I had the pleasure recently of participating in an event featuring Candice Millard, the award-winning author of four books (a fifth in the works) of shimmering biography and history. Co-sponsored by the Kansas City Public Library and UMKC, the annual Writers for Readers gathering included Candice in conversation with Whitney Terrell of the school’s MFA program. One foregrounded topic was the new Netflix series, “Death by Lightning,” which is a highly faithful adaptation of Candice’s second book, Destiny of the Republic, about the assassination of U.S. President John Garfield. (Don’t miss it.) Responding to a question, Candice recounted the genesis of the Netflix production and its evolution. Seems as if its success owes a lot to the producers of “Game of Thrones,” whose efforts on behalf of the show outweighed Netflix’s reluctance to invest in a story about a 19th-century figure like Garfield.
While chatting beforehand, Candice and I recalled it had been 20 years since we first got to know each other. I was writing a feature profile about her and her first book, River of Doubt, about a frightful journey through the Amazon taken by Theodore Roosevelt. I always manage to choke up up when I get to the end of this story. Even more poignant when we know realize that Candice’s daughter has recently turned 20. I really hope she doesn’t mind that I’m sharing this bit of old news.
This story first appeared in the Kansas City Star, Oct. 15, 2015.
