Reviews

The Fatal Bullet: The Assassination of James A. Garfield by Rick Geary

dontpanic42's review against another edition

3.0

Well done little book, but I would have liked much more detail. I already know bits and pieces of the story of Garfield's assassination, and there's some fascinating information that didn't make it into the book--I wish Geary had mined much deeper in his storytelling. I wanted to see more depiction of the political intrigue and personal motives surrounding Garfield, the strange religious background of Guiteau, Guiteau's often bizarre participation in his legal defense, etc. So, the book is good for what it is, but I wish it had been significantly more detailed.

zorpblorp's review against another edition

informative fast-paced

3.75

orangerful's review against another edition

5.0

Rick Geary's graphic novels combine meticulous research with a very readable format, making history more accessible. I love this series. I think this was the first or second book I picked up by him and I was hooked.

antlersantlers's review against another edition

4.0

Since reading [b:Assassination Vacation|3110|Assassination Vacation|Sarah Vowell|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1347229719s/3110.jpg|824686], I am totally enamored of Garfield. While this book isn't a complete account of everything that happens (it's a graphic novel for pete's sake), it captured a sense of the event and the players. This book associated a little more grandeur to him than Sarah Vowell did, but I like that too.

I have a lot of mixed feelings toward Charles Guiteau. He was obviously unstable and delusional, but there is something deeply sad about him too. He kept failing at everything he did, and he was so convinced of his place in the world. There's something striking in that dischord.

reverenddave's review against another edition

1.0

I expected graphic novels to be more than pictures with captions but there was almost no dialogue in the book.