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The Hour of Peril: The Secret Plot to Murder Lincoln Before the Civil War by Daniel Stashower
exurbanis's review against another edition
4.0
(Narrative Nonfiction, Historical, American)
When we think of Lincoln and an assassination attempt, we no doubt think of Ford’s Theatre on April 15, 1865.
This book tells of police work that purportedly uncovered a plot to kill Lincoln in Baltimore in February 1861. Based on evidence, the law agencies were able to convince the President to change his train route and, as we know, he was not murdered then.
I’m not American so it takes a really good book to draw me into an isolated incident in US history. This well-written account kept my interest throughout.
4 stars
When we think of Lincoln and an assassination attempt, we no doubt think of Ford’s Theatre on April 15, 1865.
This book tells of police work that purportedly uncovered a plot to kill Lincoln in Baltimore in February 1861. Based on evidence, the law agencies were able to convince the President to change his train route and, as we know, he was not murdered then.
I’m not American so it takes a really good book to draw me into an isolated incident in US history. This well-written account kept my interest throughout.
4 stars
aprilbooksandwine's review against another edition
4.0
I listened to The Hour Of Peril: The Secret Plot To Murder Lincoln Before The Civil War by Daniel Stashower narrated by Edoardo Ballerini because of this secret project where I am judging audiobooks for a thing. Once I get through all of them, I will let you guys actually know what the project is. Anyways, I chose this one to listen to because the subject matter is interesting. I know not everyone finds presidential history all that fascinating, but I do. Like, I even have a list of my favorite presidents (Teddy Roosevelt, I am looking at YOU) and it turns out that Lincoln is among them. SO! When I was given the chance to listen to a book about pre-Civil War era Lincoln, I took it.
Read the rest of my review here
Note: Review and link will work on February 20, 2014
Read the rest of my review here
Note: Review and link will work on February 20, 2014
prof_pelon's review against another edition
3.0
interesting book. more about the first detective agency in America than Lincoln. but still interesting.
leticiabench's review against another edition
3.0
Enjoyed the history but it was very slow paced for much of the book.
davidr's review against another edition
5.0
This is a wonderful book about the detective Allan Pinkerton, and how he uncovered and foiled a plot to assassinate Abraham Lincoln before he became president. Pinkerton grew up in Scotland, where he developed strong feelings for social reformation. He immigrated to the United States, where he lucked into solving a counterfeiting ring. Soon he found his way into the business of running a private detective agency.
Pinkerton had strong feelings against slavery. As an abolitionist, he raised money for John Brown. Pinkerton even ran a station in the underground railway prior to the Civil War.
So it is seems that Pinkerton had a strong affinity for Abraham Lincoln. But that is not exactly how he got involved with Lincoln. Pinkerton was hired to protect the railroad that was transporting Lincoln to his inauguration in Washington DC. Pinkerton hired men and women to fill important roles in his agency. He was flabbergasted that women wanted to work for him; but he took a chance, and it paid off well.
I won't add any spoilers here. Let me just say that even though this is a history book, it reads like a detective novel. Some parts of it were thrilling, while occasionally it lost some momentum.
I listened to this book as an audiobook, narrated by Edoardo Ballerini. His voice is a perfect match for the book.
Pinkerton had strong feelings against slavery. As an abolitionist, he raised money for John Brown. Pinkerton even ran a station in the underground railway prior to the Civil War.
So it is seems that Pinkerton had a strong affinity for Abraham Lincoln. But that is not exactly how he got involved with Lincoln. Pinkerton was hired to protect the railroad that was transporting Lincoln to his inauguration in Washington DC. Pinkerton hired men and women to fill important roles in his agency. He was flabbergasted that women wanted to work for him; but he took a chance, and it paid off well.
I won't add any spoilers here. Let me just say that even though this is a history book, it reads like a detective novel. Some parts of it were thrilling, while occasionally it lost some momentum.
I listened to this book as an audiobook, narrated by Edoardo Ballerini. His voice is a perfect match for the book.
bibliocat4's review against another edition
3.0
Overall I found this to be a good book. I had never heard of this Lincoln trip and the involvement of Pinkerton, who is famous in his own right. At times the book did drag which is why I didn't give it four stars and it has more of a focus on Pinkerton than what I had surmised from the summery.
(Received free Arc from publisher)
(Received free Arc from publisher)
estellabelle92's review against another edition
4.0
This books ties in perfectly with "Girl in Disguise" by Green MacAllister which I just read - historical fiction of Kate Warne, the first female Pinkerton detective agent.
Kate plays a smaller role in the overall tale as much of the story covers Lincoln's election, the hatred toward him in the south, and all the people and agencies trying to protect his journey to Washington DC for his inauguration.
Reading like a novel, this history covers a few weeks in time of one of the country's most turbulent periods, is well worth pulling off the shelf.
Kate plays a smaller role in the overall tale as much of the story covers Lincoln's election, the hatred toward him in the south, and all the people and agencies trying to protect his journey to Washington DC for his inauguration.
Reading like a novel, this history covers a few weeks in time of one of the country's most turbulent periods, is well worth pulling off the shelf.
evamadera1's review against another edition
3.0
This book had such great potential. Initially I was drawn in by the premise. Who wouldn't want to learn more about an assassination attempt foiled by the original private eye.
It's the premise and skeleton of the actual story that kept me from giving this book a two star rating.
Here are some of the downsides:
The narrator of the audiobook is rather lackluster.
The author opens with a description of Lincoln's immediate journey to the inauguration, clearly well after the foiled assassination attempt in Baltimore. This ends up confusing the reader.
The author spends far too much time on intricate details of Pinkerton's cases. While these are fascinating, I fail to see the relevance to the principal topic.
Additionally, the author (aided by the narrator's inflection) waxes eloquent in his descriptions making the narrative sound pretentious.
In the end, this fascinating topic is given a far too thorough treatment. The story could have been told in much fewer words.
It's the premise and skeleton of the actual story that kept me from giving this book a two star rating.
Here are some of the downsides:
The narrator of the audiobook is rather lackluster.
The author opens with a description of Lincoln's immediate journey to the inauguration, clearly well after the foiled assassination attempt in Baltimore. This ends up confusing the reader.
The author spends far too much time on intricate details of Pinkerton's cases. While these are fascinating, I fail to see the relevance to the principal topic.
Additionally, the author (aided by the narrator's inflection) waxes eloquent in his descriptions making the narrative sound pretentious.
In the end, this fascinating topic is given a far too thorough treatment. The story could have been told in much fewer words.
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