own funeral train ride through the south back to final burial in Richmond, Virginia.

I learned that Lincoln and Davis were just 10 months apart in age, both tall and rangy in build, both extremely bright and well thought of by their peers, both losing their first loves at a very young age whom they mourned grievously, and who both lost young sons through sickness and accident during the Civil War. They lived in Washington, D. C. during the same time period in the 1840's but no record exists of them ever meeting in person.

It seems appropriate that I was reading these two books during the week of Lincoln's birthday. I highly recommend both books to anyone interested in this time period.