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President Garfield
- From Radical to Unifier
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 17 hrs and 54 mins
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Publisher's summary
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.
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- Narrated by: Andy Caploe
- Length: 9 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Picking America's best presidents is easy. George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Franklin D. Roosevelt usually lead the list. But choosing the nation's worst presidents requires more thought. In Star-Spangled Men, respected presidential biographer Nathan Miller puts on display those leaders who were abject failures as chief executive. With pointed humor and a deft hand, he presents a rogues' gallery of the men who dropped the presidential ball, and sometimes their pants as well.
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Entertaining and factual
- By Sean on 10-25-14
By: Nathan Miller
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The Soul of America
- The Battle for Our Better Angels
- By: Jon Meacham
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders, Jon Meacham
- Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Our current climate of partisan fury is not new, and in The Soul of America Meacham shows us how what Abraham Lincoln called the “better angels of our nature” have repeatedly won the day. Painting surprising portraits of Lincoln and other presidents, including Ulysses S. Grant, Theodore Roosevelt, and LBJ, and illuminating the courage of influential citizen activists and civil rights pioneers, Meacham brings vividly to life turning points in American history. Each of these dramatic hours have been shaped by the contest to lead the country to look forward rather than back.
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Thanks! I needed this!
- By Kindle Customer on 05-29-18
By: Jon Meacham
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Team of Rivals
- The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
- By: Doris Kearns Goodwin
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 41 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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On May 18, 1860, William H. Seward, Salmon P. Chase, Edward Bates, and Abraham Lincoln waited in their hometowns for the results from the Republican National Convention in Chicago. When Lincoln emerged as the victor, his rivals were dismayed and angry. Throughout the turbulent 1850s, each had energetically sought the presidency as the conflict over slavery was leading inexorably to secession and civil war.
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Beautiful, Heartbreaking, and Informative
- By JJ on 09-10-12
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Woodrow Wilson
- A Biography
- By: John Milton Cooper
- Narrated by: John McDonough
- Length: 35 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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John Milton Cooper, Jr., is widely acknowledged as one of the world’s preeminent Woodrow Wilson biographers. This thoroughly researched profile of America’s 28th president is universally hailed for its scholarship and insight into the life and career ofone of the nation’s most polarizing leaders.
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On the outside looking in
- By Doris on 09-02-13
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All the Great Prizes
- The Life of John Hay, from Lincoln to Roosevelt
- By: John Taliaferro
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 22 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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If Henry James or Edith Wharton had written a novel describing the accomplished and glamorous life and times of John Hay, it would have been thought implausible - a novelist’s fancy. Nevertheless, John Taliaferro’s brilliant biography captures the extraordinary life of Hay, one of the most amazing figures in American history, and restores him to his rightful place. John Hay was both witness and author of many of the most significant chapters in American history - from the birth of the Republican Party, the Civil War, and the Spanish-American War, to the prelude to the First World War.
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Almost a Five Star
- By Lulu on 12-22-14
By: John Taliaferro
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Alexander Hamilton
- By: Ron Chernow
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 35 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Historians have long told the story of America’s birth as the triumph of Jefferson’s democratic ideals over the aristocratic intentions of Hamilton. Chernow presents an entirely different man, whose legendary ambitions were motivated not merely by self-interest but by passionate patriotism and a stubborn will to build the foundations of American prosperity and power.
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An Outstanding & Riveting Book!
- By Kevin on 03-04-05
By: Ron Chernow
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Adams vs. Jefferson
- The Tumultuous Election of 1800
- By: John Ferling
- Narrated by: Jack Garrett
- Length: 11 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Award-winning author John Ferling is a leading authority on the American Revolution. His entertaining and enlightening histories have greatly improved our understanding of early America and the Founding Fathers. Now Ferling opens a window to the past and explores the contentious presidential election of 1800.
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Outstanding work of interpretive history
- By D. Littman on 11-01-04
By: John Ferling
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1920
- The Year of Six Presidents
- By: David Pietrusza
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 20 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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The presidential election of 1920 was among history's most dramatic. Six once-and-future presidents--Wilson, Harding, Coolidge, Hoover, and Teddy and Franklin Roosevelt--jockeyed for the White House. With voters choosing between Wilson's League of Nations and Harding's front-porch isolationism, the 1920 election shaped modern America.
