Just in time for Christmas there’s a new book out that tells the story of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination in a fun and creative way. Instead of relying on boring old drawings and photographs, author Brendan Powel Smith recreates the assassination of Lincoln along with the successful and attempted assassinations of eleven other United States Presidents using his preferred medium: Legos.
His book, entitled, Assassination! The Brick Chronicle of Attempts on the Lives of Twelve US Presidents, is over 250 pages long and filled with over 400 hand crafted Lego recreations of Presidents under fire.
I discovered this book on Amazon last week and while my main focus is the Lincoln assassination, I do have a passing interest in the other attempts (successful and otherwise) on our heads of state. I knew I had to buy it and check it out. When I opened this book, I found myself both entertained by the imagery and surprised at the level of research that went into it. As a “fun and silly” Lego book, you don’t really expect to find a bibliography in it. But this book has one and for the Lincoln chapter it listed fifteen sources from Michael Kauffman’s American Brutus, to Asia Booth Clarke’s book about her brother, to General Hartranft’s letterbook about his supervision of the conspirators during their trial and execution. The research on the book is solid and the scenes are hilariously and painstakingly laid out.
His chapter on the Lincoln assassination is 34 pages long and contains over sixty images. Here is a sampling of the Lincoln pages:
The chapters on the other Presidential assassination are equally well done and make this book a definite “buy” in my eyes. The $20 price tag is worth it for just the Boston Corbett “surgery” scene that I can’t spoil for you here. So, if you want a funny and educational book about Presidential assassinations, check out: Assassination! The Brick Chronicle of Attempts on the Lives of Twelve US Presidents by Brendan Powell Smith
LincolnConspirators.com 
I saw the book in the store. I couldn’t believe that someone would put together such a dumb thing.
Well I’m finding it to be thoroughly enjoyable. The author has also done an extensive volume recreating scenes from the Bible out of Legos.
Wow.
Dave, this looks great! Looks like a must-have for an ex-Lego-addictant and ex-stage design assistant. Love the details (flames, smoking gun etc.) Hope the books comes with the bricks…Didn’t know Lego is popular in the US. Generally I love “educational material” using more than just one sensory channel. Thus I’d advocate any petiton to Aardman (Wallace and Gromit) to create the entire story in moving Play-Doh.
Cute….gotta get this one for the library I guess!
That’s hilarious, Dave! (I love the Star Saloon scene)
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That’s actually George at the Kirkwood House drinking. There is a scene of all the men plotting and drinking at Gautier’s though.
Maybe one of the funniest things I have seen! Thanks for sharing. It is hilarious. But it still leaves a question as to what Rathbone was wearing. Is that blue outfit a uniform or a fashionable jumpsuit?