Book & Movie Review--Stealing Lincoln's Body

STEALING LINCOLN’S BODY

BY: Thomas J. Craughwell

PUBLISHED: April 2007 by Belknap Press

GENRE: Nonfiction; History

PAGES: 250

3 out of 5 stars

On the night of the presidential election in 1876, a gang of counterfeiters out of Chicago attempted to steal the entombed embalmed body of Abraham Lincoln and hold it for ransom. The custodian of the tomb was so shaken by the incident that he willingly dedicated the rest of his life to protecting the president's corpse.


For a history buff, this book may have A LOT of appeal for me it introduced way too many characters at the same time. I had a difficult time keeping track of who was bad, the mastermind, a helper, etc. I also felt it repeated itself a bit, just adding a bit more detail each time. These 2 factors made it difficult to continue to read. However, I LOVED the pictures and the last 2 chapters. It was new material, less characters, and very informative.

THE MOVIE: Stealing Lincoln’s Body

PRODUCED: 2009

DISTRIBUTED BY: A&E Home Video

LENGTH: 94 MINS

4 out of 5 starts

The old saying goes "the book is always better than the movie". This wasn't the case for me on this one. I felt the movie/documentary was very well done. Plus, it was structured in chronologically order that just made more sense than the book. It flowed better. The characters were introduced slower as well. Plus, the author Thomas Craughwell, has a great speaking voice and you can tell him and the other commentaries are very passionate about their work.

I would recommend both of these to anyone who wants to learn about Abraham Lincoln... If you have some background, so some of the names are familiar it may not be as difficult of a read as well. Watching the movie and THEN reading the book I feel would enhance the enjoyment as well.

(reviews submitted by Heather L.)