James L. Swanson

James L. Swanson (born February 12, 1959) is an American author and historian famous for his New York Times best-seller Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer, focusing on the biography of John Wilkes Booth and his plot to kill Lincoln and other cabinet members. For this book he earned an Edgar Award. He is currently a Senior Fellow at the Heritage Foundation and in the past has appeared on C-SPAN on behalf of the Koch-affiliated libertarian CATO Institute think tank.

Education
Swanson graduated from the University of Chicago with a bachelor's degree in history and from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law with a J.D. degree. He has held a number of government and think-tank posts in Washington, D.C., including at the United States Department of Justice. He serves on the advisory council of the Ford's Theatre Society.

Career
Swanson is an Abraham Lincoln scholar and is a member of the Lincoln Bicentennial Commission. His main area of research is on the Lincoln assassination. He has also served in the U.S. Department of Justice.

Books

 * Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer. 2007. ISBN 9780060518493
 * Chasing Lincoln's Killer: The Search for John Wilkes Booth. 2008. ISBN 9780439903547
 * Bloody Times: the Funeral for Abraham Lincoln and the Manhunt for Jefferson Davis. 2010. ISBN 9780061560897
 * Bloody Crimes: The Chase for Jefferson Davis and the Death Pageant for Lincoln's Corpse. 2010. ISBN 9780061233784
 * "The President Has Been Shot!": The Assassination of John F. Kennedy. 2013. ISBN 9780545490078
 * End of Days: The Assassination of John F. Kennedy 2013. ISBN 0062083481.
 * Chasing King's Killer: The Hunt for Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Assassin, 2018. ISBN 978-0545723336
 * The Deerfield Massacre: A Surprise Attack, a Forced March, and the Fight for Survival in Early America, 2024. ISBN 978-1501108167