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Wow! If you are an American history nerd, read this book! I found myself continually amazed that the story this book tells has not been adapted into a series. The delusional hubris of the assassin is bonkers, the ignorance and arrogance of the doctor is maddening, and now I just really want to find a book on Alexander Graham Bell. There‘s even some political villainy. Seriously. If you like history, give this a go.

Monday read.

One of the best books I‘ve read. Hands down. President Garfield was assassinated rather early into his presidency. However, Millard argues that the assassin‘s bullet was not the cause of his death. What follows is a riveting, jaw dropping look at medicine and doctor‘s practices of the late 19th century. It‘s so well written and so well informed, a perfect blend of narrative nonfiction and well documented research. #TheCallOfDestiny #SoaringScores

The title says it all—Millard‘s enthralling account of this little known (unless, I suspect, you are well versed in presidential history) event makes for a fascinating, “how in the world did all the pieces fall into place allowing this to actually happen,” read. Interweaving Garfield‘s rise from abject poverty to the White House with advances in medicine, Alexander Graham Bell & the life of Charles Guiteau, Millard‘s book is great. Recommended.

Going with nonfiction for my next book. This one won the Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime & is the story of James A. Garfield & his assassination by Charles Guiteau. Garfield narrowly defeated Winfield Scott Hancock in the 1880 presidential election & took office in March 1881. He was shot in early July & while Garfield survived, he succumbed to his injuries two months later due to an infection caused by dirty, unsterilized instruments.

Aside from knowing Garfield was born in the Cleveland area, I knew very little about his time as POTUS or his murder. I thought this book was one of the best I‘d read this year (leaving aside my feelings about AG Bell). It‘s astonishing to me that it took so long for germ theory/sterile practices to become recognized in medical practice. Garfield‘s death was gruesome and unnecessary.

I listened to the audiobook version of this for the second time today, and still really liked it. James A. Garfield is treated like a footnote to history, but he could have been so much more. The details of his murder and medical care are insane and unimaginable. I highly recommend this book.

Took a drive to Monticello today. Enjoying the tagged audiobook, and Jefferson‘s love of books.

Friday night in the park #Litsywalkers

I just spent *way* too long making collages of the 26 books I read in May! I‘m going to share more details on my 8 favorites, starting w/ nonfiction.

💔 DESTINY OF THE REPUBLIC: A TALE OF MADNESS, MEDICINE, AND THE MURDER OF A PRESIDENT by Candice Millard (5⭐️)

🍎 SAVE ME THE PLUMS by Ruth Reichl (4⭐️)

#howjessreadsin2019

I meant to share this #bfc update on Wednesday! Tucson is having its wettest May since like 1897. (If you‘re curious, that equals 1.5 days of rain. Lol.) So the saguaros are all in bloom! 🌵 I have been walking a lot, plus we‘ve gone swimming a few times. And I just finished book number 2 of my week. 🙂 #bookfitnesschallenge @wanderinglynn

“His eye was steady, and his face presented the appearance of a #brave man, who is determined upon a desperate deed, and meant to do it calmly and well.”

#QuotsyMar19 #31DaysOfNonFiction

Excellent book. The main story line is about 2 men, who both started life in poverty , but both chose completely different paths . One was destined for greatness , yet was very humble , while the other , mentally unstable , always wanted to achieve greatness and thought he was capable of it , and sadly, decided to make a name for himself in a terrible way. The book also has so much more in it, about the beginnings of advances in the medical field.

Great book. History is not my forte and I learned a lot about President Garfields life and assassination. It angers me to know the ignorance and conceit of his doctor was also a cause to his death. It also angers and saddens me to know that political corruption is the same now as it was then, except there is way much more money involved now. Long, long, gone are the days when great men wanted what was best for the nation.

A friend sent me some books which I received today ☺️😁👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻! There's some folks outside of Litsy who get me.

See, told you I'm a non-fiction nerd. 🤓😆

4 books about presidents, 1 about law, 1 about the energy industry, 1 about government structure, 1 about American Old West history, and 1 about cosmology and physics.

Lordy! How many of you would this group of great reads (for me) put to sleep faster than Extra-Strength Zzzquil? 😆☺️

I listened to the audio. There wasn‘t as much biography as I was expecting. Much of it was politics, which I‘m not all that interested in, so I tuned out for a good portion of the first ½ to 2/3. What I found much more interesting was the medicine at the time. The suggestion of germs, something no one could see, was new and many doctors didn‘t want to believe it. Cont in comments...

It‘s strange: I actually savored this book. I fell in love with Garfield and didn‘t want his final moment to come. When it did, I was utterly devastated. I sat at my dining room table and cried. He would have been an amazing president. After the death of Lincoln, Garfield was truly our second chance to get things right. What could he have accomplished? What would America be right now, had Guiteau failed or had Bliss, et.al WASHED THEIR HANDS?!

My April book stats—15 books read! Definitely a good reading month! I found it funny that all three of my top picks were NF—and although Republic is a little wide in scope to be considered true crime imo, all three books center around murder.

This book was so good! Poor President Garfield! How tragic that he died and in a way that could have been prevented with modern medical treatment (mostly if the doctors had just washed their hands it would have helped). It seems like he would have been a great president if he had been able to serve his term. The book is well written and the author weaves several storylines together seamlessly. A #FreakyFriday pick that was on my TBR for years.

All the books I'm reading or think I'm about to read sit #OnMyNightstand. Things get out of hand pretty quickly. Especially since this doesn't even include the one on my Kindle. #12daysofbookstagram Day 7.

