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)

Must-read if interested in presidential history

must-read for anyone interested in presidential history. journalist Candice Miller tells gripping story of personalities & events surrounding the assassination of President James Garfield in late 19th century. she skillfully weaves together 19th-century political culture, recent memory of Civil War, the interesting but unsympathetic villain who shot the President, and often overlooked James Garfield. she restores his character & significance so that I felt sad when he died in the book

Absolutely Brilliant

one of the best books I have ever read/heard. thank you Candace Millard, truly.

Great Book!!!!

This book is not only immensely informative, it is gripping and very interesting. The narration is one of the best that i have listened to. I did not feel like i was listening to history, so much as a great work of literature. I felt that i knew the many “characters” who were real life people, some famous like Alexander Graham Bell and Chester Arthur and some less well known like Joseph Brown. I felt real heartache for Garfield’s suffering and his families grief. What a well written book!!

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.