The Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Medicine, Madness and the Murder of… (2011)

James Garfield is one of those on the list of American presidents no one remembers, if not for the fact he is one of four of our presidents to be assassinated, the second after Lincoln. I had also heard before that Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone, attempted to use a new invention of his to find the bullet lodged in Garfield's body. After this book, which definitely had some moving passages, I doubt I'll ever forget again our 20th president, who had served for only three months before being gunned down. Even the nondescript bookends who preceded and succeeded him, Rutherford Hayes and Chester Arthur, are more solid personages to me now. That's one of the things good biography can do--it's a wonderful window into history, to see it through the focus of one life.

For much of this fast-reading book, Millard built up Garfield as a paragon, so you wonder if it might have changed the "destiny of the republic" as the title suggests had he lived. Garfield was an "ardent abolitionist" and supporter of black suffrage who won a crucial battle in the American Civil War; Frederick Douglass was a supporter and admirer of Garfield. Millard hints he might have done much to fight for civil rights for Blacks in the South, that he was soon to travel South and give a important speech on race relations. One of the faults of the book, however, is that she doesn't really pin down what his agenda was, and doesn't really speculate on what difference it might have made had he lived. Milliard does give reason to believe that Garfield had a first rate mind and he certainly wasn't power-seeking--at least according to this account. He went to the Republican convention to nominate another man for President and left it the Republican candidate for President--according to Milliard to his chagrin and deep embarrassment--but notably, he didn't turn it down.

The picture of Garfield struck me as too good to be true. Nevertheless, there's the small moment that did say a lot about the man's decency. Shot down, his head on the lap of a bystander who rushed to him, he turned his head to avoid vomiting on her skirt. That did speak to me of his consideration of others even in the worse of circumstances, and when I was recounting that story to my aunt I found myself choking back tears. It was hard to read the last third of the book about Garfield's suffering under the ministrations of his doctors, as responsible as the madman who shot him for his death. Ah, 19th century medicine. It seems reading this story, that at least until the 20 century, you probably would have a better chance surviving staying away from doctors than calling them.

I wouldn't call this a scholarly history, despite the endnotes and bibliography at the back of the book. It's one of those popular histories written "like a novel" with all sorts of immediate details, ones leaving you dubious they could be gained from a historical record--although according to the introduction, Milliard certainly did plenty of research, even talking to descendents of Garfield. Overall I'd call this, even if not particularly insightful or deep, an entertaining book--and hey, I was tempted to give it a fourth star for making me choke up--I'm not easy. But when I compare this in my mind to the best presidential biographies I've read, or even Milliard's excellent River of Doubt about Theodore Roosevelt, this feels a bit too lightweight to rate higher. ( )

I'm tiring somewhat of the dig around for an episode of history that popular consciousness has forgot and whip it up into a bestseller genre. It's pretty obvious who the heroes and villains are supposed to be. James Garfield was great guy! Nor I am surprised that scientists and doctors can be irrational and vain. Really, there is nothing not to like about this book. Really, there is nothing to this book at all. ( )

My brother and I were on the phone this week, and (watching coverage about the Boston Marathon bomber) I commented what a crazy world it is today. He (a retired history teacher) replied that the world has always been some kind of crazy. My latest read is a reminder of that.

As a week dominated by terrorism unfolded in our country, I was drawn into this narrative history of the assassination of President Garfield. The world was, indeed, a rather crazy place even back then. From the politics of the day, where the support of a "spoils" system for government appointments were considered perfectly proper; to a medical establishment that stubbornly refused to accept the knowledge of antisepsis pioneered by Joseph Lister; to a public mentality that felt the President of the US should be open to visits from virtually any person wishing to see him at any time, and travel to and fro as a "regular" citizen with no security protection whatsoever; to the mind of one very disturbed drifter who felt entitled to be consul to France, and eventually decided God was calling him to kill the President. There was plenty in this book to amaze the reader unfamiliar with this period of history in general, and the details of our country's second Presidential assassination in particular.

