2 comments about The Curse of Cain.

1. Almost since the moment Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in 1865, writers and historians have argued about the possibility of Confederate involvement in the president's killing. A large part of the issue has centered on whether the South stood to gain anything by Lincoln's death - at least in the minds of those high up in the Jefferson Davis administration. Though we may never reach a consensus, there is much to recommend the argument that the South was better off with Abraham Lincoln alive than dead. This is the underlying assumption of this new and exciting novel by J. Mark Powell and L. D. Meagher.
   
   In The Curse of Cain, Powell and Meagher put a new twist on the Lincoln conspiracy. In their version of the story, the assassination is indeed the result of Southern malfeasance. But the chief instigator, a Confederate congressman, is actually a loose cannon, and when his own government learns that he has hired an assassin to eliminate Lincoln, they send an agent to find the killer before he brings the "Curse of Cain" down upon them all.
   
   Powell and Meagher have built their story around a plausible idea, and have constructed a well-paced narrative with just the right mix of action and intrigue. Their heroes include the Confederate agent, Kate St. Claire, who spends her time cultivating contacts in the upper strata of Washington society; and Jack Tanner, a no-nonsense detective in the Confederate provost guard. Their villains are Basil Tarleton, a cold-blooded killer; and John Wilkes Booth, his reluctant cohort who wants only to capture the president. These people move about in a deadly game of cat and mouse, each team set against the other, but both with the ultimate goal of saving the Confederacy.
   
   The Curse of Cain is a fast-paced adventure with heart-stopping action and surprises at every turn. It is a great read, and would make an excellent addition to any collection of Civil War literature.



2. It is an excellent read. The authors took the Lincoln assassination and by moving the facts a few degrees gave it a whole new perspective. The authors obviously did mountains of research to make the story and characters as historically correct as possible. Character development is great and I had trouble putting the book down.

3 comments about Return of Assassin: John Wilkes Booth.

1. I read this book from cover to cover the first time I got it and have bought 5 other copies as gifts for friends who have said the SAME THING!!! It is the BEST book I have read since THE LINCOLN CONSPIRACY, and by the way, The last 4 chapters read very much like an extension OF THAT very BOOK!! I won't give any thing away except to say that RETURN OF THE ASSASSIN-JOHN WILKES BOOTH is most assuredly a MUST READ BOOK for every Lincoln Assassination buff Bar none!!!



2. I have read this book from cover to cover since i got it and i am of the firm belief that the John Wilkes Booth Claimant David E. George in 1902 was indeed the real Booth and that he had escaped capture from the law after assassinating President Abraham Lincoln in Fords Theater back in 1865, and that a confederate soldier by the name of 'John' 'William' 'Boyd' was killed in Booths place!.Read this gripping book and judge for yourself!.



3. John Wilkes Booth died as history records he did. He shot Lincoln, and fled, nearly escaping. He was caught, more with luck and manpower than anything else, by Federal troops and detectives in a barn near Port Royal Virginia. After he refused to surrender, one trooper took it upon himself (against orders) to shoot Booth. The bullet went through his spine. Booth was dragged out of the barn, and died a few hours later on the porch of a farmhouse. Booth was a famous man. Everyone recognized him. His autopsy was preformed virtually in public, and his body matched very well with descriptions given of him by various people.
   
   Do not allow yourself to be convinced by amateur, opportunistic and deceitful history. The huge amount of genuine confusion and mystery which still surrounds the assassination of Abraham Lincoln should not be discounted or swept under the rug. Neither should it allow the propagation of such utterly untrue and patently false theories as this.
   
   Yes, for many years, a mummy toured the country, reportedly the corpse of John Wilkes Booth. It was a carnival side-show. That is all this book amounts to.

3 comments about When Good Men Do Nothing: The Assassination Of Albert Patterson.

