There have been four U.S. presidents who were assassinated: Abraham Lincoln, James A. Garfield, William McKinley, and John F. Kennedy. Each instance carries it's own shock, grief, and intrigue. Before I read Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard I knew very little about the 20th President, the research and work of Alexander Graham Bell (other than the telephone) as he tried desperately to make a metal detecting device to locate the bullet in Garfield, or the mad as a hatter Charles Guiteau who believed he was an essential part of the Presidential win, but then God told him to shoot the President.
Perhaps most shocking is that Garfield didn't die from the bullet shot and lodged inside him. The poor man lingered in pain and with septicemia for over 2 months while doctors tried to "help" him. Most of them did not believe germs existed, and so inserted fingers and probes into the wound without washing and sterilizing them first. There were so many things that could have been done, including just leaving it alone. Many men who were shot in the Civil War walked around with bullets or shrapnel because without fussing at them, the wounds would heal themselves.
I knew I picked a good book when I got wrapped up in the story by the second page! Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President lives up to it's title by presenting a well researched historical book that tells a shocking, page turning, true story.
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| Charles Guiteau. Note the "crazy eyes". |
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