Millard's writing brought the historical figures to life. I got a real sense of President Garfield, and have a much greater appreciation of him as a person and a leader. This reluctant president, the first ever nominated and elected without even giving consent for his name to be placed into nomination, was an intelligent and insightful man. I loved the description of his house full of books! In contrast, the assassin Charles Guiteau was a most irresponsible and -- yes, I'll use the word -- crazy man. Roscoe Conkling comes across as an obnoxious wheeler-dealer bullying politico. And then, after shots are fired and the medical drama unfolds, we see where Alexander Graham Bell fits into the picture, attempting to create a machine that might find the elusive bullet lodged in the President's body. And then there's the controlling Dr. Bliss, who takes charge of the President's care with a firm (and unsanitary) hand. And there are so many more figures of the time, drawn in vivid detail.

I really enjoyed this well-written book, and learned a lot from it. I appreciated the extensive notes at the end, knowing that the author did her homework before embarking on this wonderful job of story-telling. At least in my e-book, there were no numbers in the actual text to link to the endnotes. The endnote numbers appeared as links, but only took me back to the previous page of notes . . . not helpful. That's my only criticism of this book. Highly recommended! ( )

If you're like me, I'll bet you haven't given President James Garfield much thought either. Have you? Come on, admit it. He was elected in 1880, shot in 1881 and gone in months, and suddenly it was all Chester Arthur, all the time. But here's a book that manages to make mountains out of this molehill of a Presidency. First, the author persuades us that Garfield was a truly likable, magnetic, wonderful human being. Honest, thrifty, salt-of-the-earth, up from the farm, a true man of the people in the spirit of Abraham Lincoln, a scholar and a gentleman, respectful and progressive in his attitudes toward blacks, magnanimous toward his enemies, he did not seek power, but found it thrust upon him, and had he lived, the case is made, might have been a truly great President. So that's for starters.

Then to spice it up a bit we learn that on his behalf, as he lay dying in the Washington summer heat, air conditioning was invented and deployed for the first time in history. For Garfield! They invented it so he would be comfortable, thus making, I don't know, the whole modern world possible, probably.

Then, on his behalf, Alexander Graham Bell labored through the nights to invent a metal detector to find the bullet in his body. His efforts failed, but not because his device did not work, but rather because the physician would not allow him to inspect the left side of the body (where the bullet actually lay), insisting that he confine his metal detection to the side that the physician, Dr. Bliss, believed to be its location.

Furthermore, while Dr. Bliss, the imperious surgeon who claimed full responsibility for his care and probably killed him with his dirty fingers as he probed inside his abdomen, insisted that modern ideas of sterilization were nonsense, nonetheless out in the country and in Europe physicians were imploring the White House doctor to adhere to the ideas of Lister and sterilize instruments and hands. They were unsuccessful, but following Garfield's death their ideas gained a foothold.

We are treated along the way to some gloriously gruesome descriptions of anesthetic free 19th century surgery procedures, and copious amounts of puss and bodily fluids. You can skip that part if you like, but if you want to really smell the 19th century, it's worth a read too.

The story of his assassin, Charles Guiteau meanwhile provides a great picture of a 19th century low-life and more or less insane person, not just during those few months, but as recreated here, over much of his life. Millard is a good story teller, weaving together historical documents and her conversations with historians into a compelling narrative that makes us want to turn the page.

Finally, we have the remarkable story of Vice President Chet Arthur, a true nothing and political factotum, an errand boy to the egotistical Senator Roscoe Conkling, who mysteriously found the strength to kick his patron, Conkling, out of his life upon assuming the Presidency (earning Conkling's eternal enmity), and to begin the process of creating a civil service in the United States.

All of this happened in 1880 and 1881 (and in the 3 years that followed with Arthur), and is great fun to learn about. ( )

This book made great strides in reforming my feelings on nonfiction. It has romance and humor, murder and malpractice, genius and madness, egos of outlandish proportions contrasted with unlikely heroism. If I had read this book in high school (you know, 20 years before it was written), I might have ended up a history major. ( )

This book totally made me change my Top Five Presidents list. Well researched narrative that covers many intersecting topics of the time, medicine, politics, innovation and insanity. Great great book. ( )

Superbly written and completely engrossing. A brilliant work of biography and history. ( )

ebook version

Fascinating book on a topic I knew nothing about. (I vaguely remembered that Garfield was shot by an office seeker, but not much more than that.) The switching back and forth between the life of President Garfield and his (crazypants!) assassin was very well done. And I'm a little sad I hadn't known anything about Garfield before this; he comes off as a really wonderful human being.

