The Fatal Bullet: The True Account of the Assassination, Lingering Pain, Death, and Burial of James A. Garfield, Twentieth President of the United States

Rating:
Summary: A true eye-opener....
Review: As a history buff, and a fan of Rick Geary's, I knew I'd enjoy this book, but I had no idea how much! The book tells the paralell stories of President James A. Garfield and his stalker (and eventual assassin) Charles Giteau, an abysmal failure in every aspect of life; indeed, his ONLY success in life was the murder of President Garfield, and he almost botched that up, too. Garfield lingered for months after the attack, dying perhaps more as a result of medical incompetence than Giteau's efforts.
Geary's wonderfully cartoony art is reminiscent of claymation; it gives a true illusion of depth and form. He is truly one of the underrated geniuses of the Comic art form. His meticulous research gives us many interesting facts, such as The President being allowed to walk around Washington D.C. unescorted (No Secret Service yet), Abraham Lincoln's son's association with Garfield, and too many others to count. Do yourself a favor- read the book!!

Rating:
Summary: Excellent introduction to this little-remembered event
Review: This entry in Rick Geary's series on Victorian murders examines the assassination of President James Garfield by Charles J. Guiteau, a megalomaniacal failure at preaching, the law, and almost everything else he had tried. The drawings are evocative of the time and place, and give a clear idea of the events. The lives of Garfield and Guiteau are traced, and Guiteau's mental illness is made quite clear; today, he would almost certainly be sharing a room with John Hinckley. I'd like to see this whole series reprinted: one of them is out of print and apparently unavailable.

Rating:
Summary: Fun way to learn history
Review: When I ordered this book, I thought it was a short textual history of the assasination of President James Garfield. It turns out that this book is in comic book format with the story being told by dialogue and cartoon illustrations. However, I really enjoyed the book and learned a lot about Garfield, his assasin, Charles Guiteau, and Garfield's slow death.

Guiteau was basically a loser in life and had even served time in jail. He was constantly skipping out on creditors and and he showed signs of mental illness. He was dillusional and thought that Garfield would apppoint him to an ambassadorship. He literally stalked both Garfield and Secretary of State Blaine in an attempt to secure the appointment. When it was not forthcoming, he stalked Garfield (this was in the days before the secret service) until he had the opportunity to shoot the President.

The wound caused a rupture in an artery but an aneurism sealed off the opening so he did not bleed to death. Garfield lingered for many weeks until the aneurism ultimately ruptured and Garfield died. The location of the bullet had not been located and the aneurism had gone untreated. Today, Garfield's condition would have almost certainly been diagnosed through an MRI and he may have survived delicate surgery which would have saved his life.

In reading history, we generally get a line or two about Garfield being assasinated by a "disappointed office seeker." It was enjoyable to learn more about this event, particularly in such an unusual literary format.

Rating:
Summary: Fun way to learn history
Review: When I ordered this book, I thought it was a short textual history of the assasination of President James Garfield. It turns out that this book is in comic book format with the story being told by dialogue and cartoon illustrations. However, I really enjoyed the book and learned a lot about Garfield, his assasin, Charles Guiteau, and Garfield's slow death.

Guiteau was basically a loser in life and had even served time in jail. He was constantly skipping out on creditors and and he showed signs of mental illness. He was dillusional and thought that Garfield would apppoint him to an ambassadorship. He literally stalked both Garfield and Secretary of State Blaine in an attempt to secure the appointment. When it was not forthcoming, he stalked Garfield (this was in the days before the secret service) until he had the opportunity to shoot the President.

The wound caused a rupture in an artery but an aneurism sealed off the opening so he did not bleed to death. Garfield lingered for many weeks until the aneurism ultimately ruptured and Garfield died. The location of the bullet had not been located and the aneurism had gone untreated. Today, Garfield's condition would have almost certainly been diagnosed through an MRI and he may have survived delicate surgery which would have saved his life.

In reading history, we generally get a line or two about Garfield being assasinated by a "disappointed office seeker." It was enjoyable to learn more about this event, particularly in such an unusual literary format.