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A fascinating view into the US at the end of WWI
- By D. Littman on 12-31-09
By: David Pietrusza
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The Impeachers
- The Trial of Andrew Johnson and the Dream of a Just Nation
- By: Brenda Wineapple
- Narrated by: Gabra Zackman
- Length: 14 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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When Abraham Lincoln was assassinated and Vice-President Andrew Johnson became "the Accidental President", it was a dangerous time in America. Devastated by war and resorting to violence, many white Southerners hoped to restore a pre-Civil War society, if without slavery, and the pugnacious Andrew Johnson seemed to share their goals. With profound insights and making use of extensive research, Brenda Wineapple dramatically evokes this pivotal period in American history, when the country was rocked by the first-ever impeachment of a sitting American president.
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Forgotten American History Revitalized
- By Leslie Dillingham Freyberg on 06-19-19
By: Brenda Wineapple
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Worst. President. Ever.
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Intriguing
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The Triumph of William McKinley
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From New York Times best-selling author and political mastermind Karl Rove comes a fresh look at President William McKinley, who found a message that healed his nation, pried his party away from its bosses, and extended its reach to forge a governing majority that lasted 30 years.
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Understand Modern Presidential Campaigns
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What listeners say about President Garfield
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- cakebreaker
- 06-23-24
Perhaps Among Our Greatest of Presidents Based on Potential
Learned of the potential for greatness of this too short lived - and somewhat unknown - U.S. President, and our nation’s loss as a result
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- Amber
- 09-20-23
Great bio of Garfield’s political career
A great example of Garfield as a human being with complicated but compassionate triumphs. The assassination is not a large focus which can be read about in other books but overall, this book takes on the character of the man.
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- Dale Sarver
- 05-07-24
I learned a lot about a forgotten president
I liked all the detail about Garfield. I learned a lot about him and gained a lot of respect for him. he was a great man who could have done much more if he had not been assinated.
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- Zach
- 09-22-24
Well-structured
A good introduction to a time period that I used to think was irrelevant
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- Smithep
- 10-13-23
Sad
What might have been. I didn’t know much about Garfield; now I do. We need another Garfield now!
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- Amazon Customer
- 01-15-24
Underrated
James Garfield was like a HOF NFL player whose career was cut short by gruesome injury. This book brilliantly captures the impactful life of our most underrated president. What a great man… what an enjoyable read.
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- Alex Anderson
- 04-04-24
Garfield, untold
This book was good and informative. But, the ending left you wanting more about his legacy.
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- John David
- 08-01-23
Splendid biography of interesting life & times
This is an excellent biography of an interesting statesman & his times. There is very much to admire about James Garfield, from his humble origins to his Civil War exploits to his congressional career & brief but significant presidency. But he was human with flaws & C.W. Goodyear addresses these fairly. He also does justice to Garfield’s political peers, especially James Blaine, Roscoe Conkling, Chester Arthur & Rutherford Hayes. The issues of Reconstruction & the Gilded Age are well-presented too. The narration is well done although there are a LOT of oral edits where what sounds like another voice reads passages. These do not significantly affect the continuity of the presentation, however. The writing & pacing are excellent & I look forward to more from the author. Highly recommend.
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- cmurrell
- 11-28-23
Balanced and Thorough
This is an excellent review of Garfield’s life. It is not a hagiography as is a certain more popular book on the same topic. I learned a lot about the credit mobiler scandal, the fierce rivalry between roscoe Conkling and George Blaine and the spoils system. Garfield coming from such humble beginnings to such heights is amazing. The treatment of the shooting and subsequent illness was very good. Slow in places but still highly recommended and welcome.
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- Amazon Customer
- 02-20-24
Insightful story of Garfield's life
17 years before I finished this book, I visited Garfield's home in Mentor, Ohio. It was not open on that day, and my knowledge of the one who built the house was not much greater after my visit. I knew that he commanded troops during the Civil War and that he served in Congress and that he was the second president to fall in an assassination. I listened to a book several years ago that underscored the poor care President Garfield received after the shooting and that led, however ignorantly, to his death. Aside from those bare outlines, I knew little about Garfield himself. C. W. Goodyear's compelling biography filled in those bare outlines. Garfield, for all his faults, emerges as that rare political figure who sought to be honorable and decent to all with whom he served, even those political bosses like Roscoe Conkling and Thomas Platt who despised him. His contributions in the major political dramas of his time, like the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson and the administration of President Grant, come into sharp focus in this book. The irony that Secretary of War Robert Todd Lincoln was an eyewitness to President Garfield's shooting ties that event to the only previous presidential assassination, that of Abraham Lincoln. The narration is clear and evenhanded, providing a comfortable listening experience. As with all audio books, I miss the photos and other illustrations from the print edition. Highly informative and educational.
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