Lincoln's Last Days: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever

by Bill O'Reilly, Dwight Jon Zimmerman Narrated by Bill O'Reilly, Edward Herrmann

Overview

Introduction read by Bill O'Reilly.

With more than 1.5 million copies sold, Killing Lincoln deftly recounts one of the most dramatic stories in American history—of how one gunshot changed the country forever. In Lincoln's Last Days, Bill O'Reilly masterfully adapts his historical thriller to appeal to a younger audience.

This is a useful, inviting, and accessible book for younger listeners interested in American history and the Civil War. Both adults and children are sure to find this book irresistible on its own, or as a compelling companion to Killing Lincoln.

A Macmillan Audio production.

Editorial Reviews

JANUARY 2013 - AudioFile

TV commentator and author Bill O’Reilly’s narration consists of a prefatory note to listeners—an enticement to heed this story of “courage, cowardice, and betrayal.” Based on O’Reilly’s book KILLING LINCOLN, this version, intended for ages 10 and up, may not capture young listeners due to its plodding nature. It opens with the “beginning of the end” of the Civil War and carries listeners through Booth’s plotting, Lincoln’s assassination, and Booth’s escape and capture. Battle scenes that should be intense are deliberately read, and even when tension mounts, such as the moment when Lincoln is shot, information is piled on, which slows the pace. Herrmann does not attempt characterizations of the famous and infamous figures whose varying perspectives are used to tell the story. D.P.D. © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine

From the Publisher

“This thrillerlike adaptation captures the excitement of the Union victory in the Civil War and the shock and horror that quickly followed as the country learned of Lincoln's death and sought revenge on his assassins. The popularity of O'Reilly's adult title will drive interest in this version, but it definitely stands alone and will find an audience among general readers and report writers.” —School Library Journal

“Accessible to younger readers.” —Booklist

“As a history major, I wish my required reading had been as well written as this truly vivid and emotionally engaging account of Lincoln's assassination. And as a former combat infantry officer, I found myself running for cover at the Civil War battle scenes. This is the story of an American tragedy that changed the course of history. If you think you know this story, you don't until you've read Killing Lincoln. Add historian to Bill O'Reilly's already impressive résumé.” —Nelson DeMille, author of The Lion and The Gold Coast

“Killing Lincoln is a must-read historical thriller. Bill O'Reilly recounts the dramatic events of the spring of 1865 with such exhilarating immediacy that you will feel like you are walking the streets of Washington DC on the night that John Wilkes Booth shot Abraham Lincoln. This is a hugely entertaining, heart-stopping read.” —Vince Flynn, author of American Assassin

“If Grisham wrote a novel about April 1865 . . . it might well read like Killing Lincoln.” —Peter J. Boyer, Newsweek

“[Killing Lincoln] delivers a taut, action-packed narrative with cliff-hangers aplenty.” —The Christian Science Monitor

“[Killing Lincoln] is nonfiction, albeit told in white-knuckled, John Grisham-like style.” —New York Post

JANUARY 2013 - AudioFile

TV commentator and author Bill O’Reilly’s narration consists of a prefatory note to listeners—an enticement to heed this story of “courage, cowardice, and betrayal.” Based on O’Reilly’s book KILLING LINCOLN, this version, intended for ages 10 and up, may not capture young listeners due to its plodding nature. It opens with the “beginning of the end” of the Civil War and carries listeners through Booth’s plotting, Lincoln’s assassination, and Booth’s escape and capture. Battle scenes that should be intense are deliberately read, and even when tension mounts, such as the moment when Lincoln is shot, information is piled on, which slows the pace. Herrmann does not attempt characterizations of the famous and infamous figures whose varying perspectives are used to tell the story. D.P.D. © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169111170
Publisher:	Macmillan Audio
Publication date:	08/21/2012
Edition description:	Unabridged
Sales rank:	937,870
Age Range:	10 - 13 Years

Read an Excerpt

Chapter

1

SUNDAY, APRIL 2, 1865

Petersburg, Virginia

 

THERE IS NO NORTH VERSUS SOUTH in Petersburg now. Only Grant versus Lee—and Grant has the upper hand. Like many of the generals on both sides, Lee and Grant served together in the Mexican War. Now, in the Civil War, these former comrades-in-arms are enemies.