1. I love history and I'm one of those buffs who usually slowly juggles several eras at once, some because of mild interest and others out of a sense of obligation. Last Friday, someone at work lent me Alan Grady's When Good Men Do Nothing, telling me he was positive I would like it. I asked how long I could keep the book because I was in the middle of several rather lengthy bestsellers and would not be able to get to it anytime soon. Friday night, out of mild curiosity, I read the first page and before I knew it, I had lost two good night's sleep. My wife finally told me that I had to put the book down.
   Reading the first page is akin to eating one potato chip or one peanut; don't start if you have other plans for the next several days. This is truly an incredible book, well-researched, unpredictable and with a slate of characters so bizarre, you can't believe this really happened. It did, though.
   Albert Patterson was a small town lawyer in the 1950's in Phenix City, Alabama, the "Wickedest city in America". The major industry in Phenix City in the first half of the 20th century was the peddling of sin. Prostitution, gambling and almost every other vice were not only available on every corner, but most everyone in the city government and law enforcement were not only supportive of the system, but were actively participating in it. This is the story of a few good men who decided to stand up to the mob and what it ultimately cost them.
   Buy this book. I promise you won't be disappointed.



2. I never could figure out where the author, Alan Grady, came up with the title "When Good Men Do Nothing." The story of Phenix City is a story about good men who sacrificed everything. If you are interested in what happened in Phenix City, Alabama and want to know about men who did something, like Hugh Bentley and Albert Patterson, then I would suggest you pick up a copy of Margaret Anne Barnes book "The Tragedy and the Triumph of Phenix City, Alabama." Alan Grady's book completely misses the mark.



3. As a history aficionado, I highly recommend Alan Grady's WHEN GOOD MEN DO NOTHING. It is well-researched, insightful, and gripping. Surely this book is on Alabama history teachers' list of recommendations. The book provides a window into the world of southern politics and demonstrates how geography, history, and human strengths and weaknesses make us what we are.
   Additionally, the book is well-written. Mr. Grady has a way with words and seems to "turn-a-phrase" effortlessly. The writing is descriptive as well as clear.
   A great read.

No comments about A Coin in Nine Hands: A Novel (Phoenix Fiction).

5 comments about John Wilkes Booth: A Sister's Memoir.

1. To say that John Wilkes Booth was a fanatic would be like saying that Hitler had a personality disorder. An egomaniac, shallow, zealous, bordering on lunacy, Booth destroyed any hope that the South would have had for a peaceful reconstruction. Somehow, I get the feeling that had John Wilkes stayed with the theater, he would always be in the shadow of his brother Edwin. In a twist of irony, Booth was accosted by a drunk shortly before the assassination. The drunk commented; "You'll never be half the actor your father was" To which Booth replied, "There will be some fine acting tonight....when I leave the stage, I will be the most famous man in History..."



2. This memoir written by his sister was not a way of defining the man who shot Lincoln in front of a theatrical audience. She had a selective memory and dwelled almost totally on his Southern "background" as if that excused his impetuous deed. John W. Booth was supposed to abduct the president and transport him to Richmond, VA, where Jefferson Davis had his headquarters. His oration as he made his 'last moment of glory' at Ford's Theatre when he jumped from the balcony, "Sic Semper Tyrannis!" (Thus always with tyrants) is the motto of the Commonwealth of Virginia. "For doing what Brutus was honored for, what made William Tell a hero," he went down in the history books as an infamous loser.
   
   
   One of the conspirators, George Atzerodt was supposed to kidnap Vice President Andrew Johnson but reneged. Like Booth, he got drunk, but passed out instead of becoming violent. John W. Booth was born at home on a Maryland farm May 10, 1838, to a play-acting father and second wife. Edwin Forrest was one of the leading tragedians during the Civil War, no relation to N. B. J. Brutus Booth, the father, was deemed a great actor with keen stage prescence. He dared not hope to be as good, nor did he attempt to rival brother, Edwin. Each had his own following and dramatic flair. This book is just a part of the complex legacy of two leading men in American theatre.
   
