A plot to kill the president. Who can stop them? Who can protect the leader of the Unied States?
It's 1861 and Abraham Lincoln has just been elected president. Word reaches Allan Pinkerton that some of the Southern sympathizers might be plotting to kill the president. Maybe Allan Pinkerton, detective, can stop them.
Keeping our the president safe is a huge job in this day and age. In the United States we expect our Secret Service to protect him or her (someday) 24 hours a day and seven days a week in all corners of the world and on land and sea. But there was a time when we had no Secret Service. Our presidents moved about the country and within the White House without bodyguards.
Back in 1819 a boy was born in Scotland. His name was Allan PInkerton. He grew up to be a bit of an activist and had to sneak on board a ship with his bride and sail to America for safety. Together they moved out to Illinois to start their new life and it was there that Allan Pinkerton discovered he had a talent for investigations. After proving himself to the Chicago police, he became a detective for them and then went on to start his own detective agency.
It was Allan Pinkerton who was so good at his job that he discovered a plot to kill President Abraham Lincoln on his train ride to his inauguration in 1861.
Can one person really make a difference? Can one person really stop a gang of eight who are plotting to kill the president?
Told both through the narrative and the illustrations this is a fascinating story of an immigrant who came to America, used his skills to solve crimes and went on to save the President of the United States.
Great backmatter includes a Timeline and a Bibliography.
48 pages 978-1419730641 Ages 6-9
Recommended by: Barb Langridge, abookandahug.com
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From award-winning author Marissa Moss comes the first children’s book about Allan Pinkerton, one of America’s greatest detectives. Everyone knows the story of Abraham Lincoln, but few know anything about the spy who saved him! Allan Pinkerton’s life changed when he helped the Chicago Police Department track down a group of counterfeiters. From there, he became the first police detective in Chicago and established the country’s most successful detective agency. He went on to solve more than 300 murders and recover millions of dollars in stolen money. However, his greatest contribution was protecting Abraham Lincoln on the way to his 1861 inauguration. Though assassins attempted to murder Lincoln en route, Pinkerton foiled their plot and brought the president safely to the capital. The Eye That Never Sleeps is illustrated with a contemporary cartoon style, mixing art and text in a way that appeals to readers of all ages. The book includes a bibliography and a timeline.