Lee is fifty-eight years old, a tall, rugged Virginian with a silver beard and formal air. Grant is forty-two and Lee’s exact opposite: dark-haired and sloppy in dress, a small, introspective man who has a fondness for cigars and a close relationship with horses. When Grant was a baby, his mother’s friends were shocked to see that Hannah Grant allowed her son to crawl between their horses’ feet!

Like Lee, Grant possesses a genius for warfare—indeed, he is capable of little else. When the Civil War began, he was a washed-up, barely employed West Point graduate and veteran of the Mexican War who had been forced out of military service, done in by lonely western outposts and an inability to hold his liquor. It was only through luck and connections that Grant secured a commission in an Illinois regiment. At the battles of Fort Henry and Fort Donelson in Tennessee in February 1862, Grant and his army delivered the first major victories to the Union. And Grant kept on winning. As the war continued, Lincoln gave him more and more responsibility. Now Grant is general in chief—the commander of all the Union armies from Virginia down to New Orleans.

A Currier & Ives lithograph of the Battle of Petersburg.

At Petersburg, the Confederate lines are arranged in a jagged horseshoe, facing south—thirty-seven miles of trenches and fortifications in all. The outer edges of the horseshoe are two miles from the city center, under the commands of Confederate A. P. Hill on the right and John B. Gordon on the left.

*   *   *

The day before, at the decisive Battle of Five Forks, Union General Phil Sheridan and 45,000 men had captured a pivotal crossing, cutting off the main road to North Carolina.

It was long after dark when word of the great victory reached Grant. Without pausing, Grant pushed his advantage. He ordered another attack. He hoped this would be the blow to crush Lee and his army once and for all. His soldiers would attack just before dawn, but he ordered the artillery fire to begin immediately.

*   *   *

The Union attack is divided into two waves. Major General Horatio Wright, leading the 24,000 men in his Sixth Corps, charges first and shatters the right side of Lee’s line. Wright’s attack is so well choreographed that many of his soldiers are literally miles in front of the main Union force. As Wright’s men reorganize to prepare for the next stage of attack, the rest of the Union army strikes.

Lieutenant General A. P. Hill, Confederate States of America.

Meanwhile, Lee and his assistants, the generals James “Pete” Longstreet and A. P. Hill, gaze out at Wright’s army from the front porch of Lee’s Confederate headquarters, the Turnbull house. The three of them stand there as the sun rises high enough to confirm their worst fears: every soldier they can see wears blue.

A horrified A. P. Hill realizes that his army is being crushed, and he jumps on his horse to try to stop the disaster in the making. He is shot and killed by Union soldiers.

Lee faces the sobering fact that Union soldiers are just a few short steps from controlling the main road he plans to use for his retreat. He will be cut off if the bluecoats in the pasture continue their advance.

Fortune, however, is smiling on the Confederates. Those Union soldiers have no idea that Lee himself is right in front of them. If they did, they would attack without ceasing, because any soldier who captured Lee would become a legend.

The Union scouts can clearly see the small artillery battery outside Lee’s headquarters, and they assume that it is part of a much larger rebel force hiding out of sight. Rather than rush forward, the scouts hesitate.

Lieutenant General James “Pete” Longstreet.

Seizing the moment, Lee escapes north across the Appomattox River and then turns west. His goal is the Richmond and Danville Railroad Line at Amelia Court House, where he has arranged to store food and supplies. He issues orders to the commanders of his corps to follow. At one point, Lee pauses to write a letter to Confederate president Jefferson Davis, saying that his army is in retreat and can no longer defend Richmond. Davis and the Confederate government must abandon the city or risk capture.

The final chase has begun.

 

Copyright © 2012 by Bill O’Reilly

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