Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by
Candice Millard
My rating:
5 of 5 stars
Candice Millard has done it again! What. A. Book.
It bears repeating: It is books like this that should be read in high school to teach history, not some dry packaged curricula with a stultifying text book lining up events in a boring chronology.
This book has everything. Intrigue, love, politics, history of slavery, history of spoils system, mental illness, and, last by not least, the tragic failure of 19th century medicine to acknowledge the need for sterilization of wounds.
Republican President Garfield's murder changed the course of history and likely slowed the progress he and his party had made in creating a just and equal society for former slaves and all men/women of color. On the other hand, because most agreed that it was the Democrats obsession of the spoils system (aka cronyism and nepotism) that enabled the heinous murder to happen in the first place, everyone finally agreed to do away with it as an official practice. In my opinion, this is the only silver lining.
He was a remarkable man, this I knew. But, the book does a superb job of showing us why he was so exceptional.
It must be read!
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