The Lincoln Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill America's 16th President—and Why It Failed
Brad Meltzer, Josh Mensch, 2020
Flatiron Books
448 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781250317483
Summary
The bestselling authors of The First Conspiracy, which covers the secret plot against George Washington, now turn their attention to a little-known, but true story about a failed assassination attempt on President Lincoln.
Everyone knows the story of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination in 1865, but few are aware of the original conspiracy to kill him four years earlier in 1861, literally on his way to Washington, D.C., for his first inauguration.
The conspirators were part of a pro-Southern secret society that didn’t want an antislavery President in the White House. They planned an elaborate scheme to assassinate the brand new President in Baltimore as Lincoln’s inauguration train passed through en route to the Capitol.
The plot was investigated by famed detective Allan Pinkerton, who infiltrated the group with undercover agents, including one of the first female private detectives in America.
Had the assassination succeeded, there would have been no Lincoln Presidency, and the course of the Civil War and American history would have forever been altered. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
Brad Meltzer
• Birth—April 1, 1970
• Raised—Brooklyn, New York City, New York; Miami, Florida, USA
• Education—B.A., University of Michigan; J.D., Columbia University
• Currently—lives in Florida
Brad Meltzer is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Escape Artist (2018) The Inner Circle (2011), and many other bestselling thrillers, as well as the "Ordinary People Change the World" series. He is also the host of the History Channel TV shows Brad Meltzer’s Decoded and Brad Meltzer’s Lost History, which he used to help find the missing 9/11 flag that the firefighters raised at Ground Zero. (From the Publisher.)
Josh Mensch is a New York Times bestselling author and documentary television producer with a focus on American history and culture. He is coauthor with Brad Meltzer of The First Conspiracy: the Secret Plot to Kill George Washington (2019).
For television Mensch has written, directed, and been a showrunner on nonfiction series for PBS, the History Channel, National Geographic, and many other networks. He lives in Brooklyn, NY with his wife and children. (From the publisher.)
Book Reviews
[F]ascinating and extremely readable… like an expertly crafted thriller.… [The authors] have clearly done their homework, and they prove to be experts at rendering history in an urgent, exciting way… [Yet] despite its dark subject matter, [The Lincoln Conspiracy is] relentlessly fun to read.… It's an expertly crafted book that seems sure to delight readers with an interest in lesser-known episodes of American history.
Michael Schaub - NPR
[A] solid recounting of the conspiracy to assassinate president-elect Abraham Lincoln…. Meltzer and Mensch maintain suspense despite the known outcome of the story, and convincingly counter claims that Pinkerton made the whole thing up for publicity purposes.
Publishers Weekly
[The] authors follow the trail of intrigue, disguises, deceptions, and countermoves…. [This] instructive accounting of the mentality, movements, and means of Pinkerton and his agents makes for a revealing look inside the world of secessionist fanaticism. —Randall M. Miller, St. Joseph's Univ., Philadelphia
Library Journal
[The] discussion of how the newly founded Pinkerton Agency infiltrated the conspiracy includes unexpected details of undercover work, 1860s-style—including by pathbreaking women detectives. A delightful addition to popular literature on the Civil War era.–
Booklist
[S]hort, energetic chapters… fashion a brisk political thriller…. [T]he authors vividly convey the virulent racism endemic in the South. A sharply drawn episode from a regrettable part of America's past. (b/w illustrations).
Kirkus Reviews
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