The President Is Shot!: The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln - Hardcover

Harold Holzer, Vice President for Communications and Marketing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is one of the country's leading authorities on the political culture of the Civil Ware era. he has authored, coauthored, and edited twenty books about Lincoln and the Civil War, including Abraham Lincoln the Writer. Mr. Holzer is cochairman of the United States Lincoln Bicentennial Commission. He lives in Rye, New York.

Gr. 5-8. A page-turner of a text, a fascinating array of photos and archival illustrations, and an event that changed the course of history: all these elements combine in this strong, highly readable book. Holzer, the author of Abraham Lincoln: The Writer (2000) as well as numerous books about the Civil War for adults, does a fine job of condensing and shaping information about the assassination for young readers, beginning rather breathlessly on the day Lincoln died in an unassuming boarding house across from Ford's Theater. From there, he moves back in time, introducing Lincoln as a determined if weary leader, who gained the North's respect. But Holzer also explains why Lincoln was despised, filling in details of the South's destruction and demoralization. Taking advantage of the volatile mix was actor John Wilkes Booth, a lover of the South and a supporter of slavery, who, not content with stage fame, craved historical recognition. Holzer's sharp, clear writing turns history into drama without being overwrought, and the many photographs and engravings (including several depictions of the deathbed moment) bring the players to life and evoke the emotion and confusion surrounding the tragedy. Sources notes are sorely missed, but a bibliography (mostly adult titles) helps somewhat to fill the gap. Holzer also includes a list of places to visit. Ilene Cooper
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