   Sister Asia was not beautiful like John. She looked more like the older brother. Their father had acted for 44 years and died in 1852. The mother lived in New York at Edwin's house. It was said, in April 1863, "John plays not from stage rule as did his brothers Junius and Edwin, but from his soul -- inspired with genius. As a child, he liked Shakespeare, he thought Shakespeare, and like young Geoffrey Chaucer, he spoke Shakespeare. He loved music, especially sad ballads -- a man after my own heart.
   
   For over an hour on April 14, he drank whiskey and water at the Star Saloon. Around 10:15 p.m., he made the appearance of his life when he entered the Presidential box and shot Abraham Lincoln dead-on. As he made his dramatic escape, the spur on his right heel caught in the flag which was draped on the exterior, causing him to lose his balance. When he landed on his knees 11 1/2 feet below on the stage, a bone in his left leg was fractured two inches above the ankle. His ego showed in the tatoo (his own initials) on his right hand. At the time of his most famous stage appearance, he had a large fibroid tumor on the back of his neck.
   
   Edwin's career was harmed as the shame put the whole Booth family in hiding. Both brothers had commanding stage presence and rich, expressive voices. John was more handsome and excelled in romantic roles. Women swooned over him. Edwin was more classical (both played 'Hamlet,' however); his sad legacy was to beome known as "the brother of the man who killed Lincoln."
   
   Not a vestige of anything which had belonged to John W., according to his sister, remained after his death; his books of music even were stolen, seized and destroyed. There was a general destruction of papers and effects including all written or printed material found by the authorities in the family's possession. Any and all information contained in criticism, letters, playbills and theatrical records, was lost. Everything that bore his name, either about or by him was confiscated. A sad ending for a misguided young man who drank and thought too much.



3. Asia Frigga Booth Clarke was John Wilkes Booth's sister. In 1874 when she was six years into self-imposed exile in England and the pain of her brother's death as a consequence of his assassination of Lincoln was still fresh in her mind and the country's consciousness, Asia wrote down her recollections of their childhood mostly spent on a bucolic Maryland farm. Asia died in 1888; it was fifty years later in 1938 that her heirs published her memoir about her beloved brother entitled "The Unlocked Book". "A Sister's Memoir" is a modern revised version of the core material from the original edition that has been carefully annotated and edited by Professor Terry Alford to include additional family letters and insightful biographical information about Asia.
   
   John Wilkes Booth was adored by his family and he dearly loved them in return. Asia's story is a glimpse into the every day life of a very unique comfortable middle class family of the mid nineteenth century. It is intimate and poignant and in the end tragic and heart breaking on so many levels. One comes away with a better understanding of the complexity of John Wilkes' personality and the family dynamics that shaped his character. She reveals to us a person who possessed a keen intellect and was passionate and loyal to his family and friends. We see a loving person who was playful, cheerful and kind. Asia restores her brother's humanity that was forever stripped away on April 14, 1865. John Wilkes Booth was a fascinating person who has often been the victim of poorly researched, two-dimensional biographies from pens tinged by the historian's emotional response to Lincoln's assassination. Asia does not gloss over the painful ending of her brother's story. Her love for him makes it even more heart wrenching and the reader understands perhaps only a small measure of how much the Booth family suffered immensely afterward.
   
   Professor Alford presents Asia as a gifted poet and writer possessing intelligence and great sensitivity. She was deeply religious and spiritual but she essentially lived a sad life. She endured a difficult and failed marriage and great personal tragedy beyond the loss of her brother. Her dying wish was fulfilled when her children brought her home from England and laid her to rest beside her parents and the brother she loved so well. I think the most notable thing about "A Sister's Memoir" is that Asia speaks to us from her heart and shows us that love abides beyond all reckoning even through eternity.



4. For a compelling re-imagining of Booth's childhood from the perspective of his sister read Booth's Sister by Civil War scholar and storyteller Jane Singer. Now available from Bell Bridge Books.



