Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Five nonfiction books about America's craziest elections

At the B&N Reads blog Nicole Hill tagged five nonfiction books that’ll reassure you that this isn’t the craziest election on record, including:
1920: The Year of the Six Presidents, by David Pietrusza

You think you know drama? The 1920 campaign had the distinction of featuring the ripple effects from six—six!—former, sitting, or future presidents: Woodrow Wilson, Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, and both Roosevelts. Those illustrious names, however, only scratch the surface of why 1920 was a remarkable election year. This was an America in transition, out of World War II and into an urbanized nation, facilitated by the spread of automobiles. Women had the vote, and Prohibition had begun. In many ways, this was the year the modern election was born, with outlandish party spending, nascent newsreel coverage, and a boom in campaign advertising. If you’re aching for November to get here already, you’ve got 1920 to thank.
Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue