A Booklist Notable Book of 2012 The extraordinary New York Times bestselling account of James Garfields rise from poverty to the American presidency and the dramatic history of his assassination and legacy from bestselling author of The River of Doubt Candice Millard. James Abram Garfield was one of the most extraordinary men ever elected president. Born into abject poverty he rose to become a wunderkind scholar a Civil War hero a renowned congressman and a reluctant presidential candidate who took on the nations corrupt political establishment. But four months after Garfields inauguration in 1881 he was shot in the back by a deranged officeseeker named Charles Guiteau. Garfield survived the attack but become the object of bitter behindthescenes struggles for powerover his administration over the nations future and hauntingly over his medical care. Meticulously researched epic in scope and pulsating with an intimate human focus and highvelocity narrative drive The Destiny of the Republic brings alive a forgotten chapter of U.S. history. show more