Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President in Reading with Style

Apr 29, 2025 Rachel N. rated it liked it

Shelves: presidential-biography, nonfiction, read-in-2025

This book mainly covers the assasination attempt on President Garfield and the 80 days following that until he died from an infection caused by doctors trying to "treat" the bullet wound. There was a bit on Garfield's early life but not a lot. I would like to go back and read a more in depth biography of him after I finish reading a biography for every U.S. president. I thought the information about the shooter and about the care, or lack of it, Garfield recieved after the shooting was interesti ...more

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Sep 02, 2017 Kathleen (itpdx) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, lwv-suggest

Candice Millard is a wonder! She brings history to life. I feel that I know President Garfield, his wife, Lucretia, and his assassin, Guiteau. Millard can put the reader in the scene, whether it is a convention hall or a prison courtyard. The story flows. The author has a way of focusing on the themes by telling a story, for example, Lister trying to bring his idea of antisepsis to American doctors by describing his presentation at the Chicago Centennial Fair.
The book is never dry or long-winde ...more

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Jun 04, 2013 Joy rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, nonfiction, 5-star, 2013, audiobook, history

Candice Millard skillfully weaves together the fates of James A. Garfield and his assassin, Charles Guiteau, as well as notable contemporaries such as Alexander Graham Bell. Even though the tragic denouement of Garfield’s death is inevitable, Destiny of the Republic is an irresistible story that keeps the reader turning pages. Millard adeptly dusts off historical events from the late 19th century and crafts a captivating narrative out of real-life events that has the pace and absorption of ficti ...more

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