Since Chester Arthur destroyed most of his personal and official records, the author was challenged to pull together the substantial information required to write a detailed biography. Nonetheless, he did a good job. In my opinion, the narrative relied a little too heavily on his correspondence with Julia Sand, but this did provide an interesting vehicle through which to frame Arthur’s redemption as a reform oriented president, and not just a machine politician. One of the best things about the book was the impression of the times it provides. This era seems largely ignored and frankly unknown by a lot of people these days, but I found the book to be exceptionally interesting for the picture it painted of life in the mid to late 19th century.