Assassins, Secrets, and Botched Medicine—Three Must-Read Presidential Books
I’ve been on a personal presidential project (try saying that three times fast) for the last several years that is finally picking up pace. I’m reading at least one biography on every United States president in chronological order! I’m also trying to visit every presidential home that is available to see (so far I’ve seen at least one home of 17 presidents).
Soap box moment incoming: I believe that every American should be familiar with every man who has occupied the office of president. Politics aside, at one time this was the guy who LED the country and whether they were great or not-so-great they are part of the story of America that as Americans we all try to understand on some level.
This doesn’t mean you have to read a biography on all of them - I’m aware that’s a tall task. Even for a history nut like me it’s a project. But I am indeed loving it.
Assassins, Secrets, and Botched Medicine—Three Must-Read Presidential Books
I’ve just completed bios on the presidents of The Gilded Age which is basically the last three decades of the 19th century - a period of rapid economic growth and industrialization, and a widening gap between the haves and have-nots. A fascinating period that culminates with the U.S. emerging as a world power. And of course, not all of that history is good. But wow is it fascinating.
I’ve reviewed books here before including presidential bios like Ronald C. White’s bio on Grant. And I’ve loved many of them. But I am calling attention to these three because they represent a different kind of entry in the category. They all focus largely on specific tales of intrigue that involve James Garfield, Grover Cleveland and William McKinley. They are all incredible reads where the truth is stranger than fiction (often the reason I stick to history and love it so much). Each one would make for an incredible movie, and guess what - the one I’ll start with IS being made into a Netflix series as we speak!
By the way if you want to pick up a copy of any of these books you can click on the book covers or any of the links I’ve included to purchase them at Amazon - these are my affiliate links.
Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by candace millard
Destiny of the Republic by Candace Millard - Anchor Books
You should read Destiny of the Republic first - don’t just wait for the series! But get hyped for the series because Michael Shannon is playing President James Garfield and the executive producers are none other than David Benioff and D.B. Weiss of Game of Thrones fame! This is gonna be GOOD. As for the book, Candace Millard is one incredible storyteller and a first rate historian in my opinion. Meticulously researched from multiple angles even bringing to life a 34-year-old Alexander Graham Bell who tries really hard to produce a metal detector that can help find the bullet - the assassin’s bullet which did NOT kill Garfield. It was the chaos and eventually the infection that ensued in the botched treatment by the team of doctors (especially the head guy Willard Bliss - his role in this sad tale will make you mad) that led to Garfield’s death. Millard brings the characters to life including deer-in-the-headlights turned riser-to-the-occasion Chester A. Arthur along with pathetic dipshit delusional stalker assassin Charles Guiteau. You’ll come away with a real appreciation for Garfield who surely seemed to be on his way to being a great president. What a tragedy.
I like that this is the first book in this “trilogy.” I’m recommending them chronologically and it may be the best of the three, but it will whet your appetite for the other two which are really just as good (splitting hairs to “rank” them). And while it doesn’t seem to be a big stretch for someone to pick up and read a book on Abe Lincoln or Thomas Jefferson, it seems doubtful that someone with just a casual or barely passing interest in history would rush out to read a biography on James Garfield. But you don’t need to be a fan of history per se to enjoy this book. You could simply be a fan of drama and crime and you’ll love this. And that’s why I think these books are so important - they’ll allow these consequential presidents and their stories to reach people without it feeling like homework to learn about them. My next Candace Millard book is going to be The River Of Doubt about Teddy Roosevelt’s exploration of an uncharted tributary of the Amazon River in 1913-1914.
And I’ll also mention that IF you want some more of THIS story I highly recommend The Unexpected President: The Life and Times of Chester A. Arthur by Scott Greenberg. The way he rose to the occasion to turn his back on the political machine that put him in the Vice Presidential seat to continue Garfield’s platform, and the inspiration he received from a bedridden woman named Julia Sand who wrote him the letters that inspired him - incredible stuff really. It really works as a solid companion piece of sorts to Destiny of the Republic.
