It was one of the most tragic events in American history. The famous president, beloved by many, reviled by some, murdered while viewing a play at Ford's Theater in Washington - the frantic search for the perpetrators, the nation in mourning, the solemn funeral train, and the conspirators brought to justice. Coming just days after the surrender of the Confederate Army at Appomattox, the assassination of Abraham Lincoln has become etched in the national consciousness like few other events. The president who had steered the nation through its bloodiest crisis is cut down just as the bloodshed ends. It is a story that has been told many times, but rarely with the care and immediacy of "The Darkest Dawn". Thomas Goodrich brings to his narrative the meticulousness of the historian and the flair of the fiction writer. The result is an engrossing account, filled with detail and as gripping as today's headlines.