Destiny of the Republic

A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President

By: Candice Millard

Narrated by: Paul Michael

Length: 9 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

James A. Garfield may have been the most extraordinary man ever elected president. Born into abject poverty, he rose to become a wunderkind scholar, a Civil War hero, and a renowned and admired reformist congressman. Nominated for president against his will, he engaged in a fierce battle with the corrupt political establishment. But four months after his inauguration, a deranged office seeker tracked Garfield down and shot him in the back.

But the shot didn’t kill Garfield. The drama of what hap­pened subsequently is a powerful story of a nation in tur­moil. The unhinged assassin’s half-delivered strike shattered the fragile national mood of a country so recently fractured by civil war, and left the wounded president as the object of a bitter behind-the-scenes struggle for power—over his administration, over the nation’s future, and, hauntingly, over his medical care. A team of physicians administered shockingly archaic treatments, to disastrous effect. As his con­dition worsened, Garfield received help: Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, worked around the clock to invent a new device capable of finding the bullet.

Meticulously researched, epic in scope, and pulsating with an intimate human focus and high-velocity narrative drive, The Destiny of the Republic will stand alongside The Devil in the White City and The Professor and the Madman as a classic of narrative history.

From the Hardcover edition.

©2011 Candice Millard (P)2011 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"[Millard demonstrates] the power of expert storytelling to wonderfully animate even the simplest facts....make[s] for compulsive reading. Superb American history." ( Kirkus)

"Splendidly insightful....stands securely at the crossroads of popular and professional history" ( Booklist)

“Sparklingly alive…[Millard] brings to life a moment in the nation’s history when access to the president was easy, politics bitter, and medical knowledge slight. Under Millard’s pen, it’s hard to imagine its being better told.” ( Publishers Weekly)

Such an interesting book!

I am amazed that I didn’t know anything about this story, but I’m so glad I got to hear it. I’m left with tremendous respect for President Garfield and gratitude for all those who have contributed to the positive changes that have happened since he was elected.

Wonderful!

This is an amazing book. It has so many spellbinding stories in it that one may consider it the literary equivalent of Russian dolls! I wanted it to go on and go. Millard has the wonderful gift of transporting the reader into the age. Pure magic!

Extraordinary story

Sin duda el autor nos remite a una época crucial en el avance científico de la humanidad, mientras nos sumerge en la triste y surrealista historia del atentado a un presidente querido y admirado, que unificó al país con su propio sufrimiento.

Masterfully Woven

I was pleasantly surprised by this work. The title indicates very well the woven biographies of a deluded assassin, a lesser known president whom a divided country embraced, and the limits of technology and science of those times. It gives insight into the lives of many, including James Garfield, Chester Arthur, and even a great deal regarding Alexander Graham Bell, as well as a host of others. The author does an excellent job weaving the various inter-related stories together in a good flow, and the performer immerses you into the story.

An introduction to President James A. Garfield

Fascinating account of a president, an inventor and a madman! I learned so much from this presentation - things I had never known or heard before. Very factual, so a little dry, but so very enlightening.

Wonderful story, captivatingly told

Loved the book. The history it tells. It brought President Garfield to life as well as Alexander Graham Bell, Joseph Lister. And the reader was excellent too. Anyone interested in history and science will enjoy this book.

A great man forgotten by history

I loved this book and learned so much about a great person who became president only to die by an assassin's bullet. We all heard that President Garfield was assassinated, but not the story of who he was. The author does an excellent job of brining the human story out.

Fantastic trip through an American tragedy

I found the journey compelling, insightful, and informative. The intertwined story of Garfield, Bell, Guiteau drew me in and held my attention like a child watching a Disney movie. Congratulations Candice, this is a history book for the true history lover. Minutia is the opioid of the student of history and you nailed it. Thank you for the journey.

Fantastic tale with lots of modern day implication

The storylines of James A. Garfield and his seriously troubled assassin, as well as other historical figures, make this a fascinating and heartbreaking listen. While you may know something about the outcome (such as Garfield's death), there is so much here to learn. It's a great story, full of resonance for today. Hard work, determination, grit, invention and personal growth, and personal loss. It also speaks to mental illness, and how challenging it was to address it even in 1881. Medicine, in general, gets a front row seat here, in fact. How the generally-accepted ways of unsanitary conditions prompted Garfield's ultimate demise is eye-opening and devastating. And how this helped paved the way for better practices.

The historical significance of Alexander Graham Bell and his efforts to try to help save Garfield is inspiring, too. That Bell is a supporting character is pretty amazing.

I think Candice Millard has a wonderfully researched history for the reader/listener. She has three books that I know of, and this is the last of them that I've now had a chance to enjoy. (Please write more!) I adore the way she weaves the historical narrative throughout. You needn't necessarily be a fan of Presidential history (like I am) to be whisked away into another time that feels like a completely different universe.

To my ears, Paul Michael is generally very good as the Narrator. When he assumes the various character's voices, however, it's less successful. While his Scottish dialect for Bell is wonderful, too many of his other characters' sound either too similar, or at times, regrettable. When he assumes the roles of ladies, or when he approximates Frederick Douglas - well, it doesn't help convey the characters nor the story. It's distracting, in fact. His villainous Dr. Liss also just sounds cartoony. Still, as narrator, he's particularly helpful and easy to listen to.

I would encourage everyone to give 'Destiny of the Republic' a read or a listen.

Never knew Garfield

I enjoyed the letters shared between Garfield and Lucretia. I wonder what legacy he might have left had it not been for one very narcissistic and mentally ill man.