5. I read this book as a follow-up book to "Manhunt, The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer" (an excellent read). I was taken with the small excerpts in the "Manhunt" book about his sister Asia, so I looked to see if there was any information on her. That is how I came across this book.
   
   I found I got the most out of this book by taking it for what it is...a sister's heartfelt memoir of her life growing up with her brother, a brother with whom she shared a very close relationship. I found it also provided a lot of insight to his character, and I found I walked away with a further understanding of the passion John Wilkes Booth had for the South and the Southern way of life. The end of the book contains text of family letters and documents that further clarify the relationship of the family members to Wilkes Booth, their political leanings (North, South or undecided), how the assassination shocked and affected them after the fact, and other interesting insights.
   
   Asia's writing is beautiful, and the editor in the preface states that this is the "only lengthy account of Booth left by a family member". I strongly recommend this book, but, speaking for myself, I found I got more out of this book after reading "Manhunt" and understanding the actual events that happened leading up to, during, and after the assassination as it directly related to John Wilkes Booth.

5 comments about The file on the Tsar.

1. File on the Tsar is interesting as a compilation of escape theories popular in the 1970's, most of which have since been proven to be false, particularly in Radzinsky's The Last Tsar (which would be a good book to read after this one). Still, the writing style is engaging and the photos are well chosen. Take it's theories with a grain of salt and it is a fun read.



2. Sadly, with the advent of DNA and the fall of the iron curtain there is less and less mystery in history.

   This book is a fine example of the fog and questions which surronunded the death (or disappereance) of the russian imperial family. However, as time has moved along, we now know that most of the ideas the authors suggest never occured.

   That said I liked the book and felt that it gave a good treatmeant of the context within which the last Tsar and his family met their tragic end. The reader must always exercise caution about the conclusions even as you enjoy the text.




3. Many people have criticized this book because it can be labled as a "conspiracy theory." However, it is remarkably well-researched and has some valuble info, such as the fact that Anastasia and Alexey couldn't possibly have been burned to ashes within one night out in the open. The authors can be forgiven, as it is an attempt to explain the fate of the Romanovs before the definitive DNA analysis concluded that at least 9 of the inhabitants of the Ipatiev house were brutally murdered. Also, it was written before Yurovsky's testimony came to light. I don't think it merits Henry Kissinger's "crap" statement about it. It is outdated, but its authors nevertheless command respect from historians. It was right about one thing - that the Sokolov investigation was fixed and Medvedev's testimony is unreliable, as Yurovsky's "confession" demonstrates. If one wants a definitive book about the fate of Nicky and Alix, I suggest Robert K. Massie's "The Romanovs: The Final Chapter."



4. Anthony Summers and Tom Mangfold did something extrordinary when they discovered Sokolov's original file on the Tsar. They discovered he had withheld evidence to what he found on the Tsar's murder. The book pretty much dispells of the Sokolov investigation and its faults and is way ahead of its time in that sense. But of course the second half of the book has lost most of its validity since the bodies have been located. But it is interesting how many people claimed to have seen the Empress and her daughters alive and being used by Lenin as pawns. It's a perfect story for those in Russia who still believe that the Romanov bones are not authentic. I think they are though. The part of the book which discusses Anna Anderson is very interesting as well, and makes you wonder how this woman could have truly been a Polish factory girl.



5. Many people have dismissed "File on the Tsar" as another Conspiracy theory, however it is far from that. File on the Tsar, is an extremelly well researched investiagtion into an alternative theory about the fate of the Romanovs.
   
   Many people dismiss this book because it does not hold that the family was massacred at Ekaterinburg. The fact is that contrary to popular belief the massacre is still a theory, it has not been proven as fact, and the File on the Tsar provides informative generally unknown information on how some of the evidence for a massacre was fabricated.
   
   WARNING SPOILER
   
   Spoiler; For instance when the massacre theory was first being investigated shortly after the Romanovs disapeared, it was claimed that they were shot in the dinning room, not the basement.
   
