Almost President

The Men Who Lost the Race but Changed the Nation

By: Scott Farris

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eBook | 7 May 2013

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Veteran political journalist Scott Farris tells the stories of legendary presidential also-rans, from Henry 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.
This new edition of Almost President brings the work up-to-date with a section that explores the results and ramifications of the 2012 presidential election.

Industry Reviews

Wall Street Journal

Almost President is rich in detail and anecdotes, and a pleasure to read.”

1948: Harry Truman’s Improbable Victory and the Year that Transformed America

"I absolutely lost myself in Scott Farris’s Almost President: The Men Who Lost the Race but Changed the Nation. I loved the book so much that we invited Scott to be a guest on Saturday. I can’t wait for the chance to talk with him about how often we focus exclusively on winners and forget all of the ways that ‘political losers’ actually have the power to change conversations, set agendas and alter the course of history."
—blog post by MSNBC anchor Melissa Harris-Perry

“Farris writes with a lively flair, skillfully illustrating his solid historical research with revelatory anecdotes and facts.” –Publishers Weekly

“A lively, opinionated examination of the instructive role of the loser in presidential races…. [R]iveting, sympathetic treatments…. A most useful aide-mémoire for situating the upcoming presidential slugfest.” —Kirkus Reviews