What a fantastic conversation we had that kicked off with Destiny of the Republic, a story of President Garfield's assassination in 1881. We started there, went on to the stubbornness and arrogance of some of the men in the book and others we could think of, and on and on. What a great time!
As for the book, those of us who read it liked it. The consensus was that the topic was fairly thin - it was hard to really fill a book as poor Garfield was inaugurated in March, shot in July and after months of sickness and agonizing treatment, died in September.
The story really was of medicine at the time, and the slow, difficult way of progress. The eminent doctors of the time, even if self-proclaimed, were resistant to the idea of germs and wholly indifferent to cleanliness. At the time, only the indigent and doomed went to a hospital. Those who were cared for at home, like Garfield, suffered from ignorance, arrogance and pain from those who claimed to cure them. And that is excluding the madman who shot him.
One of the most interesting aspects of the story was Alexander Graham Bell and his role in developing technology (which Dr. Bliss, the lead doctor refused to use to its fullest) to find the bullet left in Garfield's side. Bell's dedication to saving Garfield was only one of the many tributes to a well-loved and admired man, shot by someone who sought to gain his attention and favor.
The shooter, a deranged man named Charles Guiteau, somehow thought that by shooting Garfield, he could claim his rightful place as Ambassador to France, denied him by Garfield's Secretary of State, at least in his own mind.
It was clear that the author truly loved and admired Garfield, perhaps a bit too much for a really balanced presentation. At the same time, she also obviously adored Theodore Roosevelt in River of Doubt, and we were all perfectly fine with that, as we all loved him too. While the story was one of a painful loss for the country and his family, it was a great insight into a little known period of our history and I was glad to read this well-researched, well-written history.
And on we go to next month, May 21 at Ashley's. The book is Less, by Andrew Sean Greer. See you all there!
