The Day Lincoln Was Shot

Some argue that the day Lincoln was shot was the most dramatic thing to ever happen to this country. April 14, 1865 was the day, Ford Theater was the place, and John Wilkes Booth was the perpetrator. Jim Bishop, appropriately titled "The Day Lincoln Was Shot", has eloquently put the account of this event into writing. This story is a well-researched moment-to-moment account of the last 24 hours of Abraham Lincoln's life. Jim Bishop narrates these last tragic hours through records and personal accounts that he has researched most of his life.

Bishop depicts every meticulous detail of Lincoln's last 24 hours, from 7:00 AM till 7:22 AM the next day. Bishop uses his words to paint an extremely vivid picture and to get his main ideas across. Some of the main ideas that he displays are Lincoln's general background information, along with the U.S current events, such as the defeat of the confederacy, and Lincoln's swearing in for his second term. However, most importantly Bishop's main idea was the general mood of the day when Lincoln was shot.

To help the reader get a better idea of the story, the narration is of both Lincoln's and Booth's side of the story. With both sides of the story Bishop can portray an unbiased account of those 24 hours, although there is not much to be biased about when it comes to murder. Nevertheless, Bishop is able to get through Booth's conspiracy and the steps he took that lead to the death of one of America's greatest president.

It is easy to wonder why how such a recent book can portray such an old event properly. To substantiate his points, Bishop went through many sources, and many records to get the information, he used to construct his portrayal of the events that he did.