“An ambitious, thorough, supremely researched biography of James Garfield . . . . Garfield’s life becomes a fascinating national portrait of an imperfect union struggling across its first century to live up to the promise of its founding.”

– Garrett M. Graff, The Washington Post

"The most comprehensive Garfield biography in almost 50 years, and the most readable ever. Mr. Goodyear is a stylish and energetic writer, whose passion for his subject is reminiscent of a youthful Edmund Morris in The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt."

– Richard Norton Smith, The Wall Street Journal

"Authoritative. . . . With his engaging writing and comprehensive research, Goodyear’s biography offers a reassessment of Garfield that’s a welcome introduction to the statesman."

– Andrew Demillo, AP News

"James A. Garfield has long been too narrowly remembered for his untimely end. This spirited biography gives us the man in full, suggesting the president he might have become. A fine first book from an energetic young scholar whose skills enhance every page."

– John Lewis Gaddis, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of George Kennan

“Goodyear relates his subject’s life in fascinating, comprehensive detail. . . . A masterful portrait of a man of great intellect, patience, and ability who should not be overlooked by history.”

– Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“[A] gloriously readable, fascinating biography.”

– Susan Larson, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans)

"Mr. Goodyear has given us an eloquent and moving biography of our 20th president. Born and raised in rural poverty, James Garfield raised himself up by his bootstraps, fought as a general in the Civil War, rose to leadership in postwar Congresses, challenged the tawdry politics of the Gilded Age, and suffered martyrdom by assassination that launched the beginnings of the end of the system that killed him. Goodyear's lucid prose disentangles the complexities and ambiguities of this story."

– James M. McPherson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Battle Cry of Freedom

“In an era polarized like our own, James Garfield went from being a firebrand to an engineer of compromise and healing. Goodyear chronicles his evolution in a meticulously researched reappraisal.”

– Walter Isaacson, author of Steve Jobs  

“James Garfield, an American President known most for his death, is brought to life and sharply into focus in President Garfield. Meticulously researched and brilliantly narrated, Goodyear’s account weaves together a fascinating figure of towering talents with the extraordinary times in which he lived.”

– Stanley McChrystal, General, US Army (Retired), Founder & CEO, McChrystal Group