Harold E. Stassen
The Life and Perennial Candidacy of the Progressive Republican
David G Dalin author Alec Kirby author John F Rothmann author
Format:Paperback
Publisher:McFarland & Co Inc
Published:30th Dec '12
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In 1939 Harold E. Stassen was elected governor of Minnesota at age 31. He went on to a distinguished career as a key political figure of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. In 1943 he resigned as governor to enter the United States Navy at the height of World War II. In the postwar years he participated in writing the charter of the United Nations, and later served as a key diplomat in the Eisenhower administration, very nearly achieving a nuclear test ban treaty with the Soviet Union. He is perhaps most famously known as being a perennial candidate for the Republican Party nomination for President of the United States, seeking it 12 times between 1944 and 2000 (1944,1948, 1952, 1964, 1968, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, and 2000), but never winning it. This book covers all these activities.
This 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.
ISBN: 9780786465545
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: 456g
246 pages