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)

Distracting Narrator

The story itself was fantastic. It was enough to keep me listening despite the very distracting narration. Why on earth do men think they need to put on a high pitched voice to depict women? And the voices used for Garfield, Gateaux, and Bliss were equally distracting and unnecessary for the story telling. The narrator himself had a wonderful voice, but his insistence on creating character voices took away from the enjoyment of the book.

3M-madness, medicine, murder

Well done. The info added to my historical knowledge while weaving a great story. Narrated will.

Love the book, reader, and writer!

Great book look forward to listening to it again already. Great Author and great reader. I am now going to read Candace's book, The River of Doubt.

What a story!

I didn't know what I didn't know. More than the story of a president's assassinating, the narrative book gives a full perspective of this particular time in history, with quotes direct from those involved. Much more interesting, and emotionally moving, than I expected.

Well worth the time to listen

Any additional comments?

Candice Millard has the ability to transform a historical account into a page-turner. Before listening to this book I had only the vaguest idea of James Garfield. While not a biography, one gets a good idea of the wonderful qualities of this man - and the story of the characters and events after the assassination attempt is simply mind boggling. This is well worth the time. (Candice Millard's Hero of the Empire is also well worth reading).

Superb!

This was a fascinating story of a set of events that I knew nothing about. Other reviewers have given the details, but I just wanted to add my two thumbs up. Everything about this audiobook was great.

History with supense

Any additional comments?

This was a very good book. My only complaint is that the medical descriptions were a little TMI for my taste. But, these are easily skipped over. Fascinating book. It is written in a way that you want to keep listening. I listened to this with my husband and we both enjoyed it together.

Good book about a little known event.

What made the experience of listening to Destiny of the Republic the most enjoyable?

Learning about an event I knew little about.

What other book might you compare Destiny of the Republic to and why?

Not sure.

What does Paul Michael bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He did a good job.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No.

Any additional comments?

I gained a lot of respect for both Garfield and Bell; men of integrity.

A Biographical Thriller

I picked up this book expecting a straightforward account of the life of a minor president. What I got felt at times more like a Stephen King novel of intertwining stories moving inexorably toward a tragedy I was still invested in even though I knew it was coming. Great writing, great narration, surprisingly fascinating story about a period of history we mostly ignore.

Well researched, well told, well narrated.

The book “Destiny of the Republic, A tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President” combines the right amount of history, action, suspense, and insight for a compelling essay on the assassination of a president.

It exposes connections between James Garfield and his murderers, which essentially were his would-be assassin and the prideful incompetence of his doctors.

Garfield was the only president ever to become president without seeking it (not including Vice Presidents who had to take over) and had a famous cat named for him.

The narrator will change his voice to speak in the characters’ voices.