Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Five top 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:
1912: Wilson, Roosevelt, Taft and Debs—The Election That Changed the Country, by James Chace

Do you know what this election season has been missing? The Bull Moose Party. Say what you will about 2016, but former President Jimmy Carter has not yet mounted a third-party challenge, so I think we’re really missing out on something. Unless you’re William Howard Taft, any time Teddy Roosevelt pops up, it’s bound to be a good time. And that is the tale Chace tells here, along with the impressive performance of socialist candidate Eugene Debs and the uber-unlikely ascendance of the quiet, cerebral ex-president of Princeton, Woodrow Wilson, to the presidency. Chace makes a compelling case that this election changed America in ways few others have, and it might be worth taking a peek if you’re looking for an explanation of our current political climate.
Read about another entry on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue