suggests two books to read this summer or give as gifts for Father's Day. Both are page-turners! Plus,
SUMMER SHORTS: 2 books for Father’s Day or Your Summer Beach Read
I have two books your dad will love. Looking for a beach read? I have two books you’ll love.
(That was easy!)This is the first of three “Summer Shorts” issues this summer and I can’t say enough about my two picks today.
OPTION #1: Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President, by Candice Millard (Sept. 20, 2011). Honest—I read half the book to my wife, Joanne, and now we’re watching videos and documentaries about President James Garfield.
OPTION #2: The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey, by Candice Millard (Oct. 18, 2005). I read this one in February and I couldn’t put it down. And Joanne even told friends to read it and watch the fascinating online interviews of the author.
But first…thanks to our friend, Sharon Gullickson, for sending us the Garfield book—and also recommending the Teddy Roosevelt book. I couldn’t resist either book.SPOILER ALERT! From your high school U.S. history classes, you’ll remember that President James A. Garfield, our 20th president, died on September 19, 1881, at age 49—serving just 200 days in office. He survived an assassination attempt—
but do you know the rest of the story? He died of a massive infection 80 days after being shot.
(Let’s just mention here that the medical profession back then should have listened to Dr. Joseph Lister preach about the revolutionary antiseptic techniques that were largely disregarded by American doctors. What? Wash our hands and sterilize our instruments?)Candice Millard’s thrilling page-turning book is the perfect read-at-the-beach. We learn more about the wacko, but persuasive assassin, Charles Guiteau. “He had failed at everything he tried, and he had tried nearly everything, from law to ministry to even a free-love commune.” (He even self-published his own book—and skipped town before paying the bill for 1,000 copies!)
Millard, a
New York Times bestselling author (four bestsellers!), guides us through the hubbub of the Republican convention’s 1880 nominating fiasco in Chicago and explains why—after the 36th ballot—Garfield won the nomination even though he had not been a candidate, nor did he want to be!
You’ll read this for fun, but if you have any measure of leadership and management bones in your body—that stuff will jump off the pages. • President James Garfield, per tradition, endured up to 100 visitors each weekday from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. His response: “Four years of this kind of intellectual dissipation may cripple me for the remainder of my life.” (Did I mention that Garfield was a college president at age 26?)
• When dating, James and Lucretia should have read Chapman’s
The 5 Love Languages.
“Their courtship was long, awkward, and far more analytical than passionate.” (However, they were blessed with seven children.)
• The author creatively inserts Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922) into the story and his remarkable life-saving inventions and attempts to save the President’s life. (Reminder: no Internet back then.) You’ll love the back stories about the invention of the telephone and the letter to his wife, “I am sick of the Telephone.”
• And this scene: Guiteau tracks President Garfield to the church the President attended most Sundays—but chose not to take the shot, and instead shouted out in frustration to the pastor, “What think ye of Christ?” (The President remembered that outburst and wrote in his diary that night that it was
“a very stupid sermon on a very great subject.”)
OH, MY. Perhaps, for me, the most memorable character in this marathon of presidential pain and patience, was Garfield’s 23-year-old secretary, Joseph Stanley Brown. Loyal. Perceptive. Efficient. Effective.
Gatekeeper. Trusted friend of the President. This reminded me of the wisdom I just read last week in the new book,
Two Extra Steps: The Unfair Edge Anyone Can Use. Bill Faeth discusses “The single biggest decision in your business. Period.” Brilliant! (
Read my review of
Two Extra Steps.)
So...Father's Day gift? Summer reading list? Both? (
I'd go with both.)
TO ORDER FROM AMAZON, click on the title for
Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President, by Candice Millard (Sept. 20, 2011). Listen on
Libro (9 hours, 47 minutes).
250 YEARS! With apologies to my Southern Hemisphere readers, I realize it’s not summer there and you may have little interest in two books about U.S. history. So you’ll forgive me if I add one more note:
On July 4, 2026, the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary. This milestone—officially known as the Semiquincentennial—is being commemorated over several years. Maybe—to do your fair share of celebrating—you should read at least one book about a U.S. president? (See my “250 Years” collection of books over at the Pails in Comparison Blog.)OPTION #2: The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey, by Candice Millard (Oct. 18, 2005).My recommendation—don’t pick between these two powerful books. Read them both! Option #2, another
New York Times bestseller, spotlights President Teddy Roosevelt’s adventurous side—after he lost the election running for a third term in 1912. (After serving two terms, from 1901 to 1909, previously serving six months as vice president under William McKinley, Roosevelt became president after McKinley's assassination in 1901.)
