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Destiny of the Republic A Tale of Madness Medicine and the Murder of a President Candice Millard Books

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Destiny of the Republic A Tale of Madness Medicine and the Murder of a President Candice Millard Books

My wife and I both wanted to read this excellent history for a book club we belong to, so we obtained a copy on CD and listened to it on our recent 2,100 mile vacation to NC and VA. It is a must for American history buffs. Though I'm a recovering politician with a masters in history, I knew little about Garfield beyond the facts that he was a Union Civil War General, had been elected president as a Republican and was assassinated shortly after taking office. I came to respect and like the man through Millard's treatment. I was surprised to find that he had not sought the nomination, had been for Sen. John Sherman, and was nominated against his wishes when the GOP convention bolted to him on the 36th ballot. I was also impressed with the kind of man he was. And dismayed to discover that his wound should not have been fatal, that what killed him was the introduction of infection by his doctors, especially the chief I'm-in-charge-here Dr. Bliss, as they did not believe in Lister's germ theory. An interesting subtheme was the efforts of Alexander Graham Bell to invent a machine that would locate the bullet in Garfield's body. It worked, except that Dr. Bliss would only let Bell try the machine on Garfield's right side where he wrongly but strongly believed the bullet was lodged. Bell's machine went on to save many lives before x-Rays were developed. I previously enjoyed Millard's book "River of Doubt" and am looking forward to reading her "Hero of the Empire." She is a treasure for those of us who still care about history.

Robert A. Hall
Author: The Coming Collapse of the American Republic


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Destiny of the Republic A Tale of Madness Medicine and the Murder of a President Candice Millard Books Reviews

Years ago, when I first visited the Capitol, I was surprised by the amount of marble devoted to the memorializing of James Garfield. My cynicism about politics led to the conclusion that he was a political hack whose Republican friends appropriated a lot of money to convince visitors that he was a great President, despite serving only a few months in office before being assassinated by a raving lunatic. Ms Millard's fascinating book exposed my ignorance. Garfield was an extraordinary man who had the potential to become a great president. As a bonus, the author treats us to a frightening portrait of his murderer, as well as a critical examination of the primitive medicine of the time that contributed to his death. Finally, we get a mini-biography of Alexander Graham Bell, who did a lot more than invent the telephone. All whose ignorance of Garfield is as expansive as mine, i.e. almost everyone, should read this little treasure of a book.
Be honest now. How much did you learn in school about the assassination of President James A. Garfield? I can recall little more than that he was killed by a disappointed office seeker named Charles Guiteau. But who were these men? Was Guiteau simply frustrated by not being handed a juicy sinecure under the spoils system or had he displayed a long history of mental aberration? At his trial, Guiteau claimed that the ineptness of the president's doctors, not his bullet, was the real cause of Garfield's death—and there is much to indicate that his statement was factually correct! Did you know that as recently as the 1880s, barely over a single century ago and well after the American Civil War, many American doctors rejected a “belief” in germs and a “belief” in the efficacy of sterilization even though Lister had already proven these “ideas” to the satisfaction of European doctors?

Other historians have published excellent overall histories, Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States being among the very best as far as the U.S. is concerned. Candice Millard, however, has chosen to select specific events from history and to seek out the details that explicate them. She then relates those details to us in a fascinatingly readable style. No fiction writer can create interest in a story any better than Millard does with actual history. I suggest that, if you care little (or nothing) about James A. Garfield or Charles Guiteau, it is only because you know more or less nothing about them, and I do believe that Millard's Destiny of the Republic will go far in introducing you to two persons (and more) who played a part in forming the American experience.
I first heard about this book on a PBS radio interview with the author. Candice Millard was a very interesting guest and her synopsis of her book about President Garfield was spell bounding. When I had the chance, I ordered the book from , but, didn't read it until a year later. I thought possibly that it was a "dark" depressing story about how President Garfield suffered after the assassination attempt and it would be kind of grueling to get through. 2014 wasn't a very good year for me and I wanted to read lighthearted stories with happy endings. Here it is September 2015 and the world for me is a bit brighter, so, I gave the book a try. How surprised I was to find that this story is compelling, full of actual facts, and very much like 3 biographies in one! If you are a fan of biographical history books, you will really enjoy this one. Candice Millard is a very fine author and describes in detail the story of how Garfield became president, how Alexander Graham Bell tried to help the President recover from his wounds with another of his inventions, and how the crazed lunatic assassin plotted to shoot the President. I didn't learn any of this in history class! The story certainly doesn't have a happy ending, but, it really made me think of the strides and progress in modern medicine that we take for granted today. If only Garfield were wounded today, he would not have succumbed to his injuries. I look forward to reading future writings by this author.
My wife and I both wanted to read this excellent history for a book club we belong to, so we obtained a copy on CD and listened to it on our recent 2,100 mile vacation to NC and VA. It is a must for American history buffs. Though I'm a recovering politician with a masters in history, I knew little about Garfield beyond the facts that he was a Union Civil War General, had been elected president as a Republican and was assassinated shortly after taking office. I came to respect and like the man through Millard's treatment. I was surprised to find that he had not sought the nomination, had been for Sen. John Sherman, and was nominated against his wishes when the GOP convention bolted to him on the 36th ballot. I was also impressed with the kind of man he was. And dismayed to discover that his wound should not have been fatal, that what killed him was the introduction of infection by his doctors, especially the chief I'm-in-charge-here Dr. Bliss, as they did not believe in Lister's germ theory. An interesting subtheme was the efforts of Alexander Graham Bell to invent a machine that would locate the bullet in Garfield's body. It worked, except that Dr. Bliss would only let Bell try the machine on Garfield's right side where he wrongly but strongly believed the bullet was lodged. Bell's machine went on to save many lives before x-Rays were developed. I previously enjoyed Millard's book "River of Doubt" and am looking forward to reading her "Hero of the Empire." She is a treasure for those of us who still care about history.

Robert A. Hall
Author The Coming Collapse of the American Republic