DEATH BY LIGHTNING
The Shocking True Story of President James Garfield's Assassination and Charles Guiteau's MadnessBy Smart Alden
Length5h 27m
About this audiobook
What turns an ordinary man into the assassin of a President?
DEATH BY LIGHTNING is a gripping true story that plunges readers into one of the darkest and most shocking chapters in American history—the assassination of President James A. Garfield and the twisted mind of his killer, Charles Guiteau.
On a warm summer morning in 1881, a single gunshot changed the course of a nation. But the tragedy that followed was far more disturbing than the attack itself. As President Garfield fought for his life over the next eighty days, America watched in suspense, hoping for a miracle while political ambition, medical mistakes, and public outrage collided behind closed doors.
At the center of it all stood Charles Guiteau—a failed lawyer, rejected preacher, delusional political fanatic, and self-proclaimed hero who believed he was acting on divine orders. His descent into madness would culminate in one of the most infamous crimes in American history, raising unsettling questions about mental illness, justice, and the dangerous consequences of unchecked obsession.
Filled with dramatic courtroom moments, political intrigue, shocking revelations, and meticulously researched historical detail, Death by Lightning uncovers the forgotten twists, controversial decisions, and heartbreaking events that transformed a national tragedy into a lasting historical mystery.
Inside this compelling true story, you'll discover:
- The extraordinary rise of President James Garfield from poverty to the White House.
- Charles Guiteau's disturbing path toward delusion and violence.
- The assassination that stunned America and forever altered presidential security.
- The medical errors that may have cost Garfield his life.
- The sensational murder trial that captivated the nation.
- The lasting political and historical impact of Garfield's death.
Audiobook details
GenreHistory, Biography and Memoir
Length5 hrs 27 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Death by Lightning
10CHAPTER SEVEN
2Death by Lightning
11CHAPTER EIGHT
3INTRODUCTION
12CHAPTER NINE
4CHAPTER ONE
13CHAPTER TEN
5CHAPTER TWO
14CHAPTER ELEVEN
Show all chaptersShow less
6CHAPTER THREE
15CHAPTER TWELVE
7CHAPTER FOUR
16CONCLUSION
8CHAPTER FIVE
17BIBLIOGRAPHY AND SOURCES
9CHAPTER SIX
18ABOUT THE AUTHOR
More from Smart Alden
A Brief History of IntelligenceMax S. Bennett12h 18m4.6 (6.6K)$29 · $0.00
The Happiest Man on EarthEddie Jaku3h 48m4.6 (178K)$7 · $0.00
MotherlandJulia Ioffe17h 52m4.7 (2.5K)$40 · $0.00
Where Cowards Go to DieBenjamin Sledge8h 42m4.7 (351)$20 · $0.00
RevolutionariesSanjeev Sanyal11h 23m4.6 (2.6K)$29 · $0.00
We Crossed a Bridge and It TrembledWendy Pearlman6h4.6 (5.2K)$24 · $0.00
Unbroken Bonds of BattleJohnny Joey Jones8h 31m4.6 (2.6K)$8 · $0.00
The Daughter of AuschwitzTova Friedman, Malcolm Brabant7h 54m4.6 (16.7K)$26 · $0.00
Lily's PromiseLily Ebert, Dov Forman8h 54m4.6 (16.1K)$29 · $0.00
On Democracies and Death CultsDouglas Murray10h 38m4.6 (6.5K)$29 · $0.00
Across the RiverKent Babb11h 40m4.6 (927)$29 · $0.00