   Secondly three seperate investigations were conducted, the last investigation is the only one that ever saw light, primarily because it was the most shocking. Early investigators did not find nearly as many bullet holes, bayonet holes, ect . . . as later ones.
   
   SPOILERS END HERE
   
   Even the discovery of bodies does not prove that the alternative theory in File on the Tsar is untrue. The Imperial grave was opened more then once after the family was believed to have been shot and buried, and the remains could have been disturbed.
   
   In short File on the Tsar simply provides comprehensive information, and an alternative theory as to the familys fate, whats more it also could explain the absence of two bodies from the Imperial grve site. The massacre theory does not.
   
   Is it somewhat dated? Yes. Unproven by modern science and DNA? No.
   
   All scientific and fernsic evidence can equally be used to support the File on the Tsar's theory, as it can the massacre.
   
   I recomend if nothing else, that even if you disagree, that you read it.

1 comments about Lady Killer: The Near Assassination of Lee Kitchimoto.

1. I like the book it is obvious however that the author plans on continuing the story in other books. The character development is good in the book but it does leave you wondering about some of the characters,I think that maybe there are too many characters brought into the story. I think it will be explained in future books,so I look forward to the next book in the series should there be one.

2 comments about Falsely Accused: Jim Garrison's Investigation Of JFK's Assassination And The United States of America Versus R.E. Payne.

1. This book has as much to do with the Jim Garrison/JFK case as does the man on the moon!!
   Be warned. The author decided that to write a memoir about his personal legal problems would sell better if in some manner it could be linked to the Garrison controversy via one of Garrison's assistant district attorneys.
   His gambit worked---I bought the book! I hope you're smarter than I was.



2. As the leading civilian authority on the U.S. Secret Service (and President Kennedy's interaction with the agency), I was much interested in this book by R.E. "Gus" Payne, especially after hearing mixed reviews about his work from other interested researchers. Well, I see some of the criticisms are valid but, that said, the book is well written and it DOES have some interesting info. on the Garrison case from an important vantage point. Get this if you are interested in the Garrison case...after purchasing Joan Mellon's and Bill Davy's books, of course. Vince Palamara

1 comments about House of Deception: The CIA's Secret Opium War & Assassination of JFK.

1. As the leading civilian authority on the U.S. Secret Service (and President Kennedy's interaction with the agency), I was much interested in this book by Sheldon Webster. This work is well written and out together and, in conjunction with Peter Dale Scott's fine books on the case, makes a good---but not great---addition to the library. I recommend this book to the experienced researcher. Vince Palamara

1 comments about Who was Jack Ruby?.

1. After becoming frustrated about the Warren Commission's refusal to acknowledge the truth that this writer saw Jack Ruby at Parkland Hospital shortly after President Kennedy was shot, he set out to find out the real facts about this gangster, police informer, strip club owner, general bad character wherever he happened to be. He delved into the sinister world of Jack Ruby to see why he was allowed to get away with murder. He discovers the activities in the weekend leading up to his shooting of Lee Harvey Oswald and possible reasons for his doing so. One of the doctors who testified and got Ruby off has on his office wall a large phto of Jack Ruby shooting shackled Oswald as the police were getting ready to transport him to the courthouse.
   
   Ruby had access to the underground garage where the accused would be placed in the police vehicle, and was seen and acknowledged by several policemen wh did not ask him for ID, as they knew him well and were used to having him hang around when anything exciting was happening.
   
   Kantor had known Ruby since the days he worked at a Dallas newspaper. At the hospital, he reports in his other book I reviewed about the conspiracy, he called him by name and wrote him a warm, personal note from jail in November, 1962. At the time of the assassination Seth Kantor was one of the White House correspondents who was directly behind the open top car where the president's party waved to spectators in the press bus of the presidential motorcade. He was a pivotal witness to history and was vindicated by a later conclusion by the government. He died in 1996, satisfied that he had informed the American public as to what really happen on November 22 and why.