John Wilkes Booth

Asia Booth Clarke's memoir is an indispensable resource for perceiving the complexities of her ill-fated brother. Indeed, as has been said, she "turns on the light in the Booth family living room." Certainly no outsider could give such insights into the turbulent Booth's childhood or share such unique personal knowledge of the gifted actor. Asia portrays him as an enigmatic figure, at once gentle and romantic while passionate and fanatical. She writes with a sister's affection and even with indulgence, but she mingles these with horror as she confronts the calamitous aftermath the assassination of Lincoln brought to Booth and to his family. Terry Alford is a professor of history at Northern Virginia Community College and a leading authority on the life of John Wilkes Booth.