Description
Book SynopsisThe memoirs of a senior advisor to presidential candidates
Trade Review"Well worth the attention of political junkies, students of American history, or anyone else who wants to know how politics really worked in the glory days of the Democratic Party. . . . Too often our histories of politics are colored by political biases and attempts to shade the truth. To invoke an old cliché, Van Dyk tells it like it is. His memoir is a great read, a wonderful primer for those who might seek to enter politics themselves, and a terrific walk down memory lane. His idealism and honesty are reminders of what once made the Democratic Party great—- and could again."
* Boston Phoenix *
"Van Dyk's book is a helpful primer on what goes on behind the scenes and a reminder that it's important to pick presidents with character as well as competence."
* Bellingham Herald *
"Ted Van Dyk is telling us exactly what happened and what he honestly thought about it. It's as pure a political memoir as we're ever likely to see. . . . [with] the kind of filthy detail that most political memoirs are too polite, and too deadly boring, to share."
* The Stranger *
"Heroes, Hacks, and Fools is about Democrats. It is a well-written and detailed autobiography..His story, particularly of the Humphrey-McGovern years, is one of the best accounts of that era in a long time."
* Seattle Times *
"It is precisely [Van Dyk's] willingness to stick his neck out, to study and opine and participate, that makes his arguments so compelling."
* Bookmonger: Kitsap Sun *
Table of ContentsPreface
Acknowledgments
1. Depression Kids
2. Caught Up in the Cold War
3. A New Generation Takes Over
4. Helping HHH
5. The Great Society
6. Vietnam and Little Else
7. 1968
8. A Near Miss
9. In Transition
10. Crusade and Catastrophe
11. Strange Presidents, Nixon and Carter
12. The Counterrevolution Proceeds
13. Storm Cleanup and a New Storm
14. A New Jacksonian Era, Part One
15. A New Jacksonian Era, Part Two
16. Escape from the Capital
17. A New Century
18. Not the Same Country
19. Who Will Lead?
20. The Democratic Message
Epilogue
Index
