Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination That Changed America Forever

O'Reilly's "Killing Kennedy" was really good. This book was enjoyable but not as good.

Unfortunately, O'Reilly became very annoying by using the word "cavalry" hundreds of times, but pronouncing it "calvary" every time. There were a few other quirks—like saying "century" when he meant "sentry" or mispronouncing "pandemonium"—but the confusion of Golgatha with a horse soldier happened every few seconds for the first two and a half hours of the book and became grating—like a person who says "nook-cyoo-ler" and then manages to use it in every sentence.

I learned some aspects about the Lincoln assassination which were previously unknow to me.

The part I found most memorable was learning that Lincoln was supposed to have a bodyguard controlling egress to his booth at the Ford Theater and this duffus ended up taking off to indulge in some drinks at the bar next door. If he'd stayed at his post and resisted Booth's undeterred entrance to Lincoln's booth, the whole assassination attempt would have probably been foiled and the subsequent history would have taken a whole different path. That this clown went unpunished while all the southern conspirators ended up with a bullet through the throat or at the end of a rope (even Mary Surrott) makes one recognize that the idoicies of our current era are not necessarily any more ridiculous than the ones of 137 years ago.

I've been a fan of Bill O'Reilly on Fox News'

The fact that Linocln hung on as long as he did, and died the next day made his ultimate demise seem all the more moving.

Access to this audio book was a Christmas gift from my son. I've enjoyed having the opportunity to hear this particular book read by one of my favorite TV news commentators, so I want to thank my son for his generosity.

Yes

The whole book. I thought I knew a lot about history but I learned something at almost every turn of the story!

No. But I will now.

The rest of the story.

Bill did a great job of reading this!

Surprisingly Bill O'Reilly's enthusiasm for his text. One got a sense of tragedy for all the characters that were involved in this extremely brutal and messy affair. Difficult to envisage the brutality of the world at this time without such biographies or to understand the primitive nature of both politics and medicine. These conspiracies continue but one really hopes we have more consideration for mankind (which involves both the good and the bad in this a story). Then there was Kennedy. They did a better detective job with Lincoln's Assassination than his.

The moment of assassination and the wind up of what happened to everyone.

Nothing. Maybe a bit journalistic but despite this he kept me enthralled by the evolving story - as a BRIT (in NZ) - much of which I did not know.

If only.... but it was one I could not wait to get back to.

No, a great read. Worth every cent (penny!).

Suspenseful, action, interesting

This was an excellent book and it really did read as a thriller. I learned so much that I did not know. On the day of Lincoln's assassination, as I listened I could barely catch my breath. I thought, "This is crazy - I know exactly what happens?!?!?" but I couldn't help it - I was so entranced.

I am not much of a history buff, but am literally counting the moments until the "Killing Kennedy" book comes out. This was phenomenal.

Informative, Interesting, Complex

The hours prior to and following his death

He is a great storyteller. He provides facts when available and also highlights unanswered questions.

descriptions of battles and bloodshed

The author did a wonderful job at drawing me into the sights, sounds and even the smells of these historic American days.

It was told in way that made it unforgettable.

Hard to choose. Probably Abraham Lincoln.

For the most part, yes.

I would love to hear more historical accounts told with this quality of story-telling artistry!
THANK YOU FOR A JOB WELL DONE MR. O'REILLY!

Day to day events

Capture of the assassins

No

Timeline of Terror

Want to read more about Lincoln now

Yes and I have. For history fans it is seldom we get an accurate book that reads like a novel. There are some points of conjecture, rather than detract, they make the book better.

Not applicable, rather, the character development of the historical figures was extremely well done. I learned something about each of them I did not know before.

Whenever the author reads his/her own book they provide emphasis where they intended it; if you will, O'Reilly adds depth to the book.

You thought you knew John Wilkes Booth?

Audible should figure out how to make the pictures from texts and non-fiction available to its listeners.

I was not sure what to expect out of this audiobook. I thought it would at least be a good history lesson. What a surprise to discover it is as good as some of the best thrillers I have ever read or listened to. More than being a thriller it is also a suspenseful crime novel. Of the more than 1,000 audio books I own this ranks in the top 20. O'Reilly tells us the story of the days leading up to Lincolns assassination, by giving us a look at the private thoughts of all the characters.

Let me quote The Examiner, which hits the mark with:

"O’Reilly uses clever literary devices like referring to Lincoln as “the man who only had six weeks to live” in the very first line and a few pages later as “the man who had fourteen days to live.” Reviewers of the book from the Washington Post and Newsweek compared O’Reilly’s writing style to that of popular courtroom thriller novelist John Grisham."

I could not agree more. The literary devices are brilliantly used to keep the reader/listner enthralled. Over and over O'Reilly reminds us that Lincoln had a burning desire to reunite the nation when the war ends. Lincoln was also fairly confident that he would be assassinated and O'Reilly weaves these forebodings brilliantly into the story. I noticed that many reviews of Killing Lincoln are based on a hatred of Bill O'Reilly, which shows a real lack of intellectual honesty. What a shame that some people might be turned away because of such narrow mindedness. Finally, a lot of folks do not like O'Reilly reading the book, but I found him to be very competent and entertaining. You will not be sorry if you buy this gem.