It's Monday, What are You Reading? Almost President

It's Monday, What are You Reading?
Almost President: The Men Who Lost the Race but Changed the Nation by Scott Farris


This is the forty-seventh entry for this meme suggested by Sheila@ One Persons Journey Through A World of Books. [Entries 22-25 in the series were posted at  the Dr. Bill Tells Ancestor Stories]


We got this book on Kindle… I've been reading on it off and on… now about half-way, reading Goldwater and McGovern.

Book Description on Amazon:

Publication Date: December 6, 2011
As the 2012 presidential campaign begins: Profiles of twelve men who have run for the presidency and lost, but who, even in defeat, have had a greater impact on American history than many of those who have served as president—from Henry Clay to Stephen Douglas, William Jennings Bryan to Al Gore—Plus, mini-profiles on 22 "honorable mentions."

From the Inside Flap
“I would rather be right than be president.”
—Henry Clay, 1824, 1832, 1844 presidential runner-up

Henry Clay is one of a dozen men profiled in the chapters of Almost President, men who have run for the American presidency and lost but who—even in defeat—have had a greater impact on our history than many of those who have served in the Oval Office. Veteran political journalist Scott Farris tells the stories of these legendary figures, from Clay to Stephen Douglas, from William Jennings Bryan to Thomas Dewey, and from Adlai Stevenson to Al Gore. He also includes concise profiles of every major candidate nominated for president who never reached the White House but who helped promote the success of American democracy.

Farris explains how Barry Goldwater achieved the party realignment that had eluded FDR, how George McGovern paved the way for Barack Obama, and how Ross Perot changed the way all presidential candidates campaign. There is Al Smith, the first Catholic nominee for president; and Adlai Stevenson, the candidate of the “eggheads” who remains the beau ideal of a liberal statesman. And Farris explores the potential legacies of recent runners-up John Kerry and John McCain. The book also includes compact and evocative portraits of such men as John C. Fremont, the first Republican Party presidential candidate; and General Winfield Scott, whose loss helped guarantee the Union victory in the Civil War.

Almost President reveals that losers often show more foresight than winners, that being ahead of their time is one cause of their defeat, and that losing, like the demolition of a house, can be an opportunity for reconstruction of a political party and the nation. Losing presidential campaigns have created new political alignments and broken down barriers to participation for a wide variety of groups, from Catholics to women. And losing presidential candidates, by conceding victory graciously—an uncommon occurrence in many other nations—ensure that our American democracy works.




 Happy Reading!

Dr. Bill  ;-)