   | Murder on the Baltimore Express : the plot to keep Abraham Lincoln from becoming president Author: Jurmain, Suzanne | |
| Price: $22.58 | ||
Summary:
In February 1861 newly elected President Abraham Lincoln set out on a triumphant 2,000 mile cross-country railroad trip that would take him to his inauguration in Washington, D.C. At the same time, a band of fanatic southern Confederate sympathizers decided to stop Lincoln from reaching Washington and taking office. Furious because the new president's desire to end slavery threatened their way of life, they devised a secret plan: Lincoln would be murdered by an assassin's bullet in Baltimore. But as rushing railway trains carried Abraham Lincoln towards death, Detective Allan Pinkerton learned of the plot--and set out to save the president. Dive into this incredibly fun and suspenseful true story and learn what other history books never told you: the secret of Lincoln's great escape.
| Accelerated Reader Information: Interest Level: MG Reading Level: 7.40 Points: 7.0 Quiz: 517490 |
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews (02/15/21)
School Library Journal (+) (01/01/21)
Booklist (02/01/21)
Full Text Reviews:
School Library Journal - 01/01/2021 Gr 5–8—Middle grade readers will certainly be aware of Abraham Lincoln's assassination at the hand of John Wilkes Booth in April 1865, but they might not know Lincoln was constantly dogged by assassination threats from the time he began running for president until his death. The narrative takes readers from just after Election Day in 1860 to when Lincoln was sworn in as president in March 1861. Unbeknownst to Lincoln, his death was being planned by pro-slavery fanatics. Fortunately, Lincoln had a group of people focused on keeping him safe. Through a series of spy missions to infiltrate the clandestine group meetings of Lincoln haters, his protectors outsmarted the antagonists and delivered Lincoln away from Baltimore where the assassination was to occur, to Washington, DC, for the swearing-in ceremony. The text uses dialogue (documented in the appendix) to create a nonfiction title that reads like an appealing work of historical fiction. Pictures from the events and places described are included to further enhance the story. VERDICT A perfect example of excellent narrative nonfiction and a must-have for any middle school library. This work will stand solidly beside books by James Swanson and Steve Sheinkin.—Kim Gardner, Fort Worth Country Day Sch., TX - Copyright 2021 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.
Booklist - 02/01/2021 This melodramatic account documents the efforts to keep the newly elected President Lincoln alive as he traveled by train from his Springfield home to Washington D.C. in February of 1861. As Jurmain points out in her thoroughly documented biographical thriller, it was a dangerous ride. Not only was there was no Secret Service or FBI at that time to provide protection, but several states had already seceded, war fever was running wild, and Lincoln was scheduled to pass through rough-and-tumble Baltimore—dubbed, in typically overstated prose, “Mobtown,” in “hostile slave territory”—where famed detective Allan Pinkerton was feverishly working to scotch a rumored assassination plot. Lincoln’s family, his entourage, and the significant roles that human rights activist Dorothea Dix and Pinkerton’s right-hand woman Kate Warne played all receive proper nods. Jurmain tracks Confederate President Jefferson Davis’s parallel journey to his capital and describes the intense pressure Lincoln was under to avoid fanning partisan flames. The train ride that brought Lincoln home in 1865 has received more attention, but readers may find this one just as memorable. - Copyright 2021 Booklist.
