James Swanson, Booth Pursuit Author, Dies at 66

By Ed Epstein

Washington D.C.

April 22, 2025

James L. Swanson, author of "Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer,"

one of the best-selling books about President Abraham Lincoln's assassination, died yesterday from brain cancer. He was 66.

Swanson died in Chicago, his hometown. He had a varied career. In addition to writing more than a half-dozen books, he was a top-flight lawyer who served in the U.S. Justice Department and as a clerk for a judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He also worked at the U.S. International Trade Commission He was also a policy analyst and writer and editor for the conservative Heritage Foundation and the libertarian Cato Institute, which announced his passing today.

He was also a collector of Lincoln memorabilia, which perhaps came natural to a man who was born on Feb. 12, 1959, 150 years to the day after Lincoln's birth.

Swanson's Manhunt was published in 2006 and has been a best-seller in hardback and paperback. It was made into a seven-part TV drama miniseries last year by Apple TV+.

Swanson earned an undergraduate degree in history from the University of Chicago and a law degree from UCLA.

In addition to Manhunt, he wrote another book about the closing days of the Civil War, "Bloody Crimes: The Chase for Jefferson Davis and the Death Pageant for Lincoln's Corpse." He also wrote about the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy and the 1968 killing of Dr. Martin King Jr.

His final book was "The Deerfield Massacre: A Surprise Attack and the Fight for Survival in Early America." It dealt with a bloody battle in 1704 between native Americans and colonists in Massachusetts.

He was on the board of the Abraham Lincoln Institute, the Abraham Lincoln Association and Ford's Theater advisory council. He also served on the Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, which helped observe the 200th anniversary of Lincoln's birth in 1809.

Photo by James L. Swanson