[QUZ]⇒ Download The Hour of Peril The Secret Plot to Murder Lincoln Before the Civil War Daniel Stashower 9780312600228 Books

The Hour of Peril The Secret Plot to Murder Lincoln Before the Civil War Daniel Stashower 9780312600228 Books

Download As PDF : The Hour of Peril The Secret Plot to Murder Lincoln Before the Civil War Daniel Stashower 9780312600228 Books

The Hour of Peril The Secret Plot to Murder Lincoln Before the Civil War Daniel Stashower 9780312600228 Books

The Midnight Special:

What a page turner! Daniel Stashower's fast moving book covers a little known moment in America's past and is just what I look for in reading history: entertainment. As well as Lincoln's first brush with a political assassin, The Hour of Peril gives you a close up look at Allan Pinkerton's life and the birth of of his famous detective agency. From "rebel-rouser" in Scotland to a trouble-shooting handy man in rural America Pinkerton was quick to use his wits, as well as his fists, when it was time to help someone with a problem. Lincoln too was a man who wasn't afraid of controversy in his pursuit of an education or a political office. Neither man was one to back down in the face of danger. Put these two together in the same book and you have a recipe for excitement. Much as I hate to admit it, this was the first time I had ever heard of an early attempt on Lincoln's life and even though I knew he would survive to be sworn-in as president, the suspense was still there and once started this book was hard to put down. The main narrative follows president-elect Lincoln as he makes his way from Springfield, Illinois, via train, to Washington DC for his inauguration. Rather than a straight run from point A to point B, the train would meander through several eastern states, cross the Mason- Dixon Line, and stop a various cities along the way to give Lincoln a chance to meet the citizens and official dignitaries at each location. The last stop before DC was Baltimore, Maryland where Lincoln might face his harshest critics yet. With a possible political split between the northern and southern states looming in the Nation's future, the Maryland railway system was of strategic importance to both sides. Emotions were high in "The Monumental City", tempers flared and rumors ran rampant, this was no place for the faint of heart. Meanwhile, in Baltimore, Pinkerton was working undercover for companies like Adams Express and the Illinois Central Railroad. During the course of his investigations Pinkerton caught wind of a possible assassination plot to kill Lincoln. Now the race was on, Pinkerton was determined to find the source of the rumors and see Lincoln safely to Washington DC. Depending on who you talked to in the mid 1800's, Pinkerton was either a skilled detective or a hot headed muck-raker, either way Lincoln trusted him and, for the most part, went along with his plans. In his day, Pinkerton was criticized for some of his methods but he did establish many procedures for crime detection that are still in use today. At times he was a bit hard nosed and would do whatever it took to achieve his goals. If that meant stepping on a few toes, entrapping a suspect or sending his own people into danger, then that was the price you paid for law enforcement in 1861. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in early American history, I found it well written and engrossing with just a touch of "film noir". Should the reader take Stashower's conclusions as the last word on this subject? Probably not, but if you'r interested, The Hour of Peril will lead you on to other books and authors who may have a slightly different take on the plot to kill Lincoln and on Pinkerton's merits for good or ill. From what I could determine Stashower's research was right-on and he seemed to be good a covering both sides of any controversy. I had no technical or formatting problems with this Kindle edition.

Last Ranger


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The Hour of Peril The Secret Plot to Murder Lincoln Before the Civil War Daniel Stashower 9780312600228 Books Reviews

