True story: A college history class was so bad that I changed my major to avoid taking another one - and changed the course of my career (for the better, fortunately, but that's another story). Suffice it to say I'm not a history buff. So why in the world would I even consider reading a book like this?Good question, and three answers come to mind: First, I'm familiar with, and respect the work of, the authors; second is an enticing title and description. The third is perhaps happenstance; being mostly stuck at home to avoid catching the deadly COVID-19 and thus having time to read more books than usual, I simply needed a break from the mystery/thrillers that I favor almost to the exclusion of other genres.
Now that I've finished this one, I've come to a couple of conclusions: First of all, this is a well-written, easy-to-read and informative book. It also made me realize that I should venture outside my reading comfort zone more often. Put another way, maybe - just maybe - I don't hate history nearly as much as I thought I did.
As the subtitle suggests ("The Secret Plot to Kill America's 16th President - and Why It Failed"), there was a little-known plan to assassinate Abraham Lincoln before he could be inaugurated - in fact, as he traveled to Washington, D.C., for the event. It's no secret that many Americans, especially those in states that supported slavery, weren't happy with Lincoln's election. While at the time he didn't promise to abolish slavery outright, he was personally against the practice and said he would not support slavery in new western states that wanted to join the Union. Apparently, a few fringe groups - perhaps forerunners to today's Ku Klux Klan - decided that the best defense was a good offense. They would, they vowed, prevent the newly elected President from even getting a foot in the Oval Office door.
The story reveals their plan and the subsequent investigation of it, led by noted detective Allan Pinkerton, as he and his team infiltrate the groups to learn specifics and, most important, develop a plan of their own to foil the instigators. Readers then follow Lincoln and his traveling companions as they almost literally inched their way toward the nation's capital city (transportation was, shall we say, a bit slower then than now; at one point, lacking a railroad bridge over a river, rail cars had to be disconnected and ferried across the river to be reattached on the other side). Stops in cities large and small, like Cincinnati and Westfield, New York - the latter home of the little girl who, we all should recall, suggested to Lincoln that he grow a beard to improve his appearance - add a different and welcome dimension to the events of the days. Just as an aside, I must say I'm familiar with Westfield for a very different reason - it's the site of Barcelona Harbor (Lake Erie) and a unique lighthouse we've visited and photographed many times.
More than that I'll leave for other readers, saying only that I enjoyed the book immensely; just the revelation that heretofore mostly boring history actually could be interesting was enough to make me happy. But I also learned a lot - just ask my husband, who endured my interruptions of, "Wow, honey, did you know..." until he gave up and started reading the book for himself (bless his heart). I should also note that substantial documentation and sources are included at the end of the story (helpful for those who might like to learn even more).
All told, I highly recommend this book - even if you aren't a fan of history, it's likely you'll think of it in kinder terms after you read this. Kudos to the authors for undertaking such a meaningful project!
The Lincoln Conspiracy by Brad Meltzer and Josh Mensch (Flatiron Books, May 2020); 448 pp.
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