Product Description

"America suffers from a sort of intermittent fever. . . . Every fourth year there come terrible shakings, passing into the hot fit of the presidential election; then follows what physicians call 'the interval'; then the fit again."
                        --James Bryce,
The American Commonwealth, 1888


Once every four years, Americans enter into a months-long national spectacle, one with bitter battles, high drama, often hilarious blunders, and, ultimately, a victor to whom we entrust the leadership of our country. It is a process integral to the American ideals of freedom and democracy, and each election reveals a tremendous amount about where and who we are as a nation. In Hats in the Ring, Evan Cornog and Richard Whelan have created a hugely entertaining, splendidly illustrated history of every election from Washington's to Clinton's. For the first time, all the vibrancy, fanfare, and zaniness of American presidential campaigns come to life in one dazzling volume.
        Award-winning author Evan Cornog provides a lively narrative of the people, parties, and politics of more than two hundred years of history. Every engaging, pithy chapter is packed with fascinating information about the candidates and their campaigns. From the Wide Awakes to the Know-Nothings, fervent supporters and their candidates, including some of the greatest figures in American history--Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, FDR--progress vividly through these pages.
        The visual richness of the campaigns is brought to life with more than two hundred color and black-and-white illustrations, including portraits, leaflets, cartoons, photographs, posters, campaign buttons, and other memorabilia, all selected by the eminent cultural historian Richard Whelan. He has delved deep into public and private collections to find the defining images, both classic and unfamiliar, of each election. There are portraits of heroic men beside those of also-rans, moments of triumph and shame captured by the camera, hilarious cartoons and works of art created by many of the greatest American artists, from Gilbert Stuart to Ben Shahn, Thomas Nast to Herblock.
        The chapter for each election provides a wonderful snapshot of United States history and culture.
Short sidebars on important aspects of the development of American politics (including constitutional changes, third parties, and suffrage for blacks and women) complement the narrative throughout. There are also clear, concise charts that offer at-a-glance information on every election, including major-party candidates and electoral tallies.
        Presidential campaigns have provided some of the most stirring moments, poignant images, and idiosyncratic characters in our nation's annals. No matter what your political leanings are, Hats in the Ring delivers a sparkling and invaluable tour though some of the greatest episodes in American history. Amazon.com Review
One of the most significant achievements of American democracy is that it has held a presidential election every four years, without a single interruption, since the nation's inception. Hats in the Ring chronicles each one of these elections in separate chapters, featuring prose by Evan Cornog and illustrations selected by Richard Whelan. The text is concise (eight or nine pages for each campaign) and generally provides a good summary of why the voters chose as they did. But the best parts of this book are the images. As the authors write in a short introduction, these have been selected "to embody the remarkable amalgam of serious purpose and carnival spirits that has characterized the process of choosing a President." Among the highlights are a poster from 1804 revealing that negative ads aren't recent inventions: it compares Thomas Jefferson unfavorably to Washington. A political cartoon from 1880 portrays James Garfield and Chester Arthur, both future presidents, as ballerinas. And there's a hilarious photo of Calvin Coolidge campaigning in 1924, wearing the massive feathered headdress of a Sioux Indian--and looking terrifically uncomfortable.

There are plenty of serious illustrations, too: many of the 19th-century figures are shown in handsome portraits, and the 20th-century pols are the subject of photographs (there are especially good pictures of William Jennings Bryan and Theodore Roosevelt). There are a few odd choices: there's only one picture of Dwight Eisenhower in the two chapters devoted to his elections, and it isn't very good. (Adlai Stevenson, the man Ike beat both times, gets a pair of photos.) And it must be said that Cornog's discussion of the 1988 election is partisan in a way many Republicans would find objectionable. Yet Hats in the Ring, by and large, is a capable volume--worth reading and even more worth looking at. --John J. Miller ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Nice, brief histories of each presidential campaign
This book has pictures and an article for each campaign - beginning from George Washington up to the 1996 election.While I found some of the pictures to be quite interesting and the articles to be somewhat informative, I would still say that this is more of an overview kind of book - as opposed to a detailed version of our elections.

I think the author could have picked some other pictures or visuals to make the book more appealling, and could have written in more depth about the campaigns.

Nevertheless, the book is a nice book and is a book that could be used as a reference in some respects.

A Good Book
Deep in the political season, this book makes for a good read.It is neither a complete history nor a complete pictorial of all the great campaigning photographs which abound.I was suprised by the iconic photographs not included.I wish I had leafed through this in the bookstore before buying. That said, it is a good book for any fan of political campaigns.

great american sport
Politics is the great American sport and its bats and balls are pins and bumper stickers.This is a great history of torchlight parades, whistle stops and all sorts of campaign paraphenalia.It makes me happy I saved that LBJ for the USA button--it doesn't take long for this stuff to acquire value.SAme can't be said for websites, though.Words and images here are also a healthy reminder that one great tradition of the sport is slamming the other guy--don't forget Jefferson's Sally Hemmings scandal and Lincoln "the big monkey." More fireworks, fewer veep debate lovefests, please. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Tough going, but worth it
The ad for this book recommends it for young teens.No way!This is a very dense series of books and requires some very close reading.If you're willing to do that though these books are very worthwhile.They discuss every presidentiaal election from that of George Washington to the younger Bush in great detail and also provide documentations from the relevant period (the Jay Treaty, editorials from newspapers, the party platforms, and much more).

I would highly recommend this series for anyone interested in the history of presidential elections and how it developed over time. ... Read more

Product Description
This book contains complete statistics for every presidential election from 1789 to 1980. Contained in accurate and conveniently arranged tables are the votes and percentages for each election, each state and each historical party. There are figures revealing the roles of minor parties, regional loyalties and religious blocs in swinging an election. ... Read more