I listened to this story in audiobook form. It is extremely well presented. Very interesting and informative of the plot to kill Lincoln before he was even sworn in as the new president in 1861. This is true history, but the author presents it in such a manner that it reads like a fictional thriller. A few years ago I also read THE BALTIMORE PLOT that dealt with the same historic event regarding Lincoln. I thought that book was very good too, but if I had to recommend only one to read it would be THE HOUR OF PERIL...definitely worth 5 stars! The only negatives of this book is I felt the author spent way too much time on the life history of Pinkerton, the private detective who helped uncover the plot against Linoln. The other issue I had was since I had the audiobook version I did not have any maps or pictures to refer to as in the hardcover version. JJM
Although I have read a lot of books on the Civil War and Lincoln, I was only vaguely familiar with the subjects of this book the attempt (real or contrived) to assassinate Lincoln during Lincoln's train ride from Illinois through Baltimore to D.C. to be inaugurated as President and Allan Pinkerton, America's first private eye who set out to uncover and stop the assassination "cabal." Daniel Stashower's account of these intertwined stories is engrossing and exciting; while I knew how the plot would end, Stashower kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the entire book. Pinkerton had the philosophy that the ends always justify the means when it comes to ferreting out a crime. He is not a particularly appealing personality, and many of his tactics used to bribe and deceive potential conspirators seem extremely distasteful. Nevertheless, Stashower is persuasive that there was indeed a plot and that Pinkerton ultimately performed a tremendous service to the country by convincing Lincoln to change his travel plans and take the night train through Baltimore to escape the plotters. In sum, this book is great as both a history and a page-turner, and I would recommend it to fans of either genre.
Travelling from Springfield, Illinois to Washington D.C. in 1861 was no easy task. American railroads were piece-mealed across the country. One might travel from Springfield to Pittsburg, only to have to take a horse and buggy across town to the railway station that would take you on to Baltimore. In preparation for his first Inauguration, President Abraham Lincoln decided to travel cross-country by rail, and to stage "Whistle stops" along the way. Stashower's work describes the events surrounding a "rumored" assassination attempt as Abraham Lincoln made his way to Washington. Stashower's account of Allan Pinkerton's role in thwarting the assassination is interestingly presented. Full of detailed accounts of clandestine meetings and the beginnings of the "Secret Service's" protection of the President is well presented. However, Stashower concludes his account by lending credence to the argument that all of this could just have been a lot of hype generated by a self-serving, ostentatious person (Pinkerton).
I was intrigued by the title. I had vaguely heard about possible assassination attempts, but didn't know the histrionics. The fact that Pinkerton was involved (to what degree is part of the mystery) made it more compelling. The narrative moved through time chronologically. It was never slow paced. There were a lot of moving parts in the story. And they were set in many locales. The author moved from one place to another without confusing the reader. At the end, you are left knowing that there was a plot (or plots). But you also were left wondering how involved it was or how advanced the planning really was. The author didn't want to deal with hyperbole and speculation to fit together the narrative he believed to be true. He threw out the facts as he had researched and let the reader make up his or her own mind.
The Midnight Special

What a page turner! Daniel Stashower's fast moving book covers a little known moment in America's past and is just what I look for in reading history entertainment. As well as Lincoln's first brush with a political assassin, The Hour of Peril gives you a close up look at Allan Pinkerton's life and the birth of of his famous detective agency. From "rebel-rouser" in Scotland to a trouble-shooting handy man in rural America Pinkerton was quick to use his wits, as well as his fists, when it was time to help someone with a problem. Lincoln too was a man who wasn't afraid of controversy in his pursuit of an education or a political office. Neither man was one to back down in the face of danger. Put these two together in the same book and you have a recipe for excitement. Much as I hate to admit it, this was the first time I had ever heard of an early attempt on Lincoln's life and even though I knew he would survive to be sworn-in as president, the suspense was still there and once started this book was hard to put down. The main narrative follows president-elect Lincoln as he makes his way from Springfield, Illinois, via train, to Washington DC for his inauguration. Rather than a straight run from point A to point B, the train would meander through several eastern states, cross the Mason- Dixon Line, and stop a various cities along the way to give Lincoln a chance to meet the citizens and official dignitaries at each location. The last stop before DC was Baltimore, Maryland where Lincoln might face his harshest critics yet. With a possible political split between the northern and southern states looming in the Nation's future, the Maryland railway system was of strategic importance to both sides. Emotions were high in "The Monumental City", tempers flared and rumors ran rampant, this was no place for the faint of heart. Meanwhile, in Baltimore, Pinkerton was working undercover for companies like Adams Express and the Illinois Central Railroad. During the course of his investigations Pinkerton caught wind of a possible assassination plot to kill Lincoln. Now the race was on, Pinkerton was determined to find the source of the rumors and see Lincoln safely to Washington DC. Depending on who you talked to in the mid 1800's, Pinkerton was either a skilled detective or a hot headed muck-raker, either way Lincoln trusted him and, for the most part, went along with his plans. In his day, Pinkerton was criticized for some of his methods but he did establish many procedures for crime detection that are still in use today. At times he was a bit hard nosed and would do whatever it took to achieve his goals. If that meant stepping on a few toes, entrapping a suspect or sending his own people into danger, then that was the price you paid for law enforcement in 1861. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in early American history, I found it well written and engrossing with just a touch of "film noir". Should the reader take Stashower's conclusions as the last word on this subject? Probably not, but if you'r interested, The Hour of Peril will lead you on to other books and authors who may have a slightly different take on the plot to kill Lincoln and on Pinkerton's merits for good or ill. From what I could determine Stashower's research was right-on and he seemed to be good a covering both sides of any controversy. I had no technical or formatting problems with this edition.

Last Ranger