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-fixer 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.
The most comprehensive Garfield biography in almost 50 years, and the most readable ever. Mr. Goodyear is a stylish and energetic writer ... Goodyear skillfully conveys the drama of a runaway convention, culminating in Garfield’s nomination on the 36th ballot.
The 20th president who served the second shortest amount of time in the White House is popularly known more for his assassination than what he did in office. But in President Garfield: From Radical to Unifier, C.W. Goodyear admirably remedies that with a book that demonstrates the long shadow Garfield’s life and legacy has left our country ... Authoritative ... With his engaging writing and comprehensive research, Goodyear’s biography offers a reassessment of Garfield that’s a welcome introduction to the statesman.
The first extensive biography of the scholar, soldier, and statesman whose short-lived presidency influenced change and even unity in American government ... Goodyear's invaluable biography breaks Garfield free from the group of late-19th-century presidents seemingly crystallized as interchangeable, bearded figures occupying the first chair of a weakened executive branch and offers a compelling profile of one of the ablest men to serve as president. A masterful portrait of a man of great intellect, patience, and ability who should not be overlooked by history.