Balcony Over Jerusalem: A Middle East Memoir - Israel, Palestine and BeyondJohn Lyons12h 37m4.6 (1.4K)$33 · $0.00
BeyondStephen Walker15h 39m4.6 (3.2K)$33 · $0.00
Kings and PawnsHoward Bryant10h 9m4.6 (678)$29 · $0.00
No EscapeNury Turkel9h 30m4.6 (809)$28 · $0.00
Jubal Stone: U.S. Marshal: Blood Trail To Hell: A Western Adventure NovelCasey Nash3h 42m4.6 (3.2K)$18 · $0.00
Fall and RiseMitchell Zuckoff17h 23m4.6 (9.8K)$40 · $0.00
The SurvivorJosef Lewkowicz, Michael Calvin9h 22m4.6 (2.5K)$29 · $0.00
Always FaithfulThomas Schueman, Zainullah Zaki12h 12m4.6 (977)$29 · $0.00
The State of Society in France Before the Revolution of 1789 (Annotated)Alexis de Tocqueville17h 25m4.6 (1.2K)$2 · $0.00
How to Test Negative for StupidJohn Kennedy8h 13m4.7 (9.7K)$28 · $0.00
Bad Fat Black GirlSesali Bowen6h 32m4.7 (2.8K)$24 · $0.00
Send MeMarty Skovlund, Joe Kent8h 10m4.7 (1.6K)$26 · $0.00
John Muir: The Story of My Boyhood and Youth & Letters to a Friend (Annotated)John Muir10h 13m4.7 (1.1K)$0.99 · $0.00
Invisible StormJason Kander6h 48m4.7 (3.2K)$24 · $0.00
Forever BoyKate Swenson9h 27m4.7 (5K)$29 · $0.00
You Are Worth ItKyle Carpenter, Don Yaeger8h 53m4.7 (4.8K)$29 · $0.00
The Happiest Man on EarthEddie Jaku3h 48m4.6 (178K)$7 · $0.00
MotherlandJulia Ioffe17h 52m4.7 (2.5K)$40 · $0.00
Evidence Not SeenDarlene Deibler Rose11h 11m4.6 (11.9K)$29 · $0.00
Where Cowards Go to DieBenjamin Sledge8h 42m4.7 (351)$20 · $0.00
Will You Love Me?Cathy Glass9h 5m4.6 (9.3K)$29 · $0.00
Designing Terry Pratchett’s DiscworldPaul Kidby3h 52m4.7 (343)$20 · $0.00
HostageEli Sharabi5h 25m4.6 (10.8K)$24 · $0.00
Finding MeViola Davis9h 15m4.6 (256.4K)$29 · $0.00
The Dangerous Truth about Today’s MarijuanaLaura Stack CSP, MBA9h 57m4.7 (385)$20 · $0.00
Birdie & HarlowTaylor Wolfe7h 50m4.6 (6.5K)$26 · $0.00
The Lives of BrianBrian Johnson9h 45m4.6 (3.5K)$29 · $0.00
I Am The StormJanice Dean9h4.6 (1.5K)$8 · $0.00
Black History CollectionFrederick Douglass, Harriet Ann Jacobs, Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. Du Bois27h 9m4.6 (2.6K)$18 · $0.00
You may also like
Trial by FireScott James13h 31m4.4 (1.4K)$23
Fiat Money Inflation in FranceAndrew Dickson White2h 11m4.3 (1.8K)$12 · $0.00
Front BurnerCommander Kirk S. Lippold USN (Ret.)12h 5m4.3 (597)$25
The ApologyPlato1h 7m4.3 (78.2K)$21 · $0.00
Behind the BadgeJohnny Joey Jones7h 32m4.5 (988)$26 · $0.00
Applied EconomicsThomas Sowell11h 38m4.4 (3.7K)$21
Children Under FireJohn Woodrow Cox10h 17m4.5 (1.6K)$29 · $0.00
My Midnight YearsRonald Kitchen8h 36m4.6 (341)$20 · $0.00
CredibleDeborah Tuerkheimer8h 5m4.6 (551)$26 · $0.00
MS-13Steven Dudley10h 42m4.0 (1.4K)$29 · $0.00
Bondi TerrorSharri Markson, Alex Ryvchin10h 38m$29 · $0.00
Stand TallDewey Bozella6h 37m4.5 (44)$24 · $0.00
Catastrophes and HeroesJerry Borrowman6h 19m4.0 (224)$17
Bondi TerrorSharri Markson, Alex Ryvchin10h 38m$29 · $0.00
RegenerationH. Rider Haggard6h 20m3.5 (28)$2.30
Opioid Use Disorders: Therapeutic Manuals for Healing and RecuperationIbrahim Nugwa Abdulrazak1h 46m$13 · $0.00
Grappling with the Monster; Or, the Curse and the Cure of Strong DrinkT. S. Arthur7h 54m$2 · $0.00
Close CallJohn McEvoy8h 37m3.9 (80)$17
On invention — 85 BCMarcus Tullius Cicero7h 26m3.5 (49)$1 · $0.00
LincolnTheodore Bentham Ross4h 51m$9 · $0.00