James A. Garfield became the 20th President of the United States in 1880. Though he was born of humble beginnings on a farm in Orange Township, Ohio, Garfield was one of the most amazing men to serve as an American President. Our country’s history might be very different if Garfield had not been shot by an unstable office seeker only four months into his Presidency. It was not the bullets that killed Garfield but the bitter behind the scenes political power struggle and disastrous, archaic, and unsanitary medical care he received. Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard documents this tragic event, as well as the heroic efforts of Alexander Graham Bell who worked around the clock to develop a device capable of finding the bullet.

Candice Millard, an Ohio native, grew up in Lexington, Ohio but moved to Kansas before her senior year in high school. She received a BA from Baker University in Baldwin City, Kansas and earned her Master’s in literature from Baylor University. She is a former writer and editor for National Geographic magazine. Destiny of the Republic is her second book.

Note: James A. Garfield’s home, a thirty-room mansion known as Lawnfield, is located in Mentor, Ohio and it is now preserved as the James A. Garfield National Historic Site. More information can be found on the National Park Service website.

Candice Millard website