I had no idea.  I knew tensions ran high during the Civil Rights movement.  I knew violence erupted.  I had no idea, though, that the government of Mississippi would go to such extreme measures to stop integration.

Rick Bowers traces the rise to power of the Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission and its secretly terrifying tactics.  The Commission was controlled by the most powerful men in the state.  It began as a way to spread propaganda in support of maintaining g.  It then recruited and maintained a network of spies with code names like Agent X, Agent Y, and Agent Zero.  These spies dug up dirt on suspected integration supporters and funnelled information about upcoming freedom rides, sit-ins and voter registration drives back to the Commission.  At the height of its power, it functioned as a secret-police force in support of segregation.  Really?  Here in the United States?  It’s hard to believe, but, yes, it did.

As I read about the desperate efforts of the Commission, I became even more impressed with those brave people who continued to fight for Civil Rights.  College students invaded Mississippi to teach literacy and help register voters.  Clyde Kennard and James Meredith dared to apply to all-white colleges.  Fannie Lou Hamer was beaten with a 3-inch-wide leather belt for asking to be served at a cafe marked “whites only.”  Medgar Evars was shot down in his front yard for his work with the NAACP.  Many others were threatened or imprisoned for daring to change the way things have always been. 

I am pushing myself to read more nonfiction.  Rick Bowers shows how good books about history can be.  Go, find a copy, and READ.

This is history as it should be written.  James L. Swanson captures the drama and emotion of the days leading up to and following Lincoln’s assassination at Ford’s Theater on April 14, 1865. 

Swanson sets his sights squarely on John Wilkes Booth, the good-looking charismatic actor who could not stand the fact his beloved South had lost the war and an entire way of life based on slavery.  I never knew how popular Booth had been as an actor.  He was the Robert Pattinson or Taylor Lautner of his day–except I don’t think the two modern actors are plotting murder and the downfall of governments. 

Booth had planned and failed in several earlier attempts to kidnap Lincoln, so he was more than ready when the opportunity presented itself.  This time, the plan–at least his part of it–came together perfectly as Booth gave the last and most memorable performance of his life. 

Things started falling apart during his escape from Washington.  He had help along the way–some willing, some reluctant, some coerced.  Even at his lowest point, hiding in the woods with a broken leg, no food, and no horse, Booth was eager to read any and every account of the assassination. 

Back in Washington, the rumors flew as Edwin Stanton began one of the largest manhunts in history to track down Lincoln’s killer.  Even in the days before cell phones and Facebooks, rumors and misinformation spread quickly.

Pick up this book and get swept up in the drama of those weeks. It reads much more like an episode of NCIS or CSI than history.   I’m glad I did.  Thanks to those of you who read it and recommended it.