After those eight years, Roosevelt watched from the sidelines for four years and was extremely disappointed in President Taft's tenure (1909-1913). So he ran for a third term (it was constitutional then), but was deeply humiliated when he lost to Woodrow Wilson. So—it was time to get out of Dodge and go somewhere…but where?
Teddy Roosevelt “set his sights on the most punishing physical challenge he could find, the first descent of an unmapped, rapids-choked tributary of the Amazon in Brazil." (You read that right.)
Yikes! You will not believe this incredible journey: preparation (or lack of it), organization, team recruitment, food (or lack of it), hardships and danger (plenty)...but
, no more spoiler alerts.I couldn’t resist—trekking along with Teddy (well, figuratively), I noted dozens of leadership and management axioms aligned with my
20 management buckets system.
Read my full review over at the Pails in Comparsion blog. Plus—if you’re joining me on the “250 Years” marathon—
see my list of books about U.S. presidents, chief-of-staff gatekeepers, and more.
TO ORDER FROM AMAZON, click on the title for
The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey, by Candice Millard (Oct. 18, 2005). Listen on
Libro (12 hours, 20 minutes).
Read my review.
YOUR WEEKLY STAFF MEETING QUESTIONS:1) Each chapter in the Garfield book begins with an insightful quotation from our 20th U.S. president. Example: “I have sometimes thought that we cannot know any man thoroughly well while he is in perfect health. As the ebb-tide discloses the real lines of the shore and the bed of the sea, so feebleness, sickness, and pain bring out the real character of a man.”
QUESTION: Do you agree?2) What’s your favorite book—and why—on U.S. presidents or U.S. history (or your home country’s history)?P.S. Need to “cool off” this summer? Here’s another great read:
In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette, by Hampton Sides. (Recommended by Jim West.)
SECOND READS: Fresh Solutions From Classic BooksYou have changed—and your problems have changed—since you read this the first time!Book #51 of 99: The Treasure PrincipleFor your team meeting this week, inspire a team member to lead your “10 Minutes for Lifelong Learning” session by featuring Book #51 of 99 in our series, “Second Reads.” The big idea:
REREAD TO LEAD! Discover how your favorite books (and articles) still have more to teach you and the people you’re coaching and mentoring.
The Treasure Principle:
Unlocking the Secret of Joyful Giving
by Randy Alcorn (Oct. 9, 2001)
Some ill-informed nonprofit leaders assume the right direct mail technique or heart-tugging project will move non-donors into the donor circle. But there’s a key spiritual principle at play that is often ignored: generous giving flows when a person truly understands how money affects his or her own heart. Randy Alcorn writes,
“God prospers me not to raise my standard of living, but to raise my standard of giving.” •
Read my review (Issue No. 26, Feb. 26, 2007)
• Order from
Amazon (revised and updated).
• Management Bucket #11 of 20:
The Donor BucketImagine! This book has sold more than two million copies. (
Read why one church distributed 14,000 copies to attenders!) Randy Alcorn doesn’t hold back. See Question #31 in his book:
“Five minutes after I die, what will I wish I had given away while I still had the chance?” Oh, my! View this poignant
Instagram reel of Randy Alcorn sharing what his wife said to him prior to her entering Heaven's gates.
CLICK HERE FOR BOOKS BY JOHN
For more on inspiring givers, read Chapter 14, “The Board Bucket,” in Mastering the Management Buckets Workbook, and also read Mistake #3, “Recruiting Unqualified Board Members & Not Dating Board Prospects Before Proposing Marriage,” in The 8 Big Mistakes to Avoid With Your Nonprofit Board.
NOTICE! Effective Oct. 1, 2025, all 657 eNews issues, previously archived on Typepad.com are slowly (!) being moved to a new website here. New book reviews will also be archived at John Pearson’s Buckets Blog. Or, click here for John’s recent book reviews on Amazon.
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