about the book
It was a half-baked plan from the start. Dig up Lincoln’s body and ransom it for an imprisoned career criminal and $200,000. But it is a true story!
The U.S. Secret Service was organized in 1965 to go after the rampant counterfeiting rings that were flooding the country with bad paper bills after the Civil War. At that time, an astounding fifty percent of the paper money in circulation was bogus!
On October 20, 1875, a squad of Secret Service agents gathered in Fulton, Illinois, and raided the workshop of master counterfeiter Benjamin Boyd—one of the worst career criminals in the nation. The raid succeeded and Boyd quickly found himself securely incarcerated.
Shortly after, members of Boyd’s gang gathered in a smoky Chicago saloon. They had to spring their ringleader—and the convoluted plot to steal Lincoln’s body was hatched. They were sure the government would spring their compatriot and fork over the ransom.
But it didn’t go exactly as they planned.
In this highly suspenseful account, you will learn all about counterfeiting and the criminals who planned and executed the plot. But even more interesting, you’ll learn about grave robbing and why it was such a big business, and discover the early workings of the Secret Service. You’ll even learn a bit about the presidential election of 1976, and Mary Todd Lincoln and her son Robert.
And most exciting of all, you’ll be right there, at Lincoln’s tomb, the night of the election, as the Secret Service agents laid their trap and the bumbling criminals set out to pull off their Keystone-Cop-like caper!
about the author
Steve Sheinkin used to write history text books. That part of his life is over, and he is writing history books people will hopefully want to read voluntarily, not because a teacher told them to do it.
He was born in Brooklyn, New York, and has lived in Mississippi and Colorado as well. Growing up, Steve’s favorite books were action and adventure stories, things with treasure searches and man-eating sharks. His most favorite book, though, was the historical classic Mutiny on the Bounty, which was about a real mutiny that took place in the 1700s on a British ship. Also, baseball. Steve loves baseball!
Steve went to college at Syracuse University, then moved to Washington, D.C., and worked with the National Audubon Society—an environmental group. Later he and his brother moved to Austin, Texas, to try to become screenwriters. When that didn’t pan out, Steve moved back to Brooklyn in order to figure out how to make a living as a writer. That is how he got his job editing and writing history text books. After a few years of penning text books, he had collected hundreds of historical stories in his head from the things he was reading, editing, and writing about, and decided he was going to turn these interesting snippets of historical facts into action-packed novels.
Steve lives with his wife and two children in Saratoga Springs, New York.
Sources:
Author website
Author interview : Author Turf
Also by Steve Sheinkin:
The Port Chicago 50 : Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights. Roaring Brook. 2014.
Bomb : The Race to Build – and Steal – The World’s Most Dangerous Weapon. Flash Point. 2012.
The Notorious Benedict Arnold : A True Story of Adventure, Heroism, & Treachery. Flash Point. 2010.
Which Way to the Wild West? : Everything Your Schoolbooks Didn’t Tell You about America’s Westward Expansion. Roaring Brook. 2008.
King George : What Was His Problem? : Everything Your Schoolbooks Didn’t Tell You about the American Revolution. Roaring Brook. 2008.
Two Miserable Presidents : Everything Your Schoolbooks Didn’t Tell You about the Civil War. Roaring Brook. 2008.
read more!
Bomb : The Race to Build–and Steal–The World’s Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin
This history of the atom bomb starts in 1938 with the first splitting of the atom. Scientists and spies in America, Britain, Russia, and Germany raced to develop, steal, and use the atom bomb in World War II. The country who successfully detonated the atomic bomb first would establish world military dominance!
Chasing Lincoln’s Killer by James L. Swanson
This true story is a gripping account of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and the twelve-day massive hunt for John Wilkes Booth and his co-conspirators. Swanson uses archival material, manuscripts, and interviews given by relatives of the conspirators and the lawmen to get all the details, providing a heart-pounding day-by-day account through the eyes of the man hunters and the hunted.
Lincoln’s Last Days : The Shocking Assassination That Changed America Forever by Bill O’Reilly
This history, filled with photographs, maps, timelines, and more, recounts the end of the Civil War, Lee’s surrender, Booth’s hatred of Lincoln, and his conspiracy to kill the president. Lincoln’s last days, the shooting, and his final hours are followed by the manhunt for Booth and his cohorts, Booth’s death, and the trial and execution of the co-conspirators.