Murdering McKinley: The Making of Theodore Roosevelt's America

This is a very readable, if fairly shallow, account of the assassination of President McKinley and what America was like at that time. I say shallow, but I don't mean it in a pejorative way -- it's just that the book is only 250 pages long, including the index and he covers a lot of ground. He has to describe what living conditions were like for immigrants all over the country, what the anarchist movement was about, local politics in Chicago and national politics, McKinley's history and how he came to be President, and what Leon Czolgosz's life was like and a possible reason for his action. For some reason, although I heard the name Jane Addams in my childhood I never had any idea what the "settlement house" thing was about. I really enjoyed this book and didn't spot any obvious errors. It might not be as scholarly as C.V. Wedgwood's "The Thirty Years War," but it's as well-written and readable.

How this tragic event of 1901 - the assassination by a true believing anarchist of a conservative, popular, business-as-usual President McKinley - led to the progressive era in the United States. Theodore Roosevelt, much to the chagrin of the powers that be, became President and quickly determined he had to straddle the chasm between the progressivism sought by the anarchist. and the big business interests of America. Extremely interesting, well told with details I most certainly did not know, and in a context that is incredibly enlightening. Did the murderer do us all one big favor, perhaps unintentionally? The action most certainly had powerful consequences, which we live with and appreciate to this day.

Everything arrived on time and as advertised

This is a superbly detailed study of the factors that led up to President McKinley's assassination and its aftermath. In this case study, all aspects of the U.S. at the turn of the twentieth century are thoroughly researched and illustrated to make a remarkable reading.

An excellent read providing reasons for the story's applicability to today's issues. There's something in here for TR fans (I'm one), workers earning low wages today still, business minded folk, and everyone interested in America's values and future. A fresh perspective of otherwise well covered material. The rich/poor gap applies now more than ever. The treatment that Czolgosz was sane and to a group of Americans somewhat a hero seems heretic, but is done well. While reading I continued to think how this book could have been writing yesterday (rather than 2007), just as fresh and current. This is not simply a history; it seems a skillful crafting of American events full circle, i.e., we need another TR for the same exact reasons.

This is a good book that describes the time period when the US and its government shifted into progressiveness. The author makes it easy to understand and provides thorough details of every important event. Like most history books, I think that the author overwhelms his readers with so many details. Overall, it is a good book and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to learn about how America progressed in the beginning of the 20th century.

Very entertaining. Not for people who actually trying to study this time period or topic though. It reads as a type of novel really, and the author’s main thesis is hard to pick out. He never comes out and says what his stance is on different topics. The book is well written and engaging. Just not very informative.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this thoughtful, comprehensive journey into the politics, headlines and consequences of the assassination of President Mckinley and the ascension of Theodore Roosevelt and the birth of the Progressive Movement. Reading these stories brought home how unforeseen events can shape history and that nothing is really foreordained. Well done!!!

This is only a very short book but I still could not be bothered to finish it. Is it a biography, a history book or a sociology textbook? I found it very confused. The author appears to want to absolve the assassin of responsibility apparently due to him having worked in a factory and having a ‘foreign’ name.

Excellent.

I must admit this was not the type of history book I was expecting. I thought it would focus on the crime. Instead it examines the McKinley assassination from a social science perspective. It was worth the read.