C.W. Goodyear is a writer and historian based in Washington, D.C. Earlier this year, he published his first book, President Garfield: From Radical to Unifier, which has earned effusive praise for meticulous research and eloquent writing about a president who has often flow under the radar.

Goodyear shines a light on James Garfield’s presidency but also dwells on his earlier career as a teacher, Ohio politician, Union general during the Civil War, and ultimately powerful member of the U.S. House of Representatives, where Garfield participated in many of the most contentious debates of the period after the Civil War.