James L. Swanson (b. 1959) is a conservative popular historian of American history known for his historical true crime thrillers. Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer was his first book. He has also published a young adult version of the text entitled Chasing Lincoln’s Killer: The Search for John Wilkes Booth (2008). He has subsequently written books about two other high-profile American assassinations: the murders of President John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. His most recent book is The Deerfield Massacre (2024) about an attack by French and Native American forces on an English colony in Massachusetts in 1704 as part of the Queen Anne’s War.

Swanson holds an undergraduate degree in history from the University of Chicago and a law degree from the University of California at Los Angeles. Swanson served on the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, a Congressional commission to celebrate the life of Lincoln, and the advisory council of the Ford’s Theatre Society. He notes in his author biography that he shares a birthday with President Abraham Lincoln (“Biography: James L. Swanson.” Teenreads.com).

In addition to his popular (rather than academic) histories, Swanson has a career in government and policy think tanks.