Author Event!

Michael Schein presents a lively discussion of his new nonfiction book, JOHN SURRATT: THE LINCOLN ASSASSIN WHO GOT AWAY, illustrated by historical images as well as pictures from the Italian hill town of Veroli, where Surratt made a daring leap to freedom. John Surratt was a Confederate Secret Service agent who was Booth’s closest associate in the four months prior to the assassination. Schein will discuss Surratt’s involvement in the assassination plot, his meetings with the Confederate high command in Richmond, his wild flight from justice as his mother stood trial for her life, and the failed effort to bring Surratt to justice. Schein will also tell tales from the adventure of tracking Surratt’s ghost across Italy.

“Gripping” & “Thought-provoking”

– Publishers Weekly

“John Surratt was indeed the Lincoln assassin who got away, but, fortunately, he will not escape history thanks to Michael Schein. In this well-researched, beautifully written account of John Surratt, Schein brings historical justice to a man who has been given a pass for too long. It is long overdue.”

– Edward Steers, Jr., Author of “Lincoln’s Assassination,” “The Lincoln Assassination Encyclopedia,” “Blood on the Moon: the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln,” “The Quotable Lincoln,” “His Name is Still Mudd,” and editor of “The Trial: the Assassination of President Lincoln and the Trial of the Conspirators.”

"Michael Schein has written a fast-moving, vivid account of one of the best and most bewildering stories to come out of the Civil War.  A bonus is Schein's excellent analysis of Surratt's trial, one of the more interesting and bizarre legal affairs of the era. Bravo!"

– S.C. Gwynne, Author of "Rebel Yell: The Violence, Passion, and Redemption of Stonewall Jackson," and "Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History."

John Surratt: The Lincoln Assassin Who Got Away

Bennett & Hastings Publishing – September 2015

ISBN  978-1-934733-95-0