Nova Scotia Week, Visiting Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Park
One of my favorite reads this past summer, Destiny of the Republic by Candace Millard, detailed the assassination of President James Garfield. As with Millard’s first book, River of Doubt, a spellbinding account of Theodore Roosevelt’s deadly descent down a river in the Amazon, the finest characters in the books are not the presidents. Garfield has a buffoon of a doctor who does everything wrong according to modern day standards, like plunging his none-too-sterile hands into Garfield’s wound. Most striking however, was the work of Alexander Graham Bell in trying to save the president’s life. Already famous for his invention of the telephone, Graham Bell worked feverishly night and day to invent a device that could magnetically detect where the bullet was lodged in Garfield’s body. Millard’s conclusion was that the device did indeed work in the end, but Graham Bell was looking at the wrong side of Garfield’s body, thanks once again to that buffoon doctor.
I have read about Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Park but have not visited it yet. Hopefully next summer.
Thanks for the tip about Carolyn Millard’s book River of Doubt. I’ve made a note of it as I’m a huge fan of Teddy Roosevelt. McCulloch’s Mornings On Horseback is my favorite book.
If you like reading about Roosevelt, you’ll love River of Doubt. It’s a real page-turner.