"The days leading up to the end of the Civil War are a rollercoaster of unbelievable highs and devastating lows for the country. Lee's surrender at Appomattox followed by the assassination of the president in the North, and the escaping Confederate government in the South shake the country in very different ways. Swanson's book is a young adult adaptation of his adult nonfiction Bloody Crimes. The details are mesmerizing and the weaving together of the times and the events is a masterwork in its own right. Swanson compares and contrasts the end days of two presidents, keeping focused solely on them and the impact their lives had on the people around them. Much of the book takes the readers on the railroad trip of Lincoln's funeral train as it crosses half the country from Washington, D.C. to Springfield, Illinois. The journey that Davis takes and the decisions that he makes as he flees the victorious Union Army are no less riveting. Though Lee surrenders, there is still much discussion about how to win the war and Davis is assessing that possibility as well as protecting his family as he takes trains and horses ahead of the Union army. This is a well crafted adaptation and a definite resource for middle and high school libraries. It is a great read for those who want to study the Civil War beyond textbook details as well as for those who just love the story of American history."-- Reviewer: Janis Flint-Ferguson