Very interesting juxtaposition of two leaders' respective journeys. ( )

I had hoped the Chase for Jefferson Davis would have similarities to Swanson's earlier book "Manhunt" about the chase for John Wilkes Booth. But as the title implies, this is book includes two loosly connected subjects, one being the loooooooooong description of Lincoln's Funeral and death pageant, and the other a brief and not very dramatic description of the capture of Jefferson Davis. I remain interested in Lincoln's life and administration, but not very interested in the people who arranged for his funeral. The number of nails used to build the grandstands for viewing of Lincoln's funeral might be interesting to trivia fans, but is but one example of unnecessary detail which only lengthened a somewhat dry description. It appeared to me that the historical information available regarding the capture of Jefferson Davis was too limited for a stand alone book, and Swanson tried to tie-in details of Lincoln's death in an failed attempt to fatten up the book and make it more interesting. ( )

Some of the chapters were really interesting, but some were a bit boring because of their repetitiveness. The author didn't really need to recap every little incident that occurred on the train trip with Lincoln's body from Washington to Springfield. So many of the same things happened over and over all along the route. However, it was interesting to see the nation's response to the assassination. Also, the early chapters about the actual assassination, its aftermath, and what was happening with Davis at the time were fascinating. ( )

James Swanson has a talent for taking historical events and making them interesting and lively. Manhunt is one of my favorite non-fiction books, a fast paced and compelling story about the capture of John Wilkes-Booth. In this book, Bloody Crimes, Swanson returns to the post civil war era and focuses on Lincoln’s funeral procession from Washington, DC to Springfield, IL, and the hunt for and capture of Jefferson Davis after Lincoln’s assignation.

While I didn’t find this book quite as compelling as Manhunt, I did learn a lot and wasn’t bored. I knew that Lincoln’s body had been transported by train from DC to IL, but didn’t realize that each stop on the railroad line held their own special events honoring the late President. Swanson also gives lots of back stories about Lincoln’s life and his time as President during the war. He is quite overt in his dislike for Mary Todd Lincoln and has very little, if anything, good to say about her.

Swanson pulls Davis out of modern day obscurity and retells his story of having illustrious military and political (Senator and Secretary of War) careers before becoming President of the Confederacy. He also recounts Davis’ first marriage to a young woman who dies shortly after their wedding day and his second marriage to Varina Howell, whose love letters Swanson thinks are the among the most romantic of all time.

While Swanson likes and respects Lincoln, he believes Lincoln’s stature became exalted once he was assassinated. He seems to have a soft spot for Jefferson Davis and wants people to remember him for the man he really was and for all of the things he did before his Presidency and not just be remembered for being the President of The Lost Cause.

I listened to this on audio cd and thought Richard Thomas did an excellent job reading the book (and didn’t sound like John Boy) and added to the experience.

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Good, very informative. Not quite the same narrative drive as his Manhunt. ( )