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The President and the Assassin: McKinley, Terror, and Empire at the Dawn of the American Century Audiobook
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(3.02) - 767 listener ratings
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In 1901, as America tallied its gains from a period of unprecedented imperial expansion, an assassin's bullet shattered the nation's confidence. The shocking murder of President William McKinley threw into stark relief the emerging new world order of what would come to be known as the American Century. The President and the Assassin is the story of the momentous years leading up to that event, and of the very different paths that brought together two of the most compelling figures of the era: President William McKinley and Leon Czolgosz, the anarchist who murdered him.
The two men seemed to live in eerily parallel Americas. McKinley was to his contemporaries an enigma, a president whose conflicted feelings about imperialism reflected the country's own. Under its popular Republican commander-in-chief, the United States was undergoing an uneasy transition from a simple agrarian society to an industrial powerhouse spreading its influence overseas by force of arms. Czolgosz was on the losing end of the economic changes taking place—a first-generation Polish immigrant and factory worker sickened by a government that seemed focused solely on making the rich richer. With a deft narrative hand, journalist Scott Miller chronicles how these two men, each pursuing what he considered the right and honorable path, collided in violence at the 1901 Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York.
Along the way, listeners meet a veritable who's who of turn-of-the-century America: John Hay, McKinley's visionary secretary of state, whose diplomatic efforts paved the way for a half century of Western exploitation of China; Emma Goldman, the radical anarchist whose incendiary rhetoric inspired Czolgosz to dare the unthinkable; and Theodore Roosevelt, the vainglorious vice president whose 1898 charge up San Juan Hill in Cuba is but one of many thrilling military adventures recounted here.
Rich with relevance to our own era, The President and the Assassin holds a mirror up to a fascinating period of upheaval when the titans of industry grew fat, speculators sought fortune abroad, and desperate souls turned to terrorism in a vain attempt to thwart the juggernaut of change.
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"Enjoyable history of the McKinley assassination from a broader perspective, with information about McKinley's push for empire, wars/territory wrangling in the Philippines and Guam as pawns for the real prize, Cuba, as well as background on anarchism and a bit of Leon Czolgosz's life and the anarchist espousal of terrorism (well, some anarchists' espousal, anyway). Slightly bothersome were the occasional offhand conservate assumptions (the author apparently writes for the WSJ, maybe he didn't notice? and would I have noticed if they were liberalisms?) and it took a while for me to figure out why we had such a digression into imperialism and things like the Haymarket Massacre (very fairly covered) and the imperialist desire for New Markets (Asia! They Need Our Stuff!) - but it's nice to have a solid background for why anarchists and anti-imperialists were so upset with McKinley. Obviously my only previous read on the subject, 1901's Memorial Life of William McKinley Our Martyred President left that out! Warning for TR lovers - Theodore Roosevelt comes across as a complete idiot and warmongering jerk, reminding me of numerous high school arguments about him. I guess we were more academically inclined than I thought! Four stars for the fascinating description of McKinley's Front Porch election campaign and the unscrupulous tactics that won him the election (business owners telling workers that their business would fire everyone if William Jennings Bryan won is strangely reminiscent of businesses insisting that the new health care law will totally bankrupt them so people should vote for those who would repeal it)."
— Kate (4 out of 5 stars)
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This is a wildly complex and significant period in American history, and Miller does a solid job of attending to the many boiling pots on the stove.
— Kirkus
The President and the Assassin Listener Reviews
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" Excellent book about a time period that gets short shrift. Fascinating. "
— Ashley, 2/13/2014 -
" A solid, enjoyable read. I don't think I really picked up on that author's main point, but the discussion of late 19th century expansionism and the development of anarchism in the last few decades of the 19th century helped to put the book into perspective. I'd read more by this author. "
— Jessica, 2/3/2014 -
" I found this very interesting. A fast read. "
— Amy, 1/25/2014 -
" Finally got to read this. I enjoyed the back and forth between McKinley and the history of American Anarchism. Most times I liked the anarchism stuff more, but it was interesting to learn about McKinley. I think I will always have a soft spot for Leon. It's conflicting because although it is wrong to kill someone, he did help Teddy Roosevelt become president. I don't know, great reading nonetheless. "
— Andrew, 1/25/2014 -
" Miller does a great job of mixing history with suspense. I learned a tremendous amount about U.S. foreign policy, imperialism, and the events surrounding McKinley's assassination and the anarchist movement. An excellent read. "
— Scott, 1/23/2014 -
" I read 2 mckinley assasination books-enjoyed this one because it focused on the forces leading up to the assassination with info. on both mcckinley and cszglosz "
— Colleen, 1/22/2014 -
" I was admittedly more interested in learning more about the anarchist movement at the turn of the century than the Spanish-American War but the book devotes most of its time to McKinley and his expansionist policy. The parallels between McKinley's overseas policies and Bush's two wars and anarchy in the Gilded Age as our modern day terrorism are subtle yet well drawn. "
— Tory, 1/18/2014 -
" I learned a lot about this important time period, but the book is not particularly well written and so it became a bit tedious and confusing at points. "
— Faith, 1/16/2014 -
" A history really of the Guided Age using the assassination of Mckinley as a backdrop to the story. The book wanders at times, especially when it focuses on the life of radical leader Emma Goldman. "
— John, 11/15/2013 -
" An interesting look at the emergence of American imperialism and the state of anarchism in the USA at the dawn of the 20th century. "
— Paul, 9/29/2013 -
" A nice read about a time I know really very little about. "
— John, 7/2/2013 -
" Excellent study of McKinley's assassination and his administration. Insight into the Spanish-American War was a bonus for me as I've always wanted to know more about the origins of that conflict. "
— D., 6/22/2013 -
" I'm giving this book 4 stars because it was very informative... interesting... and so forth. If I was rating strictly by my enjoyment factor it'd be a 3 starer. I wanted to know more about the man; William Mckinley. His likes, his passions, something. "
— Robin, 1/22/2013 -
" This could be a 4 star. I really liked how the chapters rotated between various characters. I realize I didn't really know much about McKinley and even less so about his assassin. Accidents of history are so intriguing. "
— Maeve, 5/2/2012 -
" Politics have not changed much since the days of McKinley. Sad to say but the same graft and personal goals continues today in the USA "
— Erocchio, 9/6/2011 -
" Interesting book, gives you a lot of information about America at the turn of the century. "
— Kitty, 6/29/2011
About Scott Miller
Scott Miller is the author of The President and the Assassin: McKinley, Terror, and Empire at the Dawn of the American Century. As a correspondent for the Wall Street Journal and Reuters, Mr. Miller spent nearly two decades in Asia and Europe, reporting from more than twenty-five countries. He covered fields as varied as the Japanese economic collapse, the birth of a single European currency, and competitive speed knitting. Mr. Miller holds degrees in economics and communications and earned a Master of Philosophy in international relations from the University of Cambridge. He now lives in Seattle with his wife and two daughters. He enjoys mountain biking, back-country skiing, fly fishing, and college football.
About Arthur Morey
Arthur Morey has won three AudioFile Magazine “Best Of” Awards, and his work has garnered numerous AudioFile Earphones Awards and placed him as a finalist for two Audie Awards. He has acted in a number of productions, both off Broadway in New York and off Loop in Chicago. He graduated from Harvard and did graduate work at the University of Chicago. He has won awards for his fiction and drama, worked as an editor with several book publishers, and taught literature and writing at Northwestern University. His plays and songs have been produced in New York, Chicago, and Milan, where he has also performed.