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Candice Millard

New York Times bestselling historian and former National Geographic journalist

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  • About Candice Millard

    Candice Millard is a former editor and contributing writer at National Geographic magazine and the bestselling author of The River of Doubt, Destiny of the Republic, Hero of the Empire, and River of the Gods. Millard has the rare talent of making history accessible to broad audiences. In her animated lectures, she draws on meticulous research and a passion for overlooked subjects to give forgotten history new life.

    Across her career, Millard has uncovered lost histories across continents, from Theodore Roosevelt’s exploration of the Amazon, the life and legacy of James Garfield, Winston Churchill’s exploits during the Boer War, to the search for the source of the Nile. Millard’s first book, The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt’s Darkest Journey, was a New York Times bestseller and made numerous Best Books lists. Her second book, Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of A President, also rose to the top of the New York Times bestseller list and won numerous accolades, including the Pen Center USA award for Research Nonfiction.

    In Hero of the Empire, a thrilling narrative of Winston Churchill’s extraordinary and little-known exploits during the Boer War, Candice Millard recounts a relatively unknown chapter in Churchill’s life, when at age twenty-four he went to South Africa as a young journalist only to be captured and taken prisoner—and pulling off a daring escape that he would later remark “was to lay the foundations of my later life.” The book was a New York Times bestseller and was chosen as a best book of 2016 by NPRThe New York Times, and The Washington Post among others.

    Her most recent book River of the Gods: Genius, Courage, and Betrayal in the Search for the Source of the Nile is an in-depth exploration of one of the greatest feats of exploration of all time, and the complicated legacy of the three men at the heart of it. In River of the Gods, Candice Millard has written another peerless story of courage and adventure, set against the backdrop of the race to exploit Africa by the colonial powers.

    Millard lives in Kansas City with her husband and three children.

    Contact us for more information about booking Candice Millard as a speaker for your next event.

  • Speaking Topics

    An Evening with Candice Millard

    Candice Millard, an acclaimed and award-winning writer of narrative nonfiction, discusses her four New York Times best selling books, stories of courage and determination, ambition and envy, genius and desperation, triumph and regret. She explains the elements of effective storytelling, details her writing process, and shares stories from her own, often-harrowing research trips.

    The River of Doubt

    At once an incredible adventure narrative and a penetrating biographical portrait, The River of Doubt is the true story of Theodore Roosevelt’s harrowing exploration of one of the most dangerous rivers on earth. After his humiliating election defeat in 1912, Roosevelt set his sights on an unmapped, rapids-choked tributary of the Amazon, embarking on an expedition that would not only force him and his men to face disease, drowning, and a murder within their ranks, but would bring Roosevelt to the brink of suicide.

    Destiny of the Republic: Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President

    On July 2, 1881, President James Garfield was shot by a madman in a train station in Washington, D.C., setting off a cascade of events that would leave his country forever transformed. In her critically acclaimed, New York Times-bestselling book, Destiny of the Republic, Candice Millard reveals the extraordinary life and tragic death of a man who, had he lived, would have been one of our greatest presidents.

    Hero of the Empire

    When he was only twenty five years old, Winston Churchill escaped from a POW camp during the Boer War. By himself, without a weapon, food, or even a map, he crossed nearly three hundred miles of enemy territory. Hero of the Empire not only tells this epic story of courage, resilience, and determination, but it illuminates the lessons Churchill learned in South Africa that, forty years later, would profoundly affect twentieth century history.

    River of the Gods

    In 1856, the explorers Richard Burton, John Hanning Speke, and Sidi Mubarak Bombay set out to find the source of the storied Nile River, and, in so doing, answer one of the greatest riddles in the history of exploration. Together, they would endure brutal diseases, near starvation, and constant setbacks. With Bombay, who had already survived twenty years of enslavement in India, Burton and Speke would solve the ages-old mystery, but they would also develop a rivalry so bitter that, in the end, it would destroy them both.

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  • Praise for Candice Millard

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    We had an amazing day with Candice. Her talk was wonderful and truly resonated with our audience. They hung on every word. And of course, she was gracious and generous with everyone she encountered.

    Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures
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    Candice was simply terrific in every way.  She was wonderful one-on-one interacting with our supporters and partners, she was outstanding with the students on campus (I wouldn’t be surprised if a couple of them decided right then and there THEY want to be narrative nonfiction writers), and she was a home run with the public audience at the performing arts center, who were captivated the entire duration of her conversation with our moderator.  They covered many different topics about her books, research, writing process, etc., and it all fit very well together. She was also a hit with our Governor, the University president, everyone in her book signing line, and anyone else who crossed her path that day.

    Humanities Nebraska

    Praise for Destiny of the Republic

    A staggering tale. . . . Millard digs deeply into the turmoil that got James A. Garfield elected, the lunacy that got him shot and the medical malfeasance that turned a minor wound into a mortal one.

    Janet Maslin, The New York Times, Top 10 Recommendations for 2011

    Destiny of the Republic displays Millard’s energetic writing and rare ability to effortlessly educate the listener.

    USA Today

    Praise for The River of Doubt

    [A] fine account . . . There are far too many books in which a travel writer follows in the footsteps of his or her hero—and there are far too few books like this, in which an author who has spent time and energy ferreting out material from archival sources weaves it into a gripping tale.

    The Washington Post

    A rich, dramatic tale that ranges from the personal to the literally earth-shaking.

    The New York Times

    Praise for Hero of the Empire

    A thrilling account…This book is an awesome nail-biter and top-notch character study rolled into one…Could someone be persuaded to make a movie about this episode of his life? I’d watch.

    New York Times Critic Jennifer Senior’s Top Ten Books of 2016

    A gripping story… It’s a thrilling journey and Millard tells it with gusto.

    The Guardian

    Gripping… tremendously readable and enjoyable…

    Alex von Tunzelmann, The New York Times Book Review

    With consummate narrative skill and admirable first-hand research, Candice Millard has added to the canon of great works on Winston Churchill a book essential to a better understanding of his life and personality. Hero of The Empire is both eminently readable and exceptionally informative about the evolution of one of Britain’s greatest statesmen.

    Phil Reed, Former Director of the Churchill War Rooms

    Millard has taken a well-known piece of Churchilliana and skilfully turned it into a large historical narrative. Using many unpublished sources, she weaves into a nail-biting escape story a larger picture of Africa at the cusp of the 20th century. Her eye for humanising detail, her vivid topographical descriptions and her keen awareness of the realities (and surrealities) of war come together in a truly fascinating book.

    Financial Times
  • Books by Candice Millard

  • Media About Candice Millard

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  • Candice Millard travels from Kansas City, KS

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