James Abram Garfield (1831-1881) was the twentieth President of the United States and had the second shortest term in office, the only one shorter being that of William Henry Harrison. This biography will give students a detailed look at the life of President Garfield from a poor canal boy to Chief Executive of the United States.

The book is written in narrative style and includes no notations. It's much like reading a Bobbsey Twins novel, and it seems to have been written for a pre-teen audience. The author, William M. Thayer (1820-1898), was a member of the clergy (Congregational church) and does not show more than a cursory knowledge of Garfield's church (Disciples of Christ) in this book.

Of the books' 262 pages, the first 212 deal with Garfield's life up to 1860.

In spite of its documentation shortcomings, I have to admit liked reading the book. Based on what I know of Garfield from other authors and sources, I believe the book to be generally factual. Young persons may find the book to be interesting and beneficial.

There is no bibliography nor index.

The Beka Book version I have is edited for Christian schools. Thayer's original book is available via Google books, for online reading, at no charge. ( )