The Fatal Bullet: The Assassination of James A. Garfield

Geary (The Borden Tragedy, Jack The Ripper) explores the first assassination of one of our presidents in the hands of an obsessive-compulsive stalker, a deluded loser who thought his action would bring him national glory. In this typically carefully researched and constructed story, Geary parallels the lives of the President and the killer. They have striking similarities. The fascinating element is how one went so wrong while the other rose to so high a post even despite himself. Once again, beyond a mere presentation of facts, the author surreptitiously unpeels for us a bit of our national psyche.