The presidents that served after the Civil War seem to have been forgotten. Therefore, I enjoyed Greenberger’s new biography of Chester A. Arthur (1829-1886). Arthur was an attorney who was part of Roscoe Conkling’s political machine in New York. Arthur became the vice president for James A. Garfield (1831-1881) and became president on Garfield’s assassination. Arthur served as our 21st president from 1881 to 1885. He was known as a corrupt politician but managed to rise above his reputation and was a successful president. Arthur enacted the first general federal immigration law. He reformed the civil service and modernized the navy. You might say he rose to the standard of the office.
The book is well written and meticulously researched. I am impressed with Greenberger’s research as Arthur is one of the presidents that had little information stored in the archives. The author also had access to Arthur’s papers held in a safe deposit box by a relative. Greenberger paints Arthur in a favorable manner but did not down play the corruption. The author reveals Arthur as a product of his time. I not only learned about Arthur but what life and politics were like at the time. This is an easy to read biography packed with lots of information. This is a great resource to learn about the post-civil war period.
The book is eleven and a half hours. Paul Heitsch does a great job narrating the book. Heitsch is a recording engineer and sound designer as well as an audiobook narrator.