Description
Book Synopsis In 1938 Harold E. Stassen was elected governor of Minnesota at age 31, an office he resigned in 1943 to enter the United States Navy at the height of World War II. In the postwar years he helped write the charter of the United Nations and, serving in the Eisenhower administration, very nearly achieved a nuclear test ban treaty with the Soviet Union. He is famously known as a perennial candidate for the Republican Party nomination for president, seeking it 10 times between 1944 and 1992.
Trade ReviewThis long-overdue study of the ambitious former Minnesota governor explains how his undeniable intelligence and ability were overshadowed by an outsized ego that left no room for introspection or self-criticism. The highlight of the book is an illuminating, blow-by-blow description of Stassen's misguided and politically fatal attempt, while working in the Eisenhower administration, to seek an unauthorized break-through during 1957 disarmament talks with the Russians.--James Worthen, author of The Young Nixon and His Rivals: Four California Republicans Eye the White House, 1946-1958; ""Rothmann, Dallin, and Alexander have delivered the definitive biography of Harold Stassen, a cautionary tale of what befalls a politician who triumphs all too easily when all too young. Stassen might well have taken the GOP in a more liberal direction. He certainly came close in spring of 1948. How he got to that point and what happened following it are revealed in these pages. Essential reading in understanding the Republican Party of the 1940s and invaluable in understanding how the GOP got to be where it is today.""--David Pietrusza, political historian and author; ""Kirby, Dalin and Rothmann have written a splendid book about Harold E. Stassen. This volume fills a void in understanding an important political force in the Republican Party in the 1940's and 1950s. The authors bring Stassen to life in this important political biography.""--James J. Kiepper, author of Styles Bridges Yankee Senator.
