in the red corner ~ books by loons and goofs
today's three catch-ups on the 50bookchallenge are all first-person accounts from three of the least objective participants in the conspiracy trial, here in no particular order of ridiculousness:no. 40 ~ The Assassination of Lincoln: a History of the Great Conspiracy by general thomas mealey harris. general harris didn't say much during the trial, but he wrote down some rather strong opinions, defending weichmann, holt, and basically promulgating a lot of the rhetoric of the day. his text is certainly a justification of the court's findings, including the hanging of Mrs. Surratt. this guy would let the government sell him a refrigerator if he was innuit; he's so far bought into the federal propaganda.
no. 41 ~ A True History of the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln and of the Conspiracy of 1865 by louis j. weichmann. ah, looey, what a whiner you are. this nearly 500-pages of excuses from the man who, down through assassination history comes out as possibly the most reviled and controversial, is basically one long complaint that "everybody is so mean to me!" it's like having to read the memoir of nancy oleson. on the good side it's so chock full of self-delusions and misinformation that you really get a good idea of what was going on in this idjit's head.
no. 42 ~ Assassination of President Lincoln and the Trial of the Assassins by colonel henry lawrence burnett. i actually think there was something wrong with burnett socially. i get this impression from his scared-rabbit-looking portrait as much as from his self-aggrandizing writing style: "so I told the Secretary of War he couldn't fire me, I quit!" seriously, henry, you about peed in your pants when you lost weichmann and hollahan from your custody, just admit it. his account of the trial is snotty and self-justifying (and his random spelling of people's names, particularly Mr. Hanty, which i mentioned before, is still priceless). i try to sympathize with him on so many levels, but this guy would have still been stepping on toes, chasing magic bullets and seeking out little green men even if he had been born in this era and had the benefit of a good therapist.
Harris, Weichmann, and Burnett
between the three of them there's enough
hysterical paranoia that if possible to harness,
could sustain life on another planet.
no. 41 ~ A True History of the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln and of the Conspiracy of 1865 by louis j. weichmann. ah, looey, what a whiner you are. this nearly 500-pages of excuses from the man who, down through assassination history comes out as possibly the most reviled and controversial, is basically one long complaint that "everybody is so mean to me!" it's like having to read the memoir of nancy oleson. on the good side it's so chock full of self-delusions and misinformation that you really get a good idea of what was going on in this idjit's head.
no. 42 ~ Assassination of President Lincoln and the Trial of the Assassins by colonel henry lawrence burnett. i actually think there was something wrong with burnett socially. i get this impression from his scared-rabbit-looking portrait as much as from his self-aggrandizing writing style: "so I told the Secretary of War he couldn't fire me, I quit!" seriously, henry, you about peed in your pants when you lost weichmann and hollahan from your custody, just admit it. his account of the trial is snotty and self-justifying (and his random spelling of people's names, particularly Mr. Hanty, which i mentioned before, is still priceless). i try to sympathize with him on so many levels, but this guy would have still been stepping on toes, chasing magic bullets and seeking out little green men even if he had been born in this era and had the benefit of a good therapist.
Harris, Weichmann, and Burnett
between the three of them there's enough
hysterical paranoia that if possible to harness,
could sustain life on another planet.