The author Steve Sheinkin tells the tale of an event happening 160 years ago in this meticulously researched nonfiction book; he delves into the world of body snatchers and counterfeiters and relates the story of a plot to steal Lincoln's body and hold it ransom. The story goes: Ben Boyd the noted counterfeiter is arrested, so the boss of the ring, Big Jim, hires a team of counterfeiters, including Terrence Mullen and Jack Hughes, to enact the body snatching plot. Yet Patrick Tyrell of the Secret Service is notified, and he promptly hires Lewis Swegles, famed horse thief, to act as a roper, ie, a spy. The story progresses as Swegles gathers information about the plan and Secret Service agents prepare for the planned date of the event. Written in a conversational style and including many interesting quotes from Tyrell's notes and the characters themselves, this book tells an engaging story and has straightforward language; it is also quite informative. This book is an example of good narrative nonfiction, and it's a great book for people of all ages.
Lincoln's Grave Robbers
By Steve Sheinkin
| Interest Level | Reading Level | Reading A-Z | ATOS | Word Count |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grades 4 - 8 | Grades 10 - 8 | n/a | 6.6 | 31140 |
The action begins in October of 1875, as Secret Service agents raid the Fulton, Illinois, workshop of master counterfeiter Ben Boyd. Soon after Boyd is hauled off to prison, members of his counterfeiting ring gather in the back room of a smoky Chicago saloon to discuss how to spring their ringleader. Their plan: grab Lincoln's body from its Springfield tomb, stash it in the sand dunes near Lake Michigan, and demand, as a ransom, the release of Ben Boyd --and $200,000 in cash. From here, the action alternates between the conspirators, the Secret Service agents on their trail, and the undercover agent moving back and forth between the two groups. Along the way readers get glimpses into the inner workings of counterfeiting, grave robbing, detective work, and the early days of the Secret Service. The plot moves toward a wild climax as robbers and lawmen converge at Lincoln's tomb on election night: November 7, 1876.
Book Reviews (8)
This book is about the story of a spy who was undercover and acted like they were going to be apart of the plan to steal Abraham Lincoln's grave. This is not a commonly known story. The spy would act like they were going to be apart of the plan, then tell the details of the plan to others to prevent this from happening. This book was interesting, and was surprising because this story is not commonly known. I recommend this to people who enjoy reading books about presidents, or historical events. I rate this book 5/5.
This book is about the story of a spy who was undercover and acted like they were going to be apart of the plan to steal Abraham Lincoln's grave. This is not a commonly known story. The spy would act like they were going to be apart of the plan, then tell the details of the plan to others to prevent this from happening. This book was interesting, and was surprising because this story is not commonly known. I recommend this to people who enjoy reading books about presidents, or historical events. I rate this book 5/5.
The book I read was Lincoln's Grave Robbers, by Steve Sheinkin. 2. The book is about counterfeiters who need to get a very skilled counterfeiter out of jail. To bail the man out they need a lot of money. So they attempt to steal Lincoln's body and give it back to the government for $200,000. But what these criminals don't know is that the secret service knows everything they are doing. 3. I loved this book because I like to learn about our country's history and every little thing about it. I learned many things I did not know, like how to secret services only goal back than was to stop counterfeiters and not to protect the president. I also did not know how many currency's our country used before paper money. 4. This is a book for everyone and I think everyone should read it. The people who would like to read this book the most would be someone interested in Lincoln or the U.S. history. You should read this book because it has a good source of information about the early secret service and counterfeiters. 5. An internal conflict in my book is on page 98, and it states,"I have no instructions on this matter, what to do of how to act.", this is showing man vs self because character doesn't know what to do but he really wants to do something to catch the bad guys. 6. An external conflict was in my book on page 3 and it states,"McCarteny was hungry, bruised as a rotting apple, and lost somewhere far from home.", this is man vs nature because he is stranded away from his home and is not close to any civilization and is extremely hungry in the middle of the woods. 7. Lincoln's Grave Robbers is a good title because the book is simply about people trying to steal president Lincoln's remains, which are called grave robbers. 8. Another title that would be good for this book is, Counterfeiters to Grave Robbers. This is a good title because the people who attempt to steal Lincoln's grave were counterfeiters so they stop Counterfeiting and start grave robbing. 9. A Universal theme that was used through out the story was perseverance. Perseverance developed the overall story because the criminals were caught and the secret service man Patrick Tyrell did what ever he could to stop the bad guys and keep Lincoln's remains safe. The bad guys also had perseverance because they wanted Lincoln's body so bad to bust out an old friend. The theme perseverance was used by many people and many times throughout the book.
I read the book Lincoln's Grave Robbers by Steve Sheinkin. The book is about a counterfeit money maker, Ben Boyd is sent to jail. His gang is going to steal president Lincoln's body and hold it for Ben Boyd's freedom and $200,000. I like this book because it has action but unlike most books it has a good story not just a ton of action. I also like this book because it has a lot of detail and is very descriptive about the 1876 Chicago were the book takes place. I also like this book because it's characters all have different personalities and traits. The book is realistic fiction because it is based off of true events. I think audiences who like action but a good storyline would like this book because during the book it made sense why there was so much action. I also think people who like tense moments would like this book because during the book very often your hairs will stand up. A internal conflict is when officer Tyrell is debating to arrest the criminals or catch them red handed later. An external conflict is when a officer's gun goes off and Tyrell and his men need to sprint to reach the criminals before they get away. I liked the Book Lincoln's Grave Robbers a lot I think you will too.
This book was really cool and gave a lot of useful information about the robbery of Lincoln's grave. If you want to learn more about president Lincoln I suggest you read this book.
This book is packed with suspense and action, with facts about counterfeiting, secret service agents and how they caught counterfeters instead of protecting the president. It takes place a decade after Lincoln's death where counterfeiters attempt to rescue their friend in prison by taking Lincoln carcass hostage. I would recommend this book to anyone who has not heard the story of this.
This action-packed true adventure story includes crazy counterfeiting, the early days of the Secret Service, bumbling criminals, prison breaks, informants, and (of course) grave robbing! Will they catch the bad guys? And... why Lincoln? Read it and see!