Tag Destiny Republic

Real-Life Stories Challenge the Best in Fiction

Reg Spittle Leave a comment

These books proved to me that real life can be more captivating than the best fiction.

Rocket Boys, by Homer Hickam. For Homer “Sonny” Hickam, the Sputnik 1957 launch was just what he and his friends needed to transform imagination, ingenuity and hard work into a great American success story. From 1957 through 1960, Sonny and his West Virginia high school classmates, as the Big Creek Missile Agency, fired off 35 rockets, some wildly successful, some wildly disastrous. Hickam’s memoir flew off the shelves, leading to the acclaimed film October Sky.

Walden on Wheels, by Ken Ilgunas. When Ken Ilgunas graduated the University of Buffalo with $32,000 in debt, he feared a life without the freedom he valued more than anything. After an Alaskan trip filled with hardships and adventure, he asks himself, “Now what?” His answer may seem out of character for readers of Walden on Wheels. A superb book!

Henry David Thoreau: A Life, by Laura Dassow Walls. The author goes beyond the labels and reveals a sometimes insecure man who struggled to find out who he was. Walls takes readers on a journey through Thoreau’s journals and other writings. His walks, inner debates, friendships, and two years at Walden Pond come to life in a way that will enthrall and surprise even the most learned Thoreau scholar.

The Last Season, by Eric Blehm. What happened to Yosemite ranger Randy Morgenson? He had spent 28 summers as a ranger in the wilderness of Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Parks. A passionate protector of his beloved lands, he had become perhaps the most celebrated ranger in the Sierra Nevada. Then he went missing.

Destiny Republic, by Candice Millard. James Garfield came out of nowhere to win the Republican nomination and become the 20th president of the United States in 1881. If not for a bullet and questionable medical care, he could have been one of the greatest leaders in American history. This is a riveting presidential biography about a brilliant man and one of the most gifted White House residents.

A Tragic Tale of a Gifted President, a Gunman, and Bad Medicine

Reg Spittle Leave a comment


James Garfield came out of nowhere to win the Republican nomination and become the 20th president of the United States in 1881.

If not for a bullet and questionable medical care, he could have been one of the greatest leaders in American history.

Candice Millard, in Destiny Republic, has created a riveting presidential biography about a brilliant man and one of the most gifted White House residents.

Millard, author of River of Doubt, my favorite book about Teddy Roosevelt, tells Garfield’s tragic story as if she lived during his time. A passionate civil rights advocate and Civil War hero, Garfield was struck down by deranged gunman Charles Guiteau. The president’s life lingered for more than two months and he died when European medical advances likely would have saved him.

He served just six months and died despite desperate attempts by inventor Alexander Graham Bell to prevent his death. Garfield’s doctor, Willard Bliss, rejected European medical advances that most likely would have allowed him to live, leading some to say “ignorance is Bliss.”

Less than two decades after Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, Garfield walked the streets of Washington D.C. without guards, thinking lightning wouldn’t strike down another president. Lincoln’s son, Robert Todd Lincoln, secretary of war, was present when Garfield was shot.

There are enough twists in Destiny Republic that Millard’s book may lead you to say, “Indeed, life is stranger than fiction.”