Matthew Carlton, Words, Art, Photography

After visiting Washington D.C. and many of its historic sites including Ford’s Theater, I decided that I’d like to learn more about the history of that city and our nation. My wife gave me this book as a birthday present a few weeks ago, so I took the first opportunity I could to read it.

Regardless of the author with the largest billing, I was intrigued to see how the story of Lincoln’s assassination was described in this “Thriller” style. I had learned a good bit of information about the assassination while visiting Ford’s Theater and I picked up more reading this book.

I finished the book rather quickly, I do feel like I could tell when the O’Reilly was writing versus when the pen fell to Martin Dugard. The pen may never have never been given to Dugard other than to edit, but the book’s flow didn’t always feel like one author penned it. The story was sensational, but I felt like certain points were even more sensationalized when it came to talking about conspiracy theories surrounding the assassination. I want the facts, not what someone thinks may have happened, just the facts.

Please don’t spin it unless you can back it up.

Learning that the book did have inaccurate information just after I finished was very disappointing. O’Reilly called the controversy “a concerted effort by people who don’t like me to diminish the book”. I doubt that, considering it was the Deputy Superintendent of Ford’s Theater National Historic Site. I’m not sure she has an agenda against news commentators, just that she wanted the event to be written about accurately. They may have been small inaccuracies or misstatements, but it makes me wonder who fact checked the content.

Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever by Bill O’Reilly

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

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This collaboration is the sequel to the Talisman, again following Jack Sawyer. This time, years later, he’s a retired Los Angeles Police Department Lieutenant. Sawyer retires in his thirties to French Landing, Wisconsin, the town he tracked a murder to on his last LAPD case. The local police chief comes to him and asks him to help investigate a string of murders involving children. He dodges the investigation until the killer, dubbed “The Fisherman” sends him a package. The contents of the package pull him into the investigation, Sawyer know he’s going to have to confront his past and travel to “The Territories” once again.

I would like to be able to rank books a little more incrementally, to give the book 3 and 3/4stars since I can’t, I’ll just round up and give the book a four.

I enjoyed the story and the collaboration between authors was nice. Their combined style was very interesting and flowed well; never did I feel like I was reading something written by two authors. I always enjoy getting to glimpse again at the worlds created through King’s writing of the Black Tower story.

All in all … all things server the beam.

Black House by Stephen King

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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Since, I’ve registered for my first half-marathon I’ve been planning my training routine. Today I mapped out training schedule and put it on the calendar.

My first week of training for the half will be the first week of August, twelve weeks before the half-marathon. This is getting real, but I am excited and ready for the challenge!