Review | Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard

Recently I went on a road trip with my mom. She was listening to Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever by Bill O’Reilly and though she was already a couple of discs into the book, I said I’d be happy to jump in and listen with her. I had recently read Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer (P.S.) over the summer so I was very familiar with the story of Lincoln’s assassination, and the capture and killing of John Wilkes Booth. I liked O’Reilly’s version and even went back afterwards and listened to the first discs I’d initially missed.

O’Reilly’s paints an accurate historical account, though some may argue that some of the conversations he presents are a little speculative. However, I think he’s done a great job making history accessible to the masses. The book starts at the end of the Civil War and recounts the events of the last stand that Robert E. Lee and the Confederate army made shortly before the war was officially over. It then interestingly follows and compares the footsteps of President Lincoln and that of his killer, John Wilkes Booth over the course of the last few weeks of Lincoln’s life.

I listened to the audio version of this book. It is read by Bill O’Reilly and he does a great job with it, I recommend. Some may be hesitant to read this book because of O’Reilly’s affiliation with Fox News, but I found it to be non-partisan. Conservative or liberal, if you like Abraham Lincoln, I think you will enjoy this book.

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Overall Rating:

Parent’s guide:

• Sex: none
• Violence: some war scenes but nothing too detailed or gory
• Language: some actual quotations may include minor swear words