They Have Killed Papa Dead By Anthony S. Pitch

A Book Review by Joshua Cachapero
They Have Killed Papa Dead by Anthony S. Pitch is a book that talks about one of our most unique presidents. One that changed American History with his role in the Civil war, his role as a President, and his tragic assassination. Abe Lincoln our 16th President of the United States is described in this book as a calm president and no one will take it any other way. Critics said before Anthony S. Pitch wrote this book that there is no way another book of Abe Lincoln can deliver anything more then what we already know about Lincoln. But nine years of hard work Anthony shocked the critics with very detailed info, quote-to-quote story telling, and chilling story that will attract any book lover.
They Have Killed Papa Dead is not in history book form this book is written in story form grabbing the suspense of each moment of the book. We all know the story of Lincoln, he freed the slave, banished slavery, became the 16th president, was shot and assassinated by John Wilkes Booth and a shocked country cried but what this book delievers is Abe’s sense of humor, his colleagues likes and concerns, the many assassination letters, the plot of his assassination, who his assassinator was, and described Abe’s personality. Anothony S. Pitch did very well describing Abe Lincoln’s personality because as the reader we want to know what Abe was really like and that is one of the reasons why this book is so interesting.
Telling Abe’s personality and his sense of humor really gives the opportunity for the reader to compare one’s self with Abe, or compare what he had to go through back then and think what would Abe be like today if he lived in the 21st century. When I dove into this book I was surprised how calm he was as a president. Again, being a president is not easy but Abe always seemed to be so calm about his job. His colleagues and security would call Lincoln “Cool, calm, and composed.” That is coming a lot from a man that has to speak in front of half the country that hates him. What is even bolder on Abe’s part is that he did not require a lot of security on his day-to-day activities. He went through the streets with no more then one or two friends. When he went to local musicals he would not even tell the owners that he would be coming in advance Abe would just show up to the play and simply watch, like a ordinary citizen. By Anthony describing how relaxed Abe was about being president really surprised me as a reader.
What Pitch really did well was describing who the assassinator of our 16th President was and how he grew up. John Wilkes Booth was not just the assassinator he was a man troubled in early child life, and could not really get his life together growing up. In the book Pitch describes Booth as attempting to try and make a better life but always ended up fantasizing the fact on being remembered as a “bad guy”. As a young child Pitch says the only person Booth was close to was his sister, he would tell her anything and the most troubling thing he admitted was saying that he wanted to be remembered in the world by doing something terrible. That terrible thing was assassinating Abraham Lincoln. With that he fulfilled what he wanted, being remembered as a bad guy.
Another thing about Pitch’s book is the tie in with all the assassination letters. In the book Pitch mentions that Abe Lincoln has so many assassination or threat letters that Abe had his own stash were he kept all these assassination letters. What amazed me while reading that is the fact that he showed no fear throughout the day? When he had a speech scheduled Abe never backed down, always keeping his promise, which Pitch describes as one of the most honest president. As I was reading I was surprised how bold Abe really was, any normal person would run, ask for a post-pone, or even cancel the whole speech Lincoln never backed down from a speech, always keeping his promise.
One characteristic Pitch really describes well about Lincoln is his sense of humor. Back then the country was divided. Now being a funny politic was common, but when I think about the risk and ease for someone assassinating another person Lincoln was either lucky or just plain bold. For example one of the chapters describe Lincoln being hated by Baltimore. Signs were up saying, “Abe wont make it out of Baltimore alive!” Abe did not just make it through Baltimore just fine, he went through cool, calm, composed, and making jokes. With his family in the car Pitch described Abe as witty and a comedian. Abe’s calm personality and sense of humor may have been his enemy. Now that I think about it if he had more security would John Wilkes Booth have a opportunity to kill the president? If Abe had been more cautious would he have lived a longer life? Maybe but with his witty personality he is more remembered in American History.
In conclusion, this book is superb as a story. I always think the best books to read are true events told in story form. This book is exactly what it is. The book delivers story wise and seems very accurate history wise. The book is not just for historians, the book is for people that like books, the book is a good read, Die hard Lincoln fans will love this book, the book delivers facts, humor, suspense, and just plain old fun. Also, it wouldn’t hurt your history class to learn more about Lincoln. Everything you need to know is in this book. So, pick it up