Murder Premeditated

During our meeting yesterday it was mentioned that the Smithsonian Museum had a tour of the Washington area that covers John Wilkes Booth escape route after his assassination of Lincoln. I did a check and yes there is a tour! http://www.gosmithsonian.com/lincoln/lincoln-at-200-events.html If you are planning a trip to Washington, D.C. check it out.

I would love to take this tour, This past spring the Alvin Sherman Library had on display Murder Premeditated: John Wilkes Booth and the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln. This was a display from the Stanley Kimmel Collection at the Macdonald-Kelce Library, University of Tampa. Kimmel is the author of The Mad Booths of Maryand. The book, first published in 1940 and revised and reprinted in 1970 is a biography of the Booth family including John. In the 1930's Kimmel was the first to retrace and document Booth's escape route. Many of the landmarks from that event were still standing at that time.

The Alvin Sherman Library unfortunately does not own a copy of Kimmel's book but if you are interested in reading other, more recent works about Booth's assassination of Lincoln you will find the following books in our collection:

Kauffman, Michael W. American Brutus : John Wilkes Booth and the Lincoln conspiracies. New York : Random House, c2004.
Sherman Library E457.5 .K38 2004

Pitch, Anthony. They have killed Papa dead! : the road to Ford's Theatre, Abraham Lincoln's murder, and the rage for vengeance. Hanover, N.H. : Steerforth Press, c2008.
Sherman Library E457.5 .P58 2008

wanson, James L. Manhunt : the twelve-day chase for Lincoln's killer. New York : William Morrow, c2006.
Sherman Library E457.5 .S993 2006

There is also an excellent DVD from National Geographic: The hunt for Lincoln's assassin. Find it at Sherman Library Popular Non-Fiction DVD 1st Floor DVD 973.70 HUNT.