{"product_id":"the-apparitionists-a-tale-of-phantoms-fraud-photography-and-the-man-who-captured-lincolns-ghost-0544745973","title":"The Apparitionists: A Tale of Phantoms, Fraud, Photography, and the Man Who Captured Lincoln's Ghost","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eISBN:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0544745973\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/strong\u003e Manseau, Peter\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCondition:\u003c\/strong\u003e New\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAn NPR Best Book of 2017\"A rare work of historical nonfiction that is both studious and just plain entertaining.\"-Publishers Weekly, Top Ten Books of 2017\"An exceptional story\"-Errol Morris, New York Times Book ReviewA story of faith and fraud in post-Civil War America, told through the lens of a photographer who claimed he could capture images of the deadIn the early days of photography, in the death-strewn wake of the Civil War, one man seized Americas imagination. A spirit photographer, William Mumler took portrait photographs that featured the ghostly presence of a lost loved one alongside the living subject. Mumler was a sensation: The affluent and influential came calling, including Mary Todd Lincoln, who arrived at his studio in disguise amidst rumors of séances in the White House.Peter Manseau brilliantly captures a nation wracked with grief and hungry for proof of the existence of ghosts and for contact with their dead husbands and sons. It took a circus-like trial of Mumler on fraud charges, starring P. T. Barnum for the prosecution, to expose a fault line of doubt and manipulation. And even then, the judge sided with the defense-nobody ever solved the mystery of his spirit photography. This forgotten puzzle offers a vivid snapshot of America at a crossroads in its history, a nation in thrall to new technology while clinging desperately to belief.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Mia Karts","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51525293768992,"sku":"NEW0544745973","price":20.27,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0980\/7426\/3840\/files\/718EryoLRYL_0f5aa3c0-64fb-46e3-9d20-7a2616a47071.jpg?v=1777146829","url":"https:\/\/miakarts.com\/products\/the-apparitionists-a-tale-of-phantoms-fraud-photography-and-the-man-who-captured-lincolns-ghost-0544745973","provider":"Miakarts Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}