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The Story of Garfield
A short biography of the 20th U.S. President. Garfield was raised in humble circumstances on an Ohio farm by his widowed mother and elder brother. Before he was elected president in the Republican party he was first elected to Congress in 1862 as Representative of the 19th District of Ohio. Then to the Senate in 1880. His presidency lasted just 200 days—from March 4, 1881, until his death on September 19, 1881, as a result of being shot by assassin Charles J. Guiteau on July 2, 1881. (Summary by Wikipedia and wtomcho)
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First published January 1, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 19, 2016
No, not the cartoon cat.
Okay, now that the only Garfield most people think of has been eliminated, I will tell you that this book is about James Garfield, who was the 20th President of The United States, serving in office from March 4, 1881 to September 19, 1881.
I had been reading Sarah Vowell's book Assassination Vacation, which has a chapter in it about Garfield and his fate. Meanwhile I was also trying to tidy up my lists of titles to read at Gutenberg, and while scrolling through my biography section I saw this book and jumped in.
Written 14 years after Garfield's death, The Story Of Garfield frankly puzzled me. The details were mostly correct, although there were slight differences between what Rutherford said and what Wiki said. Was Garfield really reluctant to enter politics, as Rutherford claimed, or was that the only place he felt he could fulfill his own potential, the way Wiki states?
I have to go with Wiki, because Rutherford seemed to be writing a tract for school boys to read and be inspired by, rather than an actual biographical sketch. The tone of the whole book was hero-worshipping, with many statements about Garfield's being the best at this, that, and everything; not to mention pious, honest almost to a fault, full of not only integrity but the desire to serve others as well as The Lord. Oh, dear. I was beginning to feel pretty inferior, and I was not even the target audience here! I liked the Vowell image of Garfield better, even though I think that may have been a bit off as well. For her, he was someone who would rather be reading a book. He didn't want to pay attention to anything in real life because of missing time with his books. Well, yeah. I've been there.
Another odd thing for me was why in the world a scholar from Scotland, famous for his work with classical Greek, would write a pep-talking type of life story about an assassinated American president? I couldn't find out too much about the author, his Wiki page is quite brief and I don't research much beyond Wiki most of the time. Other than slightly idle curiosity I have no reason to find out more, but I was astounded by the main lesson of the story. According to the author himself, it had nothing to do with Garfield. The main lesson was:
" Surely if there is one lesson more than another to learn from the story of this splendid life, it is to be found in the sacrifice of this elder brother, who, like Jonathan of old, stepped aside and lent a hand that another should climb over his head."
Now what in the world had happened in the life of our scholar that would make him say such a thing? Why didn't he write The Story of Thomas Garfield? Why spend so much time on James and then in his final paragraph basically say there was nothing to be learned from James himself, it was Big Brother Thomas who was even more special? I can just imagine some young Englishman reading this book.....oh, wait, there it is. Of course! Garfield grew up in a log cabin, worked hard all of his life, etc etc, and became President. But YOU, young English boy, cannot do that because we don't have such a system in our country. Therefore, be like Thomas and not James. Okay, well, that settles that little mystery for me.
Definitely merely a presidential curiosity, not really worth taking seriously. But I still would like to learn more about our man Garfield. I'll have to keep my eyes open for a proper biography.
Okay, now that the only Garfield most people think of has been eliminated, I will tell you that this book is about James Garfield, who was the 20th President of The United States, serving in office from March 4, 1881 to September 19, 1881.
I had been reading Sarah Vowell's book Assassination Vacation, which has a chapter in it about Garfield and his fate. Meanwhile I was also trying to tidy up my lists of titles to read at Gutenberg, and while scrolling through my biography section I saw this book and jumped in.
Written 14 years after Garfield's death, The Story Of Garfield frankly puzzled me. The details were mostly correct, although there were slight differences between what Rutherford said and what Wiki said. Was Garfield really reluctant to enter politics, as Rutherford claimed, or was that the only place he felt he could fulfill his own potential, the way Wiki states?
I have to go with Wiki, because Rutherford seemed to be writing a tract for school boys to read and be inspired by, rather than an actual biographical sketch. The tone of the whole book was hero-worshipping, with many statements about Garfield's being the best at this, that, and everything; not to mention pious, honest almost to a fault, full of not only integrity but the desire to serve others as well as The Lord. Oh, dear. I was beginning to feel pretty inferior, and I was not even the target audience here! I liked the Vowell image of Garfield better, even though I think that may have been a bit off as well. For her, he was someone who would rather be reading a book. He didn't want to pay attention to anything in real life because of missing time with his books. Well, yeah. I've been there.
Another odd thing for me was why in the world a scholar from Scotland, famous for his work with classical Greek, would write a pep-talking type of life story about an assassinated American president? I couldn't find out too much about the author, his Wiki page is quite brief and I don't research much beyond Wiki most of the time. Other than slightly idle curiosity I have no reason to find out more, but I was astounded by the main lesson of the story. According to the author himself, it had nothing to do with Garfield. The main lesson was:
" Surely if there is one lesson more than another to learn from the story of this splendid life, it is to be found in the sacrifice of this elder brother, who, like Jonathan of old, stepped aside and lent a hand that another should climb over his head."
Now what in the world had happened in the life of our scholar that would make him say such a thing? Why didn't he write The Story of Thomas Garfield? Why spend so much time on James and then in his final paragraph basically say there was nothing to be learned from James himself, it was Big Brother Thomas who was even more special? I can just imagine some young Englishman reading this book.....oh, wait, there it is. Of course! Garfield grew up in a log cabin, worked hard all of his life, etc etc, and became President. But YOU, young English boy, cannot do that because we don't have such a system in our country. Therefore, be like Thomas and not James. Okay, well, that settles that little mystery for me.
Definitely merely a presidential curiosity, not really worth taking seriously. But I still would like to learn more about our man Garfield. I'll have to keep my eyes open for a proper biography.
March 25, 2020
It is hard to tell if my ratings on biographies like this one, and Chester A. Arthur, is a reflection of the writing, the President, or a mixture of the two. In fairness, this is a good primer on President Garfield. It is short, facts-based, and hits the high-points only. You won't get bogged down in prose, but you also won't get deep analysis of his life and presidency. If you are looking for a quick read to either learn about President Garfield or to decide if you want to read a more comprehensive work, this is your book.
September 9, 2023
Garfield was the president with integrity - no drinking, smoking, fighting or swearing. He was promoted to brigadeer general in the Civil War because of his bravery. Too bad he didn’t get a better chance at presidency!
June 5, 2015
Good read.
January 10, 2017
Great. Story
This is a great story of a noble American. His mithe sister and brother enabled him to achieve greatness as an Honorable man soldiers teacher and President
This is a great story of a noble American. His mithe sister and brother enabled him to achieve greatness as an Honorable man soldiers teacher and President
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews