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)

I’m inpressed

I wanted to read a biography of someone I knew nothing about. This book introduced me to 3 people I knew nothing about. I now know them well. The story weaves their lives together. The speaker is now a favorite of mine. I liked it a lot.

So many lessons, captivating and educating

This audio book is educating and well written. The creative and precise way with which the story is pieced together is brilliant.

Unexpectedly intriguing!

Very interesting to hear about a lesser known president during a challenging time in history.

Engaging history of a tragic story

I loved the narrative layed out in the book. Truly worth all attention and it will consume your thoughts in a healthy and engaging way.

Breathtaking

As entitled, my review is ‘simply breathtaking’. I never k ew much about James Garfield and now I know something, that he was great and compassionate man sadly overlooked by history.

Insightful look into a forgotten President

The author does an excellent job utilizing Garfield to offer a new presentation of 19th century US History. First, you get a perspective that is not captured through any general history of civil war and reconstruction. Second, Garfield offers the perfect contrast to the towering personalities that dominated the period, yet still lived through it and made historically significant contributions. James Garfield was no Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S Grant or William Sherman. When he was elected President, he was merely a Congressional representative from Ohio. He served, as Millard conveyed so eloquently, as a symbol of national unity, calming and normalcy following years of strife. This emerging notion of unity and togetherness was perhaps unprecedented since the advent of the Republican party nearly three decades before his Presidency. That destruction of this return of normalcy is precisely what made his wound and torturous prolonged demise a national tragedy. Since Garfield alone isn't exactly worthy of a lengthy audiobook, you will also get a detailed glimpse into the mind of Garfield's disturbed assassin. A narrative that Millard smoothly coincides with Garfield's life. Finally, there is some erudite scholarship expounding on the scientific, technological and medicinal advancements of the era. It's been awhile since I finished, but I hope I did the book justice with this review.

A must-read!

This book has profoundly affected me. I find myself mourning for a president I never knew. I had a similar experience after reading a book on the life and death of Abraham Lincoln, but every school child knows about his great life and example of goodness to humanity. I lived through the assassination of President Kennedy and know what it means to mourn as a nation not only for a lost President, but for the loss of the potential for good that his death represented. I also vividly remember the attempt on the life of President Reagan, a man whom I dearly loved and admired. All I knew of James Garfield, however, was that he had a very short administration because he was assassinated as well. The mention of him in history class was like,”oh yeh, he was one of the four presidents who was shot.” Sorry if my details not 100% historically accurate. The point is, I now know, or feel I know, something about a man of greatness who died too soon at the hands of a lunatic, a senseless, evil death that deprived his family, his friends, and our entire country of a president with tremendous potential that would forever be unrealized. And so I mourn. I mourn for him and for countless others whose lives, had they been permitted to realize their full potential, could have brought goodness and truth to so many who needed it.

Good story, but not a biography

The story was pretty good. Be aware that much of the emphasis on the book is about the development of medical practices at the time and the madness of the assassin, and to a lesser extent about Garfield himself. I expected a little more about Garfield's life. However, this book lacks some biographical detail that is more obvious in other biographies of Garfield. Overall, I enjoyed it and it was easy to listen to.

Excellent All The Way Through

With the caveat that I LOVE this period of history, I can state unequivocally that this one of the best books I have ever read or heard. The writing is superb and so is the reading and voice characterizations.

The story vibrates with emotion and drama achieved in only the very best nom-fiction. James A Garfield is barely know. only his assassination making him a footnote to history after tge briefest of terms. But what a remarkable man and a remarkable true story populated by remarkable characters including the inventor of the telephone and a doctor whose work has surely done more to save lives than any man in history.

Stunningly good!

Wonderful Book

This is one of the best books I've listened to in a long while. The way the story is told keeps one's interest. In fact, I will likely listen to this again. I never knew much about Garfield but now I can't help but wonder what our country would be like today if he had lived. Highly recommend this book!