as i said, john wilkes booth was said to be a southerner. and even that, the most basic statement about booth and the conspiracy, is not quite right. booth came from a place below the mason dixon line, but, actually, in an afternoon, you could walk from his house to the pennsylvania state line. he was from a border state, and that was far more intense emotionally and politically than the war and the experience was maybe a little bit farther to the south. take north carolina for example. in border states, you were surrounded by people who might or might not agree with you on all the political questions of the day. that meant that the intensity of being right around people to fight with -- that amplified your feelings somewhat. and border states have not gotten a whole lot of attention in the civil war literature, although that is being remedied. but in hindsight, it kind of makes sense that lincoln was targeted by a person from a border state, especially the one that surrounded washington on three sides. because that is what maryland was. it

. >> who is a worse theater goer, you or john wilkes booth? >> i guess i would say me since people are tweeting 24/7. >> they are coming down on you. >> i am a more ron. i am an idiot. i don't know. >> my question is have you had any phone charging sponsors come and try to give you their self-charging device? you should really be in on that. >> rut charging guy. >> they can get free stuff out of this. >> i should. i was thinking the same thing. >> when they tweet at you you should tweet out your chest workout. what up now bro? three sets of 10. >> i should. >> now, if you -- if you were representing someone like nick, what advice would you give him? >> i am not sure i am ready to dole out free legal advice. >> did you see that nick? this is a lawyer joke. >> thank you for not letting his -- you know. >> it is for him. sometimes he needs two explanations to get thens. >> i guess so. i didn't snow you are not allowed on stage to charge your phone. i'm sorry for that. >> i see. of course. now wait a minute. you are britting a good point here. the

it has the arms of liberty and the figure of john wilkes, who was a british opposition politician against the, rallied support in britain against the administration of lord beaut. he became a very popular figure for the american sons of liberty. and they would often use wilkes' image in their propaganda. when they were protesting for american liberty all through the 1760's and 1770's. that is wonderful, evocative piece. as american colonists begin shouting very loudly and increasingly loud about their rights as englishmen and their feeling that there is a conspiracy to inflate them -- conspiracy to enslave them underway under way in the british parliament, the whole issue of slavery, of chattel slavery increasingly the contradiction of these calls for liberty with the presence of slavery, particularly in america becomes louder. so, this next item is an incredibly rare and important work. this is a volume of poems published in london in 1773. by a young woman named phyllis wheatley, the first published african-american poet in american history. phyllis wheatley had been enslaved off the we

. >> host: james is a co-author of a number but particularly manhunt about john wilkes booth after the lincoln assassination but let's go back in time a little further than that. the first folio. could you talk about what a folio is? some of the viewers may not be a aware of it in the first folio shakespeare's work and the two men, this saviors of shakespeare's plays. >> guest: the folio verse 5 -- refers to the size of the book. it's very large, 13 times eight eight -- third train x8 depending. that would be closer to something called the cordell which is half the size and what made it interesting was the folio side conveyed some kind of gravitas in it and prior to this first folio shakespeare that size it really been reserved for political and religious tracks with some gravity. not fiction, not literature and certainly not plays which were not regarded as literature. they were regarded as a femoral amusements for the masses. the first folio was a memorial volume that two of shakespeare's friends john henry -- hemings and john condell put together as a tribute to their deceased frien

host: james has a number of looks that particularly one of my favorites is manhunt the manhunt for john wilkes-booth after the lincoln assassination but let's go back in time a little further than that at the first folio. could you talk about what a folio is alex it's a phrase some of your readers may not need familiar with and the two men you referred to earlier the saviors. >> guest: sure. a folio refers to the size of the book. it's very large 13x8 depending on how it's been shaped. like a "life" magazine. >> host: but twice that. >> guest: that book would be closer to something that would be half the size of a folio. and what made it interesting was the folio sized conveys a gravitas of the work and at an prior the first folio shakespeare that size had been reserved for political and religious tracts of gravity. not fiction, not literature and certainly not plays which were not regarded as literature. they were regarded as a femoral amusements for the masses. the first folio was a memorial volume that two of shakespeare's friend john hemming and henry khan dell put together is a tribute to their

is the author of a number of books but particularly one of my favorite is manhunt, the hunt for john wilkes booth after the lincoln assassination. let's go back a little further than not. the first folio is the two men are the saviors >> the folio refers to the size of the book. it's very large. 13 by eight depending how it's been shaped down. >> life a life magazine size. that is correct. that book would be closer to some thing called half the size. what made it interesting was some kind of the work in that. prior to and it's been reserved for political and religious tracts. not fiction, not literature and plays regarded as literature were regarded as amusements for the masses. two of shakespeare's friends >> how long before he passed away. the first is published in 1623. the idea percolated about five years that are shakespeare's that, at which time only half of his place has been published. it would not have been known arguably had these two men not that both of these altogether and save them to your monies copies of the manuscripts >> talk about how that came about. it was somewhat inte

