The Destiny of the Republic - Book Report/Review Example

?Book Review Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard. New York: Doubleday, 340 pp. [i] Candice Millard is an American citizen who has experience as a writer and editor with the National Geographic magazine and has already written a successful book on the subject of Theodore Roosevelt. Her study entitled Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President is her second full-length book, and again takes up a narrative dealing with the life and times of an American President. The subject matter is rather serious, since the President in question, James A. Garfield, was shot very soon after he became the 20th President of the United States, and died a lingering death because of the bungling doctors who attempted to treat his wounds. Millard’s style, however, is fast-paced and entertaining, making the intrigue surrounding this dramatic episode in American history into a kind of psychological thriller. [ii] The book is structured in twenty two short chapters, along with a prologue and epilogue. These are arranged in turn into four numbered sections. Each chapter starts with a little quotation which is taken from James A. Garfield himself, and which gives the book an old- fashioned feel, as if there is going to be some moral implied in the narrative that follows. The titles and opening lines of the chapters have a deliberately dramatic tone, as for example in chapter one, which begins with the words “Even severed as it was from the rest of the body, the hand was majestic. Sixteen feet tall, with long, tapered fingers….” (p. 7) It turns out that the hand in question belongs to the as yet un-erected statue of liberty, and the symbolism is evidently intended. The prologue of the book is rather unusual because it starts with a description of Charles Guiteau, the man who would ultimately assassinate James A. Garfield. He is immediately described as a failure at everything he has touched, and he is compared with Garfield, almost as a mirror image of that man’s success: “Like Guiteau, Garfield had started out with very little in life, but where Guiteau had found failure and frustration.” (p. 1). This shadowy figure lurks in the background, therefore, from the very start of the book, giving a certain impression of inevitability about what transpires, as if it was all prefigured from the beginning, with the heroic Garfield being tracked by his nemesis all along. Following this rather odd prologue, the first part of the book follows a fairly standard biography pattern, narrating the childhood and adolescence of its subject, with reference to his father’s hard life and early death when James Garfield was only 2 years old, and the struggle of his mother to bring up her children in a dignified kind of poverty. James was the lucky one, unlike his elder brother, and he received all that the family could afford in the way of educational opportunities. The fact that he turned his back on all of that to take up a life on the canals is a testament to his spirit of adventure and Millard then tells a tale of redemption from this rough and ready lifestyle through an incident of almost drowning followed by a bout of malaria. These setbacks sent the young Garfield back to the care of his family, who persuaded him to take up his studies once more. The family oriented young man thus provides a prime example for Americans to follow, representing a rags to riches transformation through the sacrifice of his mother and siblings, and through his own hard work and ambition to better himself. This narrative suffuses the story line, setting up the expectation that James A. Garfield is destined to achieve great things, or as he says himself: “Providence only could have saved my life … Providence, therefore, thinks it is worth saving.” (p. 21). Garfield’s marriage is narrated, and his early political life also, giving an insight into the political world of the mid nineteenth century. The tone of the book tends towards the positive, depicting Garfield as something of a hero, and stressing his achievement and the good side of his character. His grief at the death of his first child, for example, and his care for his sick wife later in life, are depicted in detail, giving the reader an intimate picture of the man. He appears to hold some quite modern ideas, including an aversion to slavery, and more than a passing interest in social justice for African Americans in the period after the civil war. At the same time he appears unperturbed by the horrors of war, seeing them as the necessary price to pay, perhaps, for the advancement of the abolitionist cause. [iii] Part of the success of this book is due to Millard’s journalistic skills, reaching for a wide range of interesting facts and figures to keep the reader involved in the plot, and part of it is due to the genuinely interesting characters that appear in the narrative. The author is interested in what this man’s killing meant for American democracy, and she invites the reader to speculate how different things might have been for America if this President had lived to serve a full term. It is as if Millard is travelling through time to experience the detail of American society, reporting as an ethnographic explorer, in a way that highlights the strange customs of that time and place for the education of a modern audience. This attitude of intense curiosity infuses the book and makes quite readable and enjoyable, despite the serious subject matter. Millard is at her best when she refers to contemporary documents and brings to life the political speeches and newspaper reports of the time. Garfield’s inaugural address, for example, is paraphrased, and some quotations from the press are added, showing how Garfield was hailed as a man who had sprung from poverty to take up the highest office in the land, in the presence of the very mother who had given him the foundation he needed to get there, (p. 78). There is also extensive exploration of the fate of Guiteau, and the sources used range from newspaper articles to actual letters such as the one written to Mrs Garfield by the murderer’s sister, asking for forgiveness for him, on grounds of insanity (p. 243). Some culturally interesting debates are mentioned in the book, and perhaps most notably, the whole medical field of wound treatment, which in those days was much disputed, including debates between the surgeon Lister, who believed in germs, and advocated hand washing and sterilisation, and traditional doctors, who just operated with dirty instruments, and without any concern for cleanliness. The debate turns out to be of life and death importance, since it was more than likely the use of dirty instruments and unwashed hands that caused the death of Garfield, rather than the bullets shot by Guiteau. There is further reflection on scientific progress in passages dealing with Alexander Graham Bell, and his attempts to locate the said bullets by means of magnetism, but it seems that some of this discussion detracts from the main story of the book. The reader wants to know what happened American politics following the sudden death of Garfield. One wonders what happened to his planned reforms, for example, was immediately halted, and it is clear that there was no immediate replacement for him, of his calibre, in the Republican ranks. The human story prevails, and the author elicits the sympathy of the reader for Garfield’s pain and suffering, but the political fallout is not discussed in any great depth. It is hinted that the country came together in mourning for Garfield, but it is not clear how critical this was in the years following his death. The book provides an intriguing insight into the relationship between the white, elitist establishment, and African American people and politics. In chapter 12 the black doctor Purvis is present while Garfield is being attended by the odious Dr Bliss and the author notes: “With a boldness that was then extraordinary in a black doctor addressing a white one, he asked Bliss to end his examination.” (p. 142) Although Dr Bliss evidently had a superior status, even receiving an accolade from none other than Walt Whitman (p. 141), it is interesting to note that African American doctor was also allowed into the President’s room to participate in the task of looking after him, and indeed proves by his actions that he was the better doctor of the two. If this book has a fault, then it lies perhaps in a tendency to sentimentality at times, as for example in the reflection towards the end on the solemn portrait of James A. Garfield that hung in the White House. Millard again quotes a newspaper reporter, who describes Garfield’s “sweet, sunny nature not even twenty years of political strife could warp,” (p. 248). This surely is an exaggeration, and there is little in the way of balancing evidence to reveal the faults that Garfield must have had. Overall, therefore, this is a lively, readable book which provides a good insight into the events surrounding the death of the 20th President of the United States. It does not provide much in the way of controversy, or deep analysis, but it tells a good story and offers plenty of contemporary viewpoints from reliable documentary sources of the time. This means it is very suitable for reading as part of an American history or politics class. [1578 words] Read More