Books: The Picture and Killing

There are two books I recently read.

The first is The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. Before I read the novel, all I knew was the basic idea. A picture is painted of Dorian Gray and the picture ages, while Dorian Gray himself does not age. However, the book has a lot more than that. It goes into beauty, what gives things value, and some other things. The book has a lot of witty lines, which I am told is normal for Wilde's works.

The book was controversial when it was published in 1890, so I wanted to see what it was like by today's standards. However, it was only after I read the book that I discovered there are two versions. The original version differs from the common novel version. I had read the second version which is 20 chapter long. This included a lot of changes after the original public outcry. I missed out on the homosexual content and the unrestrained hedonism of the original.

The good news is Project Gutenberg has the original 13 chapter text. I might read the original one day, but right now I have had enough of the story. I would like to check out some of Wilde's plays.

The second book I read was Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard. I sometimes watch The O'Reilly Factor, so I wanted to see what the book was like.

The book starts at the beginning of April 1865 and follows in parallel the end of the Civil War, President Lincoln's actions, and John Wilkes Booth's planning. The narrative builds anticipation. The reader knows Lincoln will be shot, but it is still exciting to read.

There are many great books about Lincoln which are more detailed and scholarly. The strength of Killing Lincoln is its accessibility. It could get people who do not care about history into history. O'Reilly was a high school history teacher for a short time and I think the book is directed to certain types of students he had.

After reading the book, I looked at its reviews on Amazon. There were a lot of 5 star reviews and a lot of 1 star reviews. When they are that polarizing the reviews can be interesting. A few people pointed out minor inaccuracies and factual errors. However, some people were still bitter the South lost the Civil War and disliked anything positive about Lincoln.