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zhzhang's review against another edition
4.0
Solid research, fluent development, thus climax is reached very naturally after all the built-ups.
iam_griff's review against another edition
4.0
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, DC, for his first inauguration.
I had a small book hangover after I finished this book. This book was amazing. Of course we are taught about the tragic assassination of former President Lincoln from elementary school, but I had no idea about an earlier attempt on his way to the White House. Meltzer's approach to writing does an amazing job keeping the suspense building & don't want to stop reading/listening. If he keeps writing books like this. I'll keep reading/listening to them.
I had a small book hangover after I finished this book. This book was amazing. Of course we are taught about the tragic assassination of former President Lincoln from elementary school, but I had no idea about an earlier attempt on his way to the White House. Meltzer's approach to writing does an amazing job keeping the suspense building & don't want to stop reading/listening. If he keeps writing books like this. I'll keep reading/listening to them.
celenac's review against another edition
5.0
In a nutshell, The Lincoln Conspiracy is mainly about the Baltimore Plot, the assassination plot against Abraham Lincoln before his first inauguration. However, that doesn't adequately describe the amount of things this book covers. It covers so much, like who Lincoln was as a person, his humble beginnings, the extreme political tension during the 1860s, the Civil War, the origins of the first US detective agency, etc. Even with all that, this book never felt unorganized or like it was dragging on when I was reading it. The writing is clean and easy to follow. Meltzer gives really good context to a lot of notable people mentioned, like Allan Pinkerton and Frederick Douglass, without going off on tangents. Every piece of background info Meltzer brings up is crucial to understanding this story, and it makes for an overall clean and easy read.
I really enjoyed reading this book. It read like a thriller, which isn't surprising since Meltzer seems to write mostly thrillers. The writing was a bit dramatic at times, especially at the end of each chapter to create cliff hangers, but I didn't mind it -- it kept me wanting to read more. I actually didn't want this book to end. If Meltzer wrote a separate book covering the whole Civil War, I'd read that in a flash because I think he can make anything in history interesting and fun to read.
I really enjoyed reading this book. It read like a thriller, which isn't surprising since Meltzer seems to write mostly thrillers. The writing was a bit dramatic at times, especially at the end of each chapter to create cliff hangers, but I didn't mind it -- it kept me wanting to read more. I actually didn't want this book to end. If Meltzer wrote a separate book covering the whole Civil War, I'd read that in a flash because I think he can make anything in history interesting and fun to read.
siriuslysirius's review
5.0
This book could easily be titled: The Lincoln Conspiracy: How Allan Pinkerton Prevented an Assassination.
Before this book, I had only a vague recollection of Pinkerton’s name. Probably mentioned in a book here or there about how he established a serious private detective agency. So, although this book is about a secret plot to murder president elect Abraham Lincoln, it’s also about how Allan Pinkerton thwarted this plot.
Also, as dismayed as I am with many US citizens today (racist behavior - even from our president, swaths of selfish people - those denying certain pandemics and blatantly refusing to follow the Golden Rule, trigger happy law enforcement, serious lack of empathy) many people back in Lincoln’s time were embarrassingly outright hateful. Lincoln had a hell of a time dealing with so much - even before he officially took office!
Saying all this, The Lincoln Conspiracy had an unintended consequence on me: reflecting on and contrasting our nation’s current “mood” in 2020 versus the “mood” back in the late 19th century, the failure of adopting a pseudo two-party system, and the chance that one of these days, we can have an honest and legitimately good person become president. It’s possible, right?
Oh! It’s also cool to see how the Secret Service took root. Many of the tactics that Pinkerton used are still used today when the president travels!
Before this book, I had only a vague recollection of Pinkerton’s name. Probably mentioned in a book here or there about how he established a serious private detective agency. So, although this book is about a secret plot to murder president elect Abraham Lincoln, it’s also about how Allan Pinkerton thwarted this plot.
Also, as dismayed as I am with many US citizens today (racist behavior - even from our president, swaths of selfish people - those denying certain pandemics and blatantly refusing to follow the Golden Rule, trigger happy law enforcement, serious lack of empathy) many people back in Lincoln’s time were embarrassingly outright hateful. Lincoln had a hell of a time dealing with so much - even before he officially took office!
Saying all this, The Lincoln Conspiracy had an unintended consequence on me: reflecting on and contrasting our nation’s current “mood” in 2020 versus the “mood” back in the late 19th century, the failure of adopting a pseudo two-party system, and the chance that one of these days, we can have an honest and legitimately good person become president. It’s possible, right?
Oh! It’s also cool to see how the Secret Service took root. Many of the tactics that Pinkerton used are still used today when the president travels!
andrearbooks's review
4.0
I'll be honest that books like this are not normally for me, but y'all, I LOVE these books by Brad Meltzer and Josh Mensch. They read just like a thriller, and that's what keeps me turning the pages. I also appreciate that they talk about happenings in history that you likely don't know about, but are important to know - both what happened and what could have been. This was fascinating to hear about the realities of this time and to learn even more of Lincoln's story. Obviously, I knew that the country was divided, but to truly understand what that division meant for the president-elect was new to me, and again, it was just such a well-written exploration of this part of history. I hope there are more of these books to come because they're so damn good.