Fatal Appointment

The Assassination of President James A. Garfield

By: Miles Donovan

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

Fatal Appointment: The Assassination of President James A. Garfield

It was the dawn of the modern age — and the death of a president who could have changed America forever.

On a humid July morning in 1881, President James A. Garfield walked into a Washington, D.C. train station — smiling, unguarded, and unaware that a delusional man was waiting for him in the crowd. Two gunshots shattered the peace and hurled the United States into chaos. The assassin, Charles J. Guiteau, believed he was on a mission from God. The doctors who tried to save the president would, in their arrogance, become his true executioners.

Fatal Appointment is a sweeping, immersive account of power, madness, and medical failure — a true story of ambition, corruption, and a nation on the brink of transformation. In the hands of investigative historian Miles Donovan, the story of Garfield’s assassination becomes more than history — it becomes a living, breathing drama of betrayal and consequence that still echoes today.

The Assassination That Shocked a Nation

President Garfield was a scholar, a soldier, and a reluctant politician who believed in reform, equality, and honesty in government. His murder revealed the darkest sides of the Gilded Age — a political machine fed by greed, a medical establishment blinded by pride, and a country torn between progress and power. As Garfield lay dying for eighty agonizing days, the nation waited, prayed, and watched one of the most tragic chapters in its history unfold.

Inside this Book, You Will Discover:

• The violent intersection of politics, religion, and madness — and how a failed preacher convinced himself that killing the president was God’s will.
• The desperate struggle inside the president’s bedroom as unwashed doctors fought over his body — and how 19th-century medicine turned a survivable wound into a death sentence.
• The bitter feud between reformers and political bosses that tore Washington apart — and how Garfield’s murder forced America to confront its corruption.
• The secret fears, personal letters, and last words of a dying president who still dreamed of uniting his country.
• The forgotten forensic evidence and modern-day medical reinterpretations that reveal the shocking truth: Garfield was not killed by a bullet — he was killed by his doctors.
• How Garfield’s death transformed the presidency, inspired the Pendleton Act, and set the stage for the Progressive Era that followed.

The Legacy of a Fallen Leader

In death, James A. Garfield accomplished what few presidents achieve in life — he changed a nation. His murder shattered the spoils system, gave birth to civil service reform, and forever redefined the relationship between power and responsibility in American politics. His story is both a warning and an inspiration — a reminder that leadership, integrity, and courage can endure even in the face of madness and death.

Fatal Appointment: The Assassination of President James A. Garfield is a haunting journey through the Gilded Age — a time of brilliance and decay, faith and delusion, progress and tragedy. It will captivate readers of true crime, political history, and historical thrillers alike.

Every revolution begins with a single moment. For America, that moment was July 2, 1881.

Get your copy today — and uncover the true story behind the assassination that changed America forever.

something's wrong

something is wrong with title, it's the same thing repeated every 20 pages or so.

This could have been much shorter

The history is interesting but the same 5 sentences are repeated in various forms throughout the entire book, and several times in each chapter. Was author being paid by the word?