These titles may give readers a new perspective ahead of November 5th.
November 1, 2024, 11 a.m. ET
As the presidential election approaches, people in both parties find themselves in a doomscrolling situation. Some Republican lawmakers have developed elaborate conspiracy theories about voter fraud in battleground states. Some Democrats have created elaborate conspiracy theories about Nate Silver’s predictions. Of course, this kind of internet-based obsession is not healthy. