Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President is a 2011 nonfiction book by Candice Millard covering the life and assassination of James A. Garfield, the 20th President of the United States, as well as his assassin, Charles J. Guiteau. Published by Doubleday (an imprint of Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, owned by Random House) on 20 September 2011, it won the Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime in 2012.
Critical reception Millard's book received positive reviews upon publishing by organizations such as The New York Times, The Washington Times, and The Seattle Times.
Del Quentin Wilber of The Washington Post said of the book, "Millard has crafted a fresh narrative that plumbs some of the most dramatic days in U.S. presidential history."
Awards The book went on to win the following awards:
Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime (2012) Andrew Carnegie Medal Nominee for Nonfiction (2012) PEN Center USA award for Research Nonfiction One Book – One Lincoln Award
Adaptations The book was partially the inspiration for the American Experience episode “Murder of a President”, narrated by Michael Murphy, featuring Shuler Hensley as Garfield, Kathryn Erbe as Lucretia Garfield and Will Janowitz as Guiteau.
The book was adapted into the 2025 Netflix miniseries Death by Lightning starring Michael Shannon as Garfield, Betty Gilpin as Lucretia Garfield, Nick Offerman as Vice President Chester A. Arthur, and Matthew Macfadyen as Guiteau.
References
External links Destiny of the Republic - on Goodreads. Destiny of the Republic - excerpt from NPR. Presentation by Millard on Destiny of the Republic, James A. Garfield National Historic Site, September 22, 2011, C-SPAN Presentation by Millard on Destiny of the Republic,11th annual National Book Festival, September 24, 2011, C-SPAN