Irony: Ford's Theatre Bans O'Reilly's book “Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination That Changed America Forever”

Bill Reilly's book Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever has been banned at Ford Theater. The stated reason  is errors.

(WaPo)- Of all the places you’d expect to find Bill O’Reilly’s new history “Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination That Changed America Forever,” Ford’s Theatre — the site of the dreadful act — should rank right at the top. But you’d do better to search for the bestseller on Amazon because it has been banned from the theater’s store.

The crime? O’Reilly and his co-author Martin Dugard have displayed a serial disregard for historical fact.

For a purported history of the assassination — an “unsanitized and uncompromising ... no spin American story,” as the authors put it, “Killing Lincoln” is sloppy with the facts and slim on documentation, according to a study conducted by Rae Emerson, the deputy superintendent of Ford’s Theatre National Historic Site, which is a unit of the National Park Service.

The study claimed about 10 factual errors. That number is unfortunate, but doesn't seem like a huge number to me. Here is what the National Park Service says about products sold in their stores.

The products sold at Eastern National bookstores are a combination of Eastern National-produced items and merchandise purchased through outside vendors, including books, reproductions, apparel, and collectibles. All products sold in Eastern National retail outlets are evaluated by National Park Service interpreters for historical accuracy, quality, and relevance to park themes. Strict standards are maintained to ensure we offer the finest quality products that will enhance visitors’ experiences. As a cooperating association, Eastern National sells only products that the National Park Service has approved.

I visited the Ford's Theatre online store here to see what else they were selling. The stores are managed by this company. They were selling this book The Lincolns in the White House: Four Years That Shattered a Familythat was trashed on Amazon for having too many factual errors, including one on Page1. Perhaps they didn't bother to review that book or a few errors weren't as important at the time. What else at the online store managed to meet the historically accurate and strict standards?

There is this Dangle Legs Lincoln ornament with a small body and short legs. Somehow, this fit the historically accurate and strict standard.

Another item that must have met these high standards is patriotic boxers. Putting the U.S. flag on underwear and selling it in a National Parks service sponsored gift shop is highly inappropriate, unless they want to claim former President Lincoln owned a pair.