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A review by podanotherjessi
Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard
informative
tense
medium-paced
4.75
I gave a librarian a list of fantasy and horror novels I've loved, and somehow he recommended me this book. And by the time I'd finished the prologue, I understood why. This book is incredibly narrative, and I know just the right amount of "barely anything" about this particular period of American history that I was able to be shocked at the turns the story takes. Genuinely, Millard builds such incredible suspense through the use of foreshadowing, that I was entirely engrossed throughout the entire novel. I may have teared up during the epilogue?
If I have one criticism, it's that this book is a non-fiction, and as such I found it very biased in the telling of history. It's completely uncritical of Garfield and paints him as an absolute paragon. And I simply don't know enough about him to know if that's true, but I doubt he's perfect. There are clear heroes and villains in the tale when I'm sure there is more nuance to be had. Ultimately though, nuance was not the goal of this book, and so I cannot fault it too heavily there.
This is a book the aims to tell history as a story, and it achieves that. It's entertaining and informative. I will be reading more from Millard.
If I have one criticism, it's that this book is a non-fiction, and as such I found it very biased in the telling of history. It's completely uncritical of Garfield and paints him as an absolute paragon. And I simply don't know enough about him to know if that's true, but I doubt he's perfect. There are clear heroes and villains in the tale when I'm sure there is more nuance to be had. Ultimately though, nuance was not the goal of this book, and so I cannot fault it too heavily there.
This is a book the aims to tell history as a story, and it achieves that. It's entertaining and informative. I will be reading more from Millard.