was a threat to the republic and he was like a brutus killing caesar but that's the reality of john wilkes-booth and after that you can believe anything. you can believe that maybe andrew johnson was part of the conspiracy to try to finish off his successor so he could get to the top. you can believe that the conspiracy was part of a long-standing conspiracy by the democratic party to kill any president who welcomed a democrat and you may say that's crazy you say that sends the democratic party was founded under andrew jackson who were the presidents of the opposite party? the first one was henry blame harrison and he died in office. they said it was pneumonia and the next one was zachary taylor and oh he had gotten in the way of the south and they said it was -- how convenient that was. then it was abraham lincoln and quite a pattern. if you have prominent democrats that are saying you should elect democrats because you know you can guarantee they won't die in office what kind of message does that send? you are beginning to sense that there might be a wider broader conspiracy out there. people

it is that john wilkes boothe shot and killed abram lincoln.am went and stands out as unique. -- abraham lincoln stands out as unique. jefferson davis did, that holding slavery was a central part -- is an old bully. why supremacy is a very popular, entrench and believe in this country's history and heritage. those two things are not equivalent. the ku klux klan is not the opposite of the harlem children's on. the ku klux klan is the most to mystic terrorist organization in this country's history. the hardware them it is doing good work, there is not enough of it across this country. there's a national tourist organization. one is not the answer for the other. juan: i would ask you about the critique of your education system in america. very, very strong in your book, the failures of classroom teaching. basically, you got most of your knowledge, yourself in a library. could you talk about that? >> this is personal. and i want to go up and hopefully test the peerless him. i had no idea while -- while was in school. i think about the french leg wh

he talks about lincoln's legacy in the united states and around the world and john wilkes booth's motives for killing the president and how security has changed. mr.

it has the figure of john wilkes, who was a british opposition politician against -- sort of rallied support in britain against the administration of lord bute, and he became a very popular figure for the american sons of liberty . they would often use his image in their propaganda. when they were protesting for american liberty. also in the 1760's and 1770's. it's a wonderful, evocative piece. as american colonists begin shouting very loudly and increasingly loud about their rights as englishmen and their feeling that there is a conspiracy to enslave them under way, then the british parliament -- the whole issue of slavery, of chattel slavery -- increasing the contradiction of these calls for liberty with the presence of slavery, particularly in america -- of course, it existed in britain at the time, but it was particularly widespread in america -- becomes louder and louder. this next item is an incredibly rare and important work. this is a volume of poems published in london in 1773 by a young woman named phyllis wheatley, who is the first published african-american poet in americ

james is also the author of a number of books but particularly, one of my favorites manhunt for john wilkes booth after the lincoln assassination. but let's go back a little further than that. can you talk a little bit what a folio is come the many members may not know what it is coming into the two men that you are too earlier. >> guest: which refers to the size of the book. 13 by eight approximately depending how it's been shaved down. >> guest: like a magazine size that would be closer to half the size. what made it interesting is it conveyed some gravitons prior to the first but that size has been reserved for political and religious tracks in the gravity. certainly not plays that were not regarded as literature. they were regarded as amusement for the masses. the first was a memorial volume that john hemming put together as a tribute. he died in 1616. if percolated off six years after shakespeare's death. it wouldn't have been known to history had enough said. they saved them for prosperity. many of the manuscripts possibly the only copies of the manuscripts have gone up in flames at t

but that's the reality john wilkes booth. after that you can put anything.you can believe that maybe andrew johnson was part of the conspiracy to try to finish off the successor to the ticket to the top. you can believe that a conspiracy was part of a long-standing conspiracy by the democratic party to kill any president who wasn't a democrat. and you may say that's not -- that's crazy, you say. but since the democratic party was founded under andrew jackson, who was the presence of the opposition party for the first was william henry harrison and within a month he died in office. they said it was pneumonia. and then the next one was zachary taylor, and he got in the way of the south and they said it was -- how convenient it was. then there was abraham lincoln and quite anything. if you got prominent democrats are saying to audience you should elect democrats because you can guarantee they won't die in office. what kind of message does that send you beginning to sense that there might be a wider brought conspiracy out there that people believe it. they thoug

john wilkes booth was among those standing in the crowd. he hears lincoln endorsed limited black suffrage. he says that's the last speech you'll ever make and three days later he acts upon history. the extent to which lincoln is a martyr for civil rights. he is killed after directly directing the votes to block. the issue becomes what is going to be the postwar settlement? not only the triumph of the northern industrial capitalist state but how were the three men going to live and be sort of adjusted into this new world of freedom. speak you mentioned the word reconstruction. that's the word that is fraught with contested meaning. one level of mean is we are going to reconstruct the united states after his four years of war. but how much change is going to happen? one meaning is that you rebuild after a fire, after damage from a storm. in the same way that your house was before. another meaning of reconstruction issue completely rebuilt on a new foundation. that contest between these two meanings of the reconstruction and all sorts of other