Search results for ""author lewis l. gould""

The race for the White House in 1968 was a watershed event in American politics. In this brilliantly succinct narrative analysis, Lewis L. Gould shows how the events of that tumultuous year changed the way Americans felt about politics and their national leaders; how Republicans used the skills they brought to Richard Nixon's campaign to create a generation-long ascendancy in presidential politics; and how Democrats, divided and torn after 1968, emerged as only crippled challengers for the White House throughout most of the years until the early twenty-first century. Bitterness over racial issues and the Vietnam War that marked the 1968 election continued to shape national affairs and to rile American society for years afterward. And the election accelerated an erosion of confidence in American institutions that has not yet reached a conclusion. In his lucid account, now revised and updated, Mr. Gould emphasizes the importance of race as the campaign's key issue and examines the now infamous "October surprises" of Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon as he describes the extraordinary events of what Eugene McCarthy later called the "Hard Year."

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The Republicans is a revised and updated edition of Lewis L. Gould's 2003 history of the Republican party. The book retains the features that made the first edition a success--a fast-paced account of Republican fortunes, a deep knowledge of the evolution of national political history, and an acute feel for the interplay of personalities and ideology. All the main players in the Republican story are captured in penetrating sketches and deft analysis. Gould brings to life such forgotten Republican leaders as James G. Blaine, Mark Hanna, Wendell Willkie, and Robert A. Taft. He also does full justice to such contemporary figures as Newt Gingrich, Sarah Palin, and John McCain. The Republicans contains a new chapter on the George W. Bush presidency, the election of 2008, and the response of the Grand Old Party to Barack Obama. Gould argues that the historic Republican skepticism about the legitimacy of the Democratic party has shaped American politics since the Civil War. In his view, that persistent flaw in the relations between the two parties has led the nation to the current crisis of stalemate and partisan bitterness. The Republicans won praise for its even-handed, incisive analysis of Republican history a decade ago. Gould's extension of the story through 2008 makes The Republicans an even more useful volume for students and general readers alike. No other account of Republican history is as up-to-date, crammed with fascinating information, and ready to serve as an informed guide to today's partisan warfare. Political junkies and readers seeking the best first book on Republican history will find what they are looking for in Gould's comprehensive volume.

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