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1948 : Harry Truman's Improbable Victory and the Year That Transformed America - David Pietrusza

1948

Harry Truman's Improbable Victory and the Year That Transformed America

By: David Pietrusza

Paperback | 4 September 2018

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The wild, combative inside story of the most stunning upset in the history of presidential elections: Harry Truman's 1948 victory over Tom Dewey.

"Outstanding. . . . by far the best yet about the fateful [1948] election." —Minneapolis Star-Tribune

"Coherent, compelling. . . . A skillful, authoritative investigation." —Kirkus Reviews

Award-winning historian David Pietrusza unpacks the most ingloriously iconic headline in the history of presidential elections—DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN—to reveal the 1948 campaign's backstage events and recount the down-to-the-wire brawl fought against the background of an erupting Cold War, the Berlin Airlift, the birth of Israel, and a post-war America facing exploding storms over civil rights and domestic communism.

"A terrific book. . . . a must-read." —Ron Faucheux, former editor-in-chief, Campaigns & Elections magazine

"David Pietrusza brilliantly portrays President Harry Truman's successful efforts to stave off the challenge of New York Gov. Tom Dewey, who was making a repeat bid as the Republican nominee." —David Mark, journalist, political analyst, and author of Going Dirty: The Art of Negative Campaigning

"Sweeping . . . compelling." —Library Journal
Industry Reviews
Praise for 1948: Harry Truman's Improbable Victory and the Year that Transformed America





"Outstanding. . . . by far the best yet about the fateful [1948] election." -Minneapolis Star-Tribune





"Reads like a movie thriller waiting to be filmed." -Washington Times





"Coherent, compelling. . . . A skillful, authoritative investigation." -Kirkus Reviews





"Pietrusza is the undisputed champion of chronicling American Presidential campaigns." -Dead Presidents blog





"Sweeping . . . compelling." -Library Journal





"A masterpiece!" -Roger Stone





"In 1948 David Pietrusza brings to light some of the forgotten but important figures in



American political history. There's Glen Taylor, the singing senator from Idaho and running



mate of Henry Wallace on perhaps the most left-wing national ticket of the past century.



Mississippi Fielding Wright also makes a memorable appearance as understudy for



segregationist South Carolina Gov. Strom Thurmond, a reminder of just how solid the South



was for Democrats at one time. Pietrusza brilliantly portrays President Harry Truman's



successful efforts to stave off the challenge of New York Gov. Tom Dewey, who was making a



repeat bid as the Republican nominee. Though Dewey lost, readers will come to see him as a



surprisingly civil libertarian-minded candidate, opposing the banning of the Communist Party,



despite its promotion of a noxious ideology." -David Mark, Senior Editor, POLITICO





"A terrific book. . . . a must-read." -Ron Faucheux, editor-in-chief, Campaigns & Elections magazine









"If you think [2012] is wild, this is really wild-Harry Truman and Henry Wallace and Strom Thurmond and Tom Dewey." -Tom Brokaw





Praise for Rothstein: The Life, Times, and Murder of the Criminal Genius Who Fixed the 1919 World Series









Finalist for the Edgar Award in Best Fact Crime









"Pietrusza does a terrific job of capturing Rothstein's colorful career and sheds new light on [his] role in fixing the World Series, disputing the standard history." -New York Times Book Review









"An engaging biography. . . . Puts real flesh on the story of how the new machinery of mass entertainment-the yellow press, movies, radio, the recording industry-created and brought together the culture of celebrity, politics, big-time sports, stock market fortunes and organized crime in the 1920s." -Washington Post Book World









Praise for 1920: The Year of the Six Presidents









"Broad, fluid brush strokes. . . . a brisk narrative." -The Wall Street Journal (rated one of the Top Five Books on Presidential Campaigns)





"David Pietrusza has a gift for making the past both real and dramatically gripping, and in 1920 he has an extraordinary cast of characters with which to work his magic. ... one helluva historical dinner party. An unforgettable group portrait of America on the brink of modernity." -Richard Norton Smith









"More than just a story of six men who either already had been president or would be, this is the story of America as it moved into the modern age." -Denver Post









"A rousing chronicle. . . . Pietrusza . . . adds color and dimension with smart discussions of Prohibition, women's suffrage, immigration, civil rights, the League of Nations and labor strife, and he offers animated portraits.... A hugely fascinating episode in American history, told with insight and great humor, by an author in command of his subject." -Kirkus Reviews (starred review)









"Absorbing. . . . a broad, satisfying political and social history, in the style of Doris Kearns Goodwin." -Publishers Weekly









"Fascinating and compelling. . . . Highly recommended.

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