Ten minutes to write. Less time to read.

One hundred forty-one years ago today, Abraham Lincoln, then President of the United States of America, succumbed to an assassin’s bullet. There is nobody alive now who remembers that ignominious event. Yet, historians still recall the drama of it. Book publishers still court Lincoln writers. The oversized Mt. Rushmore and the humble penny still bear his likeness.

I recall reading Jim Bishop’s book, The Day Lincoln Was Shot, which was originally published in the nineteen-fifties. I was in my teens and American History was part of my daily school life. I don’t remember if our class was assigned this reading or if I found it on my own; but I do remember being held literary captive by the hour-by-hour presentation of Lincoln’s last day. It was much more entertaining and informative than the dry text that featured dates and places, which Sister Mary Ita taught from. And, when it came to explaining further the political context or the state of our country, Bishop had a way with words that Sister Ita didn’t.

I found the The Day Lincoln Was Shot online last night and read a synopsis for old time’s sake. It held my attention just as it had in high school, so I highly recommend that anyone looking for a good non-fiction read consider Bishop’s work in honor of the day. Failing that, then how about renting that old Alfred Hitchcock favorite, “North by Northwest”? The climax of the story plays out across Mount Rushmore with Lincoln’s likeness being the focal point.