Whether it is her choice of topic or her style of writing, Candice Millard is my new favorite biographer. I read her first and second offerings this past year. Her first, The River of Doubt ranks near Lansing's Endurance, the standard bearer for adventure epics. It recounts the fateful journey of Theodore Roosevelt, his son Kermit, the heroic Candido Rondon and company down the previously uncharted Amazon River called the "River of Doubt."
Somehow, I really don't know how, her publisher found me. He asked if I would mind receiving an advance copy. How cool! I thought (and a little spooky). I half thought it was a scam. I didn't really believe it would come...until it did.
And so, I was given a galley copy of her second book, The Destiny of the Republic. It details the events surrounding the death of James Garfield, a president I knew nothing more than the fact that he had been assassinated during his first year in office.
I now can say that his death is one of the most tragic events in American history. Garfield was an amazing man, humble and selfless, who certainly had the character and potential to become one of the greatest leaders this country has ever produced.
It was more than a pleasure to learn this "forgotten" history. Thank you, Ms. Millard for bringing it to our attention.
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