Manhunt by James L. Swanson

I friend of mine loaned me this book completely out of the blue, and so I read it completely blind without a forethought at all.  I thoroughly enjoyed it, if only for a change of pace.  Because I normally read history books that cover wide swaths of time measured in centuries, Swanson's detailed coverage of a 12-day manhunt was great.

It also reads like a novel, something I've been reading more of lately.

Manhunt covers in great detail the story of John Wilkes Booth and his posse, before, during and after his assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.  He made a quick escape south of D.C. into Maryland, eventually crossing the Potomac into Virginia, before the feds were able to catch up with him after 12 days of earnest search.

I haven't read any U.S. history for a number of years now, so this was another great contrast for me.  The Civil War and its era is something I've studied very, very little, so Manhunt represented completely new ground.

I enjoyed it so much that I'm presently watching Ken Burns' Civil War documentary on the treadmill each day.

I've got another 1-2 years of heavy reading in (mostly) European history, culminating most likely in World War II, but will then resume my study of U.S. history in full force.