Description: The first book in more than seven decades to examine the presidential election that ushered in the New Deal and Franklin Roosevelt's unprecedented four-term presidency. Explains how the Democratic Party rebuilt itself after three successive Republican landslides, and how it managed to maintain that power for as long as it did.
Brief description: Donald A. Ritchie is an associate historian at the U.S. Senate Historical Office and a frequent commentator on C-SPAN and NPR. He is the author of seven other books, including Press Gallery: Congress and the Washington Correspondents, winner of the Richard W. Leopold Prize.
Review Quotes:
"No mere focus on an election, Ritchie's study encompasses the impact of the 1932 campaign--and by extension the New Deal--on six decades of party positions on the major issues. It is graced with a crisp but elegant style and fine, dramatic quotations."--American Historical Review