Also: holy premodern medicine, Batman! It's clear early on that he may have been shot by Guiteau, but he was killed by appalling medical practices. If he'd been left the hell alone, he probably would have lived; if he'd been shot two decades later, they would have gotten out the bullet AND he would have lived. (There's an interesting sidetrack into Alexander Graham Bell's development of a metal detector in hopes of finding the bullet.) But in 1881, getting the best possible medical care basically finished him off.

Now I'm curious why American docs in particular were so slow to take up Lister's antiseptic methods and the germ theory. I got pretty well grossed out by the descriptions of doctors basically rooting around in his back with their bare hands looking for the bullet...which happened to have ended up on the opposite side from where they thought it was...and pus, and fevers, and blood poisoning. Ewwww.

A interesting story very well told. Highly recommended. ( )

I am a conspiracy theorist. Friends, don’t unfriend me quite yet, please. Now I’m not one who accepts every conspiracy that comes down the pipeline as fact. I measure the evidence available to me and use my best judgment. Sometimes people are grasping for a conspiracy, other times, you have to admit, the mainstream “facts” seem rather fishy.

It was this drive to analyze the facts that led me to read Destiny of the Republic. At one time I knew the minor details of why every assassination of an American President was possibly an internal job, but I could no longer recall why Garfield’s had been. I remembered he’d been shot in a train station by a “deranged man” looking for a post in the government, and that he’d been kept alive for months and that the details surrounding his medical treatment were sketchy, but I could recall little else. I decided it was time to “learn the facts.”

Now, before I give Millard a bad name here, let me state clearly that my intention was to learn the facts behind the assassination to form my own opinion of the possible conspiracy, that is not to say that Millard has in any way written an historical narrative that is conspiratorial in tone; in fact, though Millard addresses some of the talk of the time that Garfield’s assassination was an inside job, her tone largely dismisses such possibilities as unlikely.

Before I give my verdict on the possible conspiracy, let me talk about the book itself. I loved it. I don’t know why I don’t read more historical narratives. I guess part of my reluctance is that I am not a big fan of celebrating the lives of celebrities, that is people who are idolized regardless of their lives, which most often should not be held up as examples. It’s only a matter of time before more fiction than fact exists in the lives of many of history’s figures and we have yet another Jesus Christ in our midst (just look at how “the [American] founding fathers” are treated as saints though they were in fact merely less upstanding and more misguided versions of our contemporary politicians). Once again, I digress. Millard does a wonderful job keeping most of the facts straight and adding a narrative that is exciting and well organized. The second half of the book dragged a little for me, but this was solely because the focus became medicine and invention and I wasn’t personally interested in these subjects as much; Millard’s skill in telling this part of the story was handled exceptionally well and maintained the standard she put forth in the first half of the book.

As for the possible conspiracy, there is certainly a great deal of details that make for a good story. Even in Destiny of the Republic, where Millard attempts to dispel the rumors, there is enough circumstantial evidence to make one suspicious. Was Guiteau truly just a madman? Or was he a madman used by people of power? Was the spurned Conkling powerful enough to orchestrate the assassination of Garfield? Millard herself calls him “the most powerful man in America” at the time. Was it just a coincidence that one of Conkling’s most loyal followers was forced upon Garfield as Vice President? And what about Bliss, Garfield’s self-appointed doctor, who did everything wrong and refused to let anyone else treat Garfield and took no one else’s advice? The facts are certainly suspicious, but as with all matters such as this, it is unlikely the masses will ever know for sure.

One more aside: I found it fascinating that Garfield had no intention, in fact no desire to run for office of the President. He was nominated against his will and fought his party’s nomination. He did no campaigning whatsoever. It was an interesting and entertaining moment of the book and of history. So the next time someone tells you that you have to work hard and really want something to achieve something big, you can tell them the story of James A. Garfield, twentieth President of the United States, a man who had no aspirations for being president, but who was willing to accept the task when it was handed to him. ( )

I think in part my rating of the book was, at least in part, because I was blown away by the character of President Garfield. This was compounded by the fact that I knew so little about him before reading this book. That being said, the connection of the stories of President Garfield and his assassin was weak at best, and completely falls apart before the stories conclude. ( )

Take a trip back in time to the Gilded Age, a time when the nation was still divided and the president was accessible to everyone. James A. Garfield's short tenure as America's 20th president is often overlooked, but he was an extraordinary man. Rising up from poverty, he became a war hero and respected leader. A staunch supporter of equal rights for blacks, Garfield won the respect of the Republican National Committee and was selected as their candidate for president, a role Garfield never actively sought.

