“If I Did It” by John Wilkes Booth (ReganBooks, 2007)Â
Let me first state that I did not assassinate President Lincoln, 16th President of the United States, on April 14, 1865. But let’s make believe, just for the hell of it, that I was responsible for his death, even though this is entirely hypothetical. How would I do it? Although I would never do such an act of violence, I might possibly use my role as actor to gain entrance to the Ford Theater while the President is attending a play. Not a bad idea, huh?  I guess, if I really think about it, I could conceivably enter Ford’s lobby at about 10:07 P.M., walk up the stairs to the dress circle, and open the white door to Lincoln’s State Box…
Although I know nothing about guns, I might consider using .44 caliber Deringer that is 6 inches long, with a 2 1/2 inch barrel. Although I’m an actor, not a killer, I probably wouldn’t know where to shoot the President, but I guess, just from acting experience, I would go for his head near the left ear.  I’m a little bit of a ham, so I might even yell out something pretentious, like “Sic semper tyrannis!” (Latin for “Thus always to tyrants”). OK, I know that it is overacting, but audiences love those melodramatic moments!
But then again, I don’t really know anything about how Lincoln was assassinated. The purpose of this exciting new book I’m writing is to approach the event as how “I” would have done it, which of course, I know absolutely nothing about AT ALL.
Buy this book! And watch for my interview on FOX.
A Year Ago on Citizen of the Month:Â On the Radio
