Assassins’ America: Four Killers, Four Murdered Presidents, and the Country They Left Behind

Abraham Lincoln watched a play. James Garfield walked through a train station. William McKinley shook hands with his public. John Kennedy smiled and waved from a motorcade. In these moments shots rang out and four presidents suffered mortal wounds. Some say their assassins were calculating killers. Others say they were madmen guided by strange notions of the world. Assassins' America examines the lives of each killer and his victim. Their stories are full of twists and mysteries, and even today Americans live with lasting effects of these terrible crimes.

Joe Tougas worked for 17 years as a daily newspaper reporter and editor and is the author of several books for young readers, including The Beatles: Redefining Rock ’n’ Roll. He lives in North Mankato, Minnesota, and his website is joetougas.com. Jessica Gunderson grew up in the small town of Washburn, North Dakota. She has a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Dakota and an MFA in Creative Writing from Minnesota State University, Mankato. She has written more than seventy-five books for young readers. An avid enthusiast of Civil War history and Abraham Lincoln, she is the author of The Election of 1860: A Nation Divides on the Eve of War and The Wound is Mortal: The Story of the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln. She currently lives in Madison, Wisconsin.