The murder of Abraham Lincoln set off the greatest manhunt
in American history -- the pursuit and capture of John
Wilkes Booth. From April 14 to April 26, 1865, the assassin
led Union cavalry and detectives on a wild twelve-day chase
through the streets of Washington, D.C., across the swamps
of Maryland, and into the forests of Virginia, while the
nation, still reeling from the just-ended Civil War, watched
in horror and sadness. At the very center of this story is John Wilkes Booth,
America's notorious villain. A Confederate sympathizer and a
member of a celebrated acting family, Booth threw away his
fame and wealth for a chance to avenge the South's defeat.
For almost two weeks, he confounded the manhunters, slipping
away from their every move and denying them the justice they
sought. Based on rare archival materials, obscure trial transcripts,
and Lincoln's own blood relics, Manhunt is a fully
documented work, but it is also a fascinating tale of
murder, intrigue, and betrayal. A gripping hour-by-hour
account told through the eyes of the hunted and the hunters,
this is history as you've never read it before.
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