O CAPTAIN: THE DEATH OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN

Only morbid fascination with the death of a President--and certain parallels implied at the last--can account for this minute reconstruction of the events preceding and following the assassination of Lincoln. The treatment is melodramatic, the evisceration offensive--here is Lincoln lying naked, ""smooth muscled, well proportioned, lean and strong;"" here are the culprits hanged: ""The necks of three were broken instantly. But Paine's neck muscles were strong enough to withstand the fall, and he was strangled to death by the noose."" These are, of course, the worst moments, and the drama is inescapable--cheap tears, a cheaper ticket to Tyburn.