Once Garfield became president, he came under intense pressure to honor the spoils system. Hundreds of office seekers lined up at the White House vying for positions they thought they deserved. Enter an office seeker named Charles Guiteau. Under the spoils system, Guiteau fully expected to be rewarded for what he thought was his part in getting Garfield elected. Unfortunately, there would be no appointment for Guiteau, and the disappointment turned him into a stalker and would-be assassin.

While Guiteau fully intended to kill President Garfield, the wounds were not fatal. Had Garfield been left alone, he very well may have recovered. However, due to his status as the president, he became the focus of the medical community. Enter Dr. Doctor Bliss, a physician with a checkered past. Under Bliss’s care, Garfield bravely and silently suffered through archaic and incompetent medical care.

Enter a young inventor named Alexander Graham Bell, who was sickened by the thought of doctors blindly probing inside Garfield's body for a wayward bullet. Bell became obsessed with the idea of inventing what was basically a metal detector for the human body. Unfortunately, the reluctance of the medical community to adopt new methods led to the tragic death of the 20th president of the United States.

The Bottom Line: Painstakingly researched and told with sensitivity, Millard's book sheds light on mostly forgotten events. Destiny of the Republic is written in braided narrative style, and it was fascinating to watch the lives of James A. Garfield, Charles Guiteau, and Alexander Graham Bell intersect. Reading about Dr. Doctor Bliss's insistence that archaic procedures be tried repeatedly in unsanitary conditions was heartbreaking. I found myself wondering if American history might have been different had Garfield lived and carried out his vision for America.

Very highly recommended for history buffs, true crime fans, and for readers who don’t usually read nonfiction. Author Candice Millard has masterfully woven together the tales of a leader, a murderer, and an inventor. Readers of biographies will appreciate this as well. Also, this book includes several pages of fascinating black and white photos and illustrations. As a final note, those who are a bit squeamish may want to skip over the descriptions of the horrific medical procedures performed by Dr. Doctor Bliss.

For the complete review,including Book Club Notes, visit the Mini Book Bytes Book Review Blog. ( )

A wonderful book written by Candice Millard, detailing James Garfield his short presidency and the agony he faced by questionable medical practices. A must read for the history buff who loves American History.

I did not know much about Garfield before I read this book and Millard does a wonderful job telling us about Garfield's life and history. ( )

Excellent story of the mind of doctors wedded to an erroneous hypothesis and providing unnecessary, harmful "care" for a wound that might have healed spontaneously. Heartrending for his family. Did not know much about this president before reading the book. What a tragedy.

The book is a biography of both James Garfield and his assassin Charles Guiteau. It’s enjoyable narrative history, but it’s thoroughly and carefully documented and consequently reads like quality scholarship. Also part of this excellent story: Alexander Graham Bell, the president’s doctor’s shortcomings, the medical community’s divided opinion on antiseptic, and the political and social climate of the Gilded Age ( )

Thoroughly enjoyed this historical account of the life -- and death -- of President James Garfield. While it is a factual account, Millard tells an amazing story through detailed research about the President, the politics of the time, the insane assassin, and the blundering of the doctors that ultimately led to the death of the President. Great read. ( )

I finally picked it up and raced through this lovely little book. The author makes James Garfield a little knownn figure of history come to vibrant lusty life. We care about him and the life and times.

Lots of wonderful little details. Garfield got nominated for president while at the convention making a nominating speech for - someone else! And then got saddled with corrupt party hack Chester A Arthur (Boo! Hisss!) as his Vice President.

Of course in those days you didn't "run" for president - you got nominated and then went home and sat on your front porch looking wise. It worked for Garfield.

Can't even conceive of a president of these United States who put aside two hours every day to receive and hear the special pleading of any nutcase with the patience to wait on line. But Garfield did.

Can't conceive of a president of these United States who lived in the White House with no guards no protection at all from assassination. Putting guards around a president made him seem "imperial" and not in touch with "the people" - or so people said.

Lincoln's assassination was fresh in everyone's mind but it was seen as an act of war - not something that could happen again.

Lovely stories about good old Roscoe Conklin the famous King of Patronage and his downfall and the beginning of the merit system of civil service - began by -- (formerly corrupt) Chester A Arthur!

