Millard opens the book with a scene of the steamship Stonington crossing Long Island Sound (off the coast of Connecticut) on the night of June 11, 1880. She introduces one of the passengers, Charles Guiteau, who would later assassinate President James Garfield, by describing him as someone who had failed in nearly everything in life. He was traveling from Boston to New York, heading for the Republican Party’s headquarters there, just after Garfield was nominated to be the party’s candidate for president. In the dense fog, Guiteau’s ship collided with another, the Narragansett, with the latter bursting into flames and sinking. By the time the Stonington made it back to port in Connecticut the next day, Guiteau felt that God had not only spared him but selected him “for a task of tremendous importance” (4). He disembarked and began dedicating himself to this task.

This chapter describes the Centennial International Exhibition, held in Philadelphia in 1876. In attendance was a congressman from Ohio, James Garfield, and his family. Millard briefly explains how he was born into poverty, only to make a success of himself “with a passionate love of learning that would define his life” (8). Garfield was especially keen to visit the Machinery Hall, as he held a special regard for science and its role in progress.