The President Is a Sick Man: Wherein the Supposedly Virtuous Grover Cleveland Survives a Secret Surgery at Sea and Vilifies the Courageous Newspaperman Who Dared Expose the Truth
The President Is A Sick Man - Matthew Algeo - Chicago Review Press
The President Is A Sick Man is also pretty crazy. In 1893 while in his second (non-consecutive) term, President Cleveland developed a sizable cancerous tumor on his palate in his mouth. And much like other presidential hidden-health-truths like America not knowing Edith Wilson was practically running the country after Woodrow Wilson’s debilitating stroke, not knowing FDR was completely wheelchair bound, and not knowing Ronald Reagan almost died in John Hinckley Jr.’s assassination attempt, they kept this health crisis a secret. Not only did they keep it a secret, they sailed out on a yacht for several days and performed the surgery at sea. Crazy!!! The intrigue around this, the leaks, the attempted suppression of the story, and the financial Panic of 1893 swirling around it for context makes this a great read. Another great balance of getting to know President Cleveland just enough, while learning a little about the times including the fight over the gold vs. silver standard. In another sign of the times we meet Cleveland’s wife Frances who was only 21 when she married 49 year old President Cleveland in the White House. She was his friend and business partner Oscar Folsom’s daughter and Grover knew her since she was an infant. He was the executor of the estate after Folsom’s death and was responsible for Frances and involved in her upbringing. But they had a very solid and successful marriage, and the public took no exception to it from the get go. As for E.J. Edwards, the reporter who broke the story on the surgery, he put up with plenty of drama. He was dismissed as full of crap with the administration committed to denying the story - ultimately it didn’t ruin him and he still had a successful career. As for President Benjamin Harrison who served as president in between Cleveland’s two terms, there are no major tales of intrigue, no exciting books to recommend here. Very good man in a long Harrison dynasty, decent president, good on civil rights, maybe not great on the economy.
The President and the Assassin: McKinley, Terror, and Empire at the Dawn of the American Century
The President and the Assassin - Scott Miller - Random House Publishing Group
In The President and the Assassin, Scott Miller weaves several concurrent stories bouncing back and forth between William McKinley’s life and presidency while also detailing the rise of the anarchist movement as a response to the industrialization that disenfranchised so many Americans and immigrants in The Gilded Age. McKinley’s assassin, Leon Czolgosz was mostly an unmotivated loser who latched on to anarchy, which is a shame because he didn’t have a horrible family life, and like Garfield’s assassin Guiteau, he spent part of his youth here in Michigan. Czolgosz’s political “lineage” is traced back to Albert Parsons (a leading anarchist who was executed for the Haymarket Square Riot in Chicago even though he wasn’t guilty) and Emma Goldman - a fascinating figure in her own right. The plight of the American worker and the tycoons who couldn’t care less about their welfare was a sad chapter in American history and while Czolgosz doesn’t exactly come by his connection to it honestly, you can see why the movement happened. Events detailed in the book in riveting fashion like the The Homestead Strike and The Pullman Strike which happened during the Harrison and Cleveland administrations would certainly inspire some pushback and lead to the anarchist movement. Emma Goldman like Parsons became a famous leader in the movement, and Czolgosz actually met her - he felt inspired to ultimately kill McKinley after hearing her speak.
This book does a great job of capturing the times and some of the players - the Spanish American war where we meet Teddy Roosevelt who jumped at the chance to go to Cuba and fight, leading the charge up San Juan Hill with his Rough Riders. We also spend some time with John Hay - Abe Lincoln’s assistant who by now had risen to national influence and the position of secretary of state as America transitions into a world power. We also meet Andrew Carnegie’s diabolical henchman Henry Clay Frick - villain of the Homestead Strike. A colorful cast of characters and events indeed. And then there is the assassination. Another one, like Garfield, that appears to be a case where the president would have survived with modern medicine. It was gangrene infection on the lining of McKinley’s stomach that killed him 8 days after he was shot. Up until that point he seemed in pretty good spirits and everyone assumed he would recover.
I came away from this book liking McKinley a lot. He seemed to have an amiable demeanor and a great love for his wife Ida who was not in the best of health. He gets criticized for imperialism, particularly the occupation of the Philippines in the course of the conflict with Spain, but it never feels like it’s his first choice - he showed a lot of patience and reluctance to go to war with Spain. Once it appeared necessary based on what was happening in Cuba (with the two major media magnates William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer pouring constant gasoline on the fire and the explosion of the U.S.S. Maine) he had the support necessary to do what had to be done. We can debate that all day I suppose, but this book will give you a good framework to consider and learn a bit about it. And the book is timely with President Trump praising McKinley in his directive to rename Denali Mt. McKinley again in Alaska, hailing McKinley for his expansionist policies. Not saying you have to disagree or agree with any of that (NOR am I looking for opinions either way) - just saying this book may seem suddenly more relevant than it was when it was written in 2013. Wouldn’t it be nice when you hear a politician invoke our history to bolster their policies to actually be familiar with that history? Especially if the story is compelling and doesn’t feel like homework?
So, forget historical fiction - you don’t need it. Historical NON fiction is better. These books are proof. If you’ve read them I want to know what you think in the comments - if not, once again I highly recommend you do!
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M10 Social is owned by Doug Cohen in West Bloomfield, MI and provides social media training and digital marketing services from the Frameable Faces Photography studio Doug owns with his wife Ally. He can be reached there at tel:248-790-7317, by mobile at tel:248-346-4121 or via email at mailto:doug@frameablefaces.com. You can follow Doug’s band Vintage Playboy at their Facebook page here. You can also visit our other business Detroit Jerky at the website www.DetroitJerkyLLC.com!