A fascinating story deeply and movingly told.

Highly recommended ( )

This is a very well written account of the last days of President James Garfield who was assassinated within 6 months of being elected. It's structured using the same braided narrative technique as Hampton Sides' Hellhound On His Trail, moving back and forth between the protagonist and his stalker until they converge with the assassination exactly half-way through the book. Along the way we learn a lot about various biographies and historical things related to the era and incident, such as medicine and new technology of the day. Ultimately the writing and research is top-notch, but the story itself is fairly bland. The death of Garfield had little importance in American history. The killer is a banal character whose motivations were apolitical, the work of a deranged personality. I found myself more interested in the side story of Alexander Bell than about Garfield. The book is most interesting for the historical curiosities - the medical treatments and how openly accessible presidents were to the public (as seen in the movie Lincoln). Good book, worth reading, probably the best on the assassination of Garfield, but not a great book because the events are not very thrilling. Candice Millard has now successfully written about two little-known "curiosity" episodes from history, fine, but imagine what she could accomplish with her talents on something more central to history and meaningful to the present. ( )

Candice Millard's Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President provides an interesting biography of James Garfield and the circumstances surrounding his assassination. She does a great job of weaving together story lines that help the reader understand the era being covered. And it's the first that I learned that Robert Todd Lincoln was present for the assassinations of his father, James Garfield, and William McKinley....Interesting if you're a geek for creepy facts like that. I also highly recommend her previous presidential novel River of Doubt about Teddy Roosevelt. ( )

Millard has done it again in an excellent book that weaves together history and biography. River of Doubt is a hard act to follow, but she followed it well! I did not know much about the circumstances surrounding the Garfield shooting. So interesting! ( )

I enjoyed reading "River of Doubt" last year so decided to try another of Candace Millard's books. I'm so glad that I was able to learn more of James A. Garfield. It is tragic that the deranged man had such easy access to injure our president. It is even more tragic that the medical care the president received likely assured that the wounds would eventually kill the president.
President Garfield had a remarkable career in which he rose from extreme poverty to become a college president, a civil war general and eventually President of the United States. His death served to unite our country.
I heartily recommend reading this one . . . ( )

This is compelling book about an extraordinary man. The more I read, the more ashamed I felt that I had not known more about him sooner. This was a man who was born into poverty, who loved family friend and country. He asked nothing from anyone except himself.

To say that he was a man of kindness and honor is to not say enough. He had gained the respect of nearly all who knew him, barring only those whose own aspirations and jealousies prevented them from seeing the man that james Garfield had become.

He found a way to obtain the schooling that experiences early in life convinced him that he needed in order to make a difference, and making a difference is what he wanted most. Beginning with a few dollars his family had saved, he worked his way to and through a superior education. One made all the better by is own focus and intelligence. Life gave him the opportunity to meet and marry the love of his life.

Garfield's path to the White House took him through the Civil War where he achieved the rank of general. He became a congressman whose own integrity led him to fight what was then, as it is now, a corrupt political atmosphere.Sadly, before he had a chance to make his mark in history, or change the course of this country, an attack on his life would soon leave both his family and country without this great man. One can only wonder how history might have been changed had he lived. I have to believe that he would have had a profound impact on his country.

Recommended. ( )

Fascinating and well written. ( )

James Garfield, the 20th President of the United States was unique in that he was the only preacher to have held this office. Unfortunately, he was shot in the back by an insane office seeker and though he could have survived these wounds in modern day, the level of medical care that he received at the time was the cause of his eventual death.

What was amazing about the man was that he never sought nor wanted to be President. Rival political factions (0ne for Grant and one for Sen. Blaine of Maine) were fighting for the Republican nomination and when they wouldn't given in, Garfield was the alternative candidate selected.

After Garfield was shot, several notable people were involved with his care - one the first licensed black doctor in the District of Columbia as well as Alexander Graham Bell who invented a metal detector for the specific reason to try to locate the bullet that was still in the President.

Comparison of the advancements that Bell was working toward and the antiquated medical treatment provided were both shocking and sickening. It is truly disappointed that a man of Garfield's character and demeanor was shot down before he was permitted to help those that would have benefited from his policies.

What his death did accomplish, however, was a reunification of the citizens throughout the United States.

This book was powerful in its storytelling as well as its story. ( )