Killing Lincoln is a vivid retelling of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln written by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard. They detail the assassination from multiple viewpoints, including that of the president and his assassin. It could serve as a useful tool for scholars because the information is presented in a clear, chronological format, collected from multiple resources, and addresses some of the speculation and conspiracies surrounding this heinous act.
It is written by two authors: Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard. O’Reilly is the host of a Fox News program: The O’Reilly Factor. He has received multiple college degrees, including “…his BA in history from Marist College, a Master 's in Broadcast Journalism from Boston University, and a …show more content…
1, 3). He has also written stories for magazines like “Esquire, Outside, Sports Illustrated, and GQ” (“About” par. 6)
“In 1997, Dugard was awarded the Dallas Area Press Club’s Katie Award for Best
Magazine Sports Story” (“About” par. 6). Both of these men have much experience with historical writing and worked well together to recreate the story of Lincoln’s death.
The purpose of Killing Lincoln is to tell the story of the first assassination of an
American president from the view of those whole lived through it. The book begins during the final days of The Civil War. O’Reilly and Dugard describe the harsh conditions that the diminishing Confederate force had to face as the warm was reaching its final days. They detail the brutality of battles such as Sayler’s Creek and the honor of a peaceful surrender at Appomattox Court House (O’Reilly pgs. 67, 82). While none of this directly correlated to the actor John Wilkes Booth, it provides a background for the man’s seething hatred of both the President and the Union. The fourteen days leading up to Lincoln’s death end in an hourly telling of his final day and lead into the massive manhunt for …show more content…
The final pages of the Killing Lincoln list many sources used in or related to the book, but it does not say where they were used in writing.
I would recommend this book, but my recommendation would probably be more for entertainment purposes. It was a very interesting book to read. The style of the book kept me as the reader engaged in the story, and the mention of the conspiracies raised some new questions. The information in the afterword describing the lives of the people who were involved with or impacted by Lincoln’s death proved a fitting conclusion to the story of the first presidential assassination.
I have no doubt that this book contains much accurate and truthful information, but I feel that readers should be fairly cautious if using it for academic research. The structuring of the book was simple and covered not only Lincoln’s death but also parts of the Civil War. That structure, the many sources used, and the authors’ nod to the many conspiracies dealing with the Lincoln assassination could make it a helpful resource for research; however, it should not be the primary source when conducting research on the
It is written by two authors: Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard. O’Reilly is the host of a Fox News program: The O’Reilly Factor. He has received multiple college degrees, including “…his BA in history from Marist College, a Master 's in Broadcast Journalism from Boston University, and a …show more content…
1, 3). He has also written stories for magazines like “Esquire, Outside, Sports Illustrated, and GQ” (“About” par. 6)
“In 1997, Dugard was awarded the Dallas Area Press Club’s Katie Award for Best
Magazine Sports Story” (“About” par. 6). Both of these men have much experience with historical writing and worked well together to recreate the story of Lincoln’s death.
The purpose of Killing Lincoln is to tell the story of the first assassination of an
American president from the view of those whole lived through it. The book begins during the final days of The Civil War. O’Reilly and Dugard describe the harsh conditions that the diminishing Confederate force had to face as the warm was reaching its final days. They detail the brutality of battles such as Sayler’s Creek and the honor of a peaceful surrender at Appomattox Court House (O’Reilly pgs. 67, 82). While none of this directly correlated to the actor John Wilkes Booth, it provides a background for the man’s seething hatred of both the President and the Union. The fourteen days leading up to Lincoln’s death end in an hourly telling of his final day and lead into the massive manhunt for …show more content…
The final pages of the Killing Lincoln list many sources used in or related to the book, but it does not say where they were used in writing.
I would recommend this book, but my recommendation would probably be more for entertainment purposes. It was a very interesting book to read. The style of the book kept me as the reader engaged in the story, and the mention of the conspiracies raised some new questions. The information in the afterword describing the lives of the people who were involved with or impacted by Lincoln’s death proved a fitting conclusion to the story of the first presidential assassination.
I have no doubt that this book contains much accurate and truthful information, but I feel that readers should be fairly cautious if using it for academic research. The structuring of the book was simple and covered not only Lincoln’s death but also parts of the Civil War. That structure, the many sources used, and the authors’ nod to the many conspiracies dealing with the Lincoln assassination could make it a helpful resource for research; however, it should not be the primary source when conducting research on the