Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #74809 in Books
• Published on: 2004-09-18
• Released on: 2004-08-26
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

From Publishers Weekly
This ambitious book paints a fresh picture of American culture a century ago and finds there the confused stirrings of our own age. Rauchway's lens opens on the 1901 assassination of President William McKinley by Leon Czolgosz and keeps that event in focus throughout. The author's aim is to get us to understand in new ways the dawning 20th century, when so many of our present political and social struggles took form and solutions were proposed. For instance, the involvement in Czolgosz's case of "alienists" and criminologists provides Rauchway (The Refuge of Affections) with openings into such varied issues as nativism, racism, industrial conditions and social work. As for politics, he deals skillfully with now mostly forgotten issues-such as tariffs and currency policy-that rarely appeal to readers, but which here gain clarity through Rauchway's deft brevity. Most important, he shows how the nation's culture, and Theodore Roosevelt, who gained the presidency on McKinley's death, got caught up in a debate about the reasons for the murder. Was Czolgosz spurred by his psychological state or by anarchist ideology? Did the murder's origins lie within the assassin or in the social conditions that produce desperate people? These are issues that continue to divide Americans. And the book shines in dealing with them, making an important contribution to historical understanding. Rauchway's explanation for Roosevelt's 1912 loss as "Bull Moose" candidate of the Progressive Party-that he was caught between opposing interpretations of the roots of the nation's ills-is especially provocative. That alone should make the book controversial.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Justice moved swiftly in 1901, dispatching the assassin of William McKinley a few short weeks after the crime. Rauchway wonders if the motives of the killer, self-proclaimed anarchist Leon Czolgosz, were sufficiently investigated. For factual backbone, Rauchway relies on evidence gathered by one Vernon Briggs, a psychologist who interviewed the Czolgosz family and was sensitive to explaining aberrant behavior in terms of social conditions. And there was much to be sensitive about in late 1890s America, whether one was a stand-pat capitalist or a protesting proletarian: Rauchway works the fears and demands of both archetypes into his interpretation of the politics of the Progressive Era. Czolgosz serves as the author's vehicle for taking his narrative in many directions, such as immigration, industrialization and poverty, concepts of race as enunciated by Theodore Roosevelt, and more. Ultimately offering a theory of Czolgosz's motive, Rauchway presents an interpretive narrative best suited to readers with at least a TR biography under their belts. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
"A gripping detective story, Murdering McKinley packs an astonishing amount of history -- about law, medicine, technology, race, immigration, and political reform -- into its tale of why Leon Czolgosz, professed anarchist and suspected lunatic, murdered his president. One could not ask for a more riveting narrative or a better introduction to the inter-connected challenges that faced America at the opening of the twentieth century."
--Rosalind Rosenberg, Professor of History, Barnard College

"Eric Rauchway is that rare historian who is also a first-rate storyteller. Murdering McKinley is almost as impressive a literary feat as it is a scholarly one; a fascinating window on a turbulent time in our untold history and a damn good read to boot."
--Eric Alterman, author of What Liberal Media? The Truth About Bias and the News

"With a "You Are There" style that makes us practically smell people we usually see in static photos and flickering silent film clips, Murdering McKinley places an anonymous oddball assassinating a nonentity of a President at the center of the cataclysmic events roiling America at turn-of-century. Erudition harnessed to an addictive tale told in butter-smooth prose -- history writing at its best."
--John H. McWhorter, author of Losing the Race: Self-Sabotage in Black America

"Eric Rauchway's fascinating book deftly weaves together social, cultural and political history. This is truly a pathbreaking work, and a wonderful read for all of us who are intrigued by the emergence of the radically new progressive era."
--Elizabeth Sanders, Cornell University

"Eric Rauchway's Murdering McKinley ingeniously weaves together the microhistory of a murder and a boldly innovative account of the origins of the Progressive era. Once a mere footnote in American history, the assassination of McKinley in 1901 emerges as an event as pregnant with historical significance as the assassinations of Lincoln and Kennedy. What is so marvellous about this book is that it is not only first-class history. It is also an enthralling whodunnit."
--Niall Ferguson, author of The Cash Nexus: Money and Power in the Modern World, 1700-2000
-- Review

Customer Reviews

Great Transaction
Book was shipped promptly within the projected time frame. Quality of book met my expectations. Speedy delivery.

A Changing America
The assassination of William McKinley is far less examined than those of Lincoln and Kennedy. If only for the relative obscurity of the topic alone, this deserves a look. While somewhat disappointing for a lack of focus, the book is quite informative.

The author's thesis seems to be that the assassination of McKinley was symbolic of America's discontent with conservativism and big business's hold on politics, bringing about the progressive movement and the emergence of Theodore Roosevelt. The title of the book would seem to imply a focus on the assassination of McKinley, which is not accurate. Make no mistake about it, the title of the book is deceiving. Rauchway goes for several pages at a time examining nothing but the rise of Roosevelt. In that respect, the author strays from delivering what the title of the book suggests and at times from supporting his apparent thesis.

One of the issues the book does a reasonable job of addressing is the story behind McKinley's assassin, Leon Czolgosz. Alienist Vernon Briggs investigated the life of Czolgosz only to find the powerful businesses that McKinley shielded were a key part of the environment that created the assassin. In the process of his investigation, Briggs brings the issue of the insanity defense to the attention of the American justice system. In this respect, Briggs's research had a major impact on the judicial system.

Without the significant digressions into the social changes brought about by the Roosevelt administration, this book would be much thinner. Perhaps that is why Rauchway chose to include it. Even with the digressions, the book is decidedly thin. I enjoyed the book even though I believe it could have been composed with a much better sense of focus.

The Concept Of This Book Was More Interesting Than The Book Itself
Those who have noticed my growing list of reviews will find a lot of things reviewed, including several books on history. If you are one of those, you may notice that these books deal with presidents of the late 1800's and early 1900's. Considering that McKinley is my favorite president, this book captured my interest. However, it failed to maintain it.

I noticed it goes along with the traditional view that McKinley was basically conservative, and that progressive Roosevelt became vice-president to get him out of the hair of NY boss Sen. Tom Platt. Having read Kevin Phillip's biography, I disagree with this assessment. I also found the comparisons between McKinley's assassin Leon Czolgosz (pronounced "Cholgosh") with Garfield's killer Charles Guiteau interesting, having read "Dark Horse" about Garfield.

This book looks at various aspects of the turn of the century outlook. It seems to see Roosevelt as the beneficiary of Czolgosz's crime. I find some of the former interesting, but the book continued to bore me. Like "Dark Horse", it is told as a story, but it would make an excellent bed-time story because I would be asleep in no time.

If you have a keen interest in the mindset of that period of time, I would recommend this book to you. Likewise, if you want to deal with what constitutes insanity, I would also suggest you read this book. However, if you want a book to keep your interest, this is not it.