My husband is #tiredoftalking about this book. Pretty sure I kept him up last night with my rambling. But as much as I remember details of Lincoln‘s or Kennedy‘s assasinations, I didn‘t even remember that Garfield was killed. And this read so easily despite all the political talk in the beginning. The second half is where it really won me. Garfield would have easily lived through the shooting had it not been for horrific medical care. #aprella

Well I cried my eyes out in this one. Seventy-nine long days of suffering medical malpractice endured with grace, dignity, and good humor. If I‘m ever near the Garfield library I‘ll be sure to visit and I‘ll definitely be reading more of Millard.

Very interesting book! Handles the subject (the intersecting lives of Bell, Garfield, Garfield‘s assassin, and other important figures of the time) very well. Never felt slow, kept me involved the whole time. Would definitely recommend. Left me feeling like I really knew these historical figures and understood the time period at a new level.

Definitely an enjoyable read/listen. Millard does a great job distilling Garfield‘s file and weaving the narrative strands. The narration on the audiobook is also quite good. The comparison to The Devil in the White City is actually fairly spot on (for once); this book had the same blend of history and true crime for me.

I'm listening to Destiny of the Republic for a challenge slot of my local library's January reading challenge, a book by an author who lives in Kansas. I have also heard Candice Millard speak at a Literacy KC luncheon, and she was the special guest for the Stay Home and Read A Book Ball fundraiser, doing a Twitter Q&A, so it's neat to now experience some of her work. I knew very little about Garfield, this is interesting and accessible, recommend!

Thought this book was great but slightly biased. Would def recommend!

So interesting... and heartbreaking our nation didn't get a chance to live through a full term of his presidency... He sounds like he would've done great things for our country, had he been given the chance.

Im kind of between a so-so and a pick on this one. It was interesting to read about both Garfield and his assassin, and I started to like Garfield a lot, after all he was a fellow bookworm, and refused to be ruled by party bosses in one of the most corrupt times in American history. But the descriptions of Garfield's infected bullet wounds and wildly incompetent doctor got to me after awhile.

Garfield's opponent in the election of 1880, Democratic nominee Winfield Scott Hancock.

When people come up to me and say they usually loathe nonfiction history books but devoured this one, you know it's a good read. President Garfield's assassination shook the nation, but did the bullet really kill him? Millard has a theory, and backs it up with so much research, you'll probably agree with her by the end. Perfect narrative nonfiction - hard to believe she's writing about reality. #35bookparty

Favorite non fiction.
This is about President James Garfield who I previously knew nothing about, it is truly fascinating what happened to him ! #MOREORLESS

After reading this I want to read all of Millard's books. Learned so much about a president I knew nothing about. SO INTERESTING!!!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I can't say enough about this book! Put it at the top of your TBR pile and you won't be disappointed!

A couple #presidentialreads from my TBR bookshelves. I have a few others on Kindle. #feistyfeb (Note that Robert Strauss's book was published before our current POTUS took office...)

I love me a president who reads like it's going out of style and believes deeply in knowledge and education. #bibliophile

I am already completely engrossed in this story. Who knew James Garfield was such an interesting and amazing human being?

I stopped reading this one two months ago because I was disappointed by the author's sweeping claims about Alexander Graham Bell's "success" with his deaf students, without any statement about why, when in reality Bell was an eugenicist and pushed through for the abolishment of sign language usage (neither of which is ever mentioned). I couldn't focus on the main story which was Garfield himself. Time to call this a bail.

I approached this book with little knowledge of who James Garfield was, other than an American president who was assassinated. Through her research and masterful storytelling Candice Millard has presented a portrait of an American president who was loved by all and that of a man whose strength and character I will personally strive to emulate.

A must read for anyone interested in American history as this story encapsulates so much of it.

President Garfield was a remarkable man. I'm really enjoying this read.

It's really a fast read, I just haven't been able to whittle out the time lately. I hope in 2017 I will find a little more time to slow down with a good book.

Doesn't this sound patronizing? So, he could have done better? Geez. In case you missed my last post, Bell was married to a deaf woman (Picture of Alexander Graham Bell and his wife taken from internet). Almost ready to be a #threwitacrosstheroom

No! Very disappointed with these. Unsubstantiated claims about why he was. Even though Alexander Graham Bell had a deaf mother and wife, and did use sign language with them, he discouraged it in the deaf schools and was influential enough to make it forbidden for use in teaching the deaf. And he was an eugenicist-- literally said Deaf should not "breed" with other Deaf. And he's apparently a central figure in this book. Idk if I can keep reading.

Amazing book! I need to read more of her books!!!

#latestbookishbuys #photoadaynov16. My most recent purchases have been this book and The Great Bridge for my husband for Christmas. I haven't bought anything for myself recently. Mostly I've been reading library books or "shopping " on my bookshelves. I haven't found a bookstore here in the mountains, which is the only negative of this trip, except that leave tomorrow ?

Book: about the sad fate of President Garfield. Found today at the used bookstore when I was dropping off book donations. Not starting it tonight, but it's very high up on my TBR! Beer: a vanilla stout. Glass: from Powell's books when we visited four years ago. Ready to relax this evening!

One of my rock stars! She is out promoting her latest book about Winston Churchill's younger years, Hero of the Empire. Can't wait to read it!

Who knew?

Fascinating read. After being thoroughly charmed and impressed by Millard's presentation of this previously barely known to me president, I had to set the book aside for a week to get through the part where he needlessly dies of medical hubris.

From my TBR: James Garfield, Civil War veteran, congressman, U. S. President, and #reallifeperson. #octphotochallenge