The I Index

The Lincoln Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill America’s 16th President⁠—and Why It Failed

Next in the queue

65

/100

I Index Overall Rating

Readers

87/100

Critics

44/100

Scholars

N/A

Author:

Brad Meltzer, Josh Mensch

Publisher:

Flatiron Books

Date:

May 5, 2020

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, on his way to Washington, D.C., for his first inauguration.

What The Reviewers Say

Michael Schaub,
NPR
... fascinating and extremely readable.
Joe Heim,
The Washington Post
... remarkable and often riveting.
Ray Palen,
Bookreporter
... a historical work that reads like a page-turning thriller. Many parts of the story are reinforced with photos and images, some of which I never saw before in other books about Abraham Lincoln or the Civil War. It's almost like your American history textbook became cool and could be read like a bestselling novel.
Barton Swaim,
The Wall Street Journal
Most books on Lincoln are imbued with a sense of tragic melancholy—like those on JFK, only more so. The Lincoln Conspiracy, by Brad Meltzer and Josh Mensch, is a refreshing counterinstance to this generality.