President Garfield: From Radical to Unifier
Cw Goodyear
(Author)
21,000+ Reviews
Bookshop.org has the highest-rated customer service of any bookstore in the world
Description
An "ambitious, thorough, supremely researched" (The Washington Post) biography of the extraordinary, tragic life of America's twentieth president--James Garfield. In "the most comprehensive Garfield biography in almost fifty years" (The Wall Street Journal), C.W. Goodyear charts the life and times of one of the most remarkable Americans ever to win the Presidency. Progressive firebrand and conservative compromiser; Union war hero and founder of the first Department of Education; Supreme Court attorney and abolitionist preacher; mathematician and canalman; crooked election-fixed and clean-government champion; Congressional chieftain and gentleman-farmer; the last president to be born in a log cabin; the second to be assassinated. James Abram Garfield was all these things and more. Over nearly two decades in Congress during a polarized era--Reconstruction and the Gilded Age--Garfield served as a peacemaker in a Republican Party and America defined by divisions. He was elected to overcome them. He was killed while trying to do so. President Garfield is American history at its finest. It is about an impoverished boy working his way from the frontier to the Presidency; a progressive statesman, trying to raise a more righteous, peaceful Republic out of the ashes of civil war; the tragically imperfect course of that reformation, and the man himself; a martyr-President, whose death succeeded in nudging the country back to cleaner, calmer politics.
Product Details
Price
$35.00
$32.55
Publisher
Simon & Schuster
Publish Date
July 04, 2023
Pages
624
Dimensions
6.36 X 9.31 X 1.74 inches | 1.7 pounds
Language
English
Type
Hardcover
EAN/UPC
9781982146917
Earn by promoting books
Earn money by sharing your favorite books through our Affiliate program.
Become an affiliate
About the Author
C.W. Goodyear is an author and historian based in Washington, DC. He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, and grew up abroad before graduating from Yale University.
Reviews
"In an era polarized like our own, James Garfield went from being a firebrand to an engineer of compromise and healing. Goodyear chronicles his evolution in a meticulously researched reappraisal."--Walter Isaacson, author of Steve Jobs
"James A. Garfield has long been too narrowly remembered for his untimely end. This spirited biography gives us the man in full, suggesting the president he might have become. A fine first book from an energetic young scholar whose skills enhance every page."--John Lewis Gaddis, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of George Kennan
"Mr. Goodyear has given us an eloquent and moving biography of our 20th president. Born and raised in rural poverty, James Garfield raised himself up by his bootstraps, fought as a general in the Civil War, rose to leadership in postwar Congresses, challenged the tawdry politics of the Gilded Age, and suffered martyrdom by assassination that launched the beginnings of the end of the system that killed him. Goodyear's lucid prose disentangles the complexities and ambiguities of this story."--James M. McPherson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Battle Cry of Freedom
"James Garfield, an American President known most for his death, is brought to life and sharply into focus in President Garfield. Meticulously researched and brilliantly narrated, Goodyear's account weaves together a fascinating figure of towering talents with the extraordinary times in which he lived."--Stanley McChrystal, General, US Army (Retired), Founder & CEO, McChrystal Group
"Goodyear relates his subject's life in fascinating, comprehensive detail. . . . A masterful portrait of a man of great intellect, patience, and ability who should not be overlooked by history."-- "Kirkus Reviews (starred review)"
"This fresh appraisal sheds new light on the history of American political polarity."-- "Publishers Weekly"
"Like the best novels, C. W. Goodyear's debut biography keeps the same narrative pace as fiction while following the entire life of James Garfield from his impoverished childhood to his assassination. Meticulously researched and eloquently told, this explores how his life and values helped reform American politics during a pivotal period of history. Discover the life of a man whose death is often the main topic of conversation in this comprehensive book perfect for fans of Walter Isaacson and Edmund Morris."-- "Barnes & Noble, "Most Anticipated Books""
"Authoritative. . . . With his engaging writing and comprehensive research, Goodyear's biography offers a reassessment of Garfield that's a welcome introduction to the statesman."--Andrew Demillo "AP News"
"[A] gloriously readable, fascinating biography."--Susan Larson "The Times-Picayune (New Orleans)"
"The most comprehensive Garfield biography in almost 50 years, and the most readable ever. Mr. Goodyear is a stylish and energetic writer, whose passion for his subject is reminiscent of a youthful Edmund Morris in The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt."--Richard Norton Smith "The Wall Street Journal"
"James A. Garfield has long been too narrowly remembered for his untimely end. This spirited biography gives us the man in full, suggesting the president he might have become. A fine first book from an energetic young scholar whose skills enhance every page."--John Lewis Gaddis, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of George Kennan
"Mr. Goodyear has given us an eloquent and moving biography of our 20th president. Born and raised in rural poverty, James Garfield raised himself up by his bootstraps, fought as a general in the Civil War, rose to leadership in postwar Congresses, challenged the tawdry politics of the Gilded Age, and suffered martyrdom by assassination that launched the beginnings of the end of the system that killed him. Goodyear's lucid prose disentangles the complexities and ambiguities of this story."--James M. McPherson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Battle Cry of Freedom
"James Garfield, an American President known most for his death, is brought to life and sharply into focus in President Garfield. Meticulously researched and brilliantly narrated, Goodyear's account weaves together a fascinating figure of towering talents with the extraordinary times in which he lived."--Stanley McChrystal, General, US Army (Retired), Founder & CEO, McChrystal Group
"Goodyear relates his subject's life in fascinating, comprehensive detail. . . . A masterful portrait of a man of great intellect, patience, and ability who should not be overlooked by history."-- "Kirkus Reviews (starred review)"
"This fresh appraisal sheds new light on the history of American political polarity."-- "Publishers Weekly"
"Like the best novels, C. W. Goodyear's debut biography keeps the same narrative pace as fiction while following the entire life of James Garfield from his impoverished childhood to his assassination. Meticulously researched and eloquently told, this explores how his life and values helped reform American politics during a pivotal period of history. Discover the life of a man whose death is often the main topic of conversation in this comprehensive book perfect for fans of Walter Isaacson and Edmund Morris."-- "Barnes & Noble, "Most Anticipated Books""
"Authoritative. . . . With his engaging writing and comprehensive research, Goodyear's biography offers a reassessment of Garfield that's a welcome introduction to the statesman."--Andrew Demillo "AP News"
"[A] gloriously readable, fascinating biography."--Susan Larson "The Times-Picayune (New Orleans)"
"The most comprehensive Garfield biography in almost 50 years, and the most readable ever. Mr. Goodyear is a stylish and energetic writer, whose passion for his subject is reminiscent of a youthful Edmund Morris in The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt."--Richard Norton Smith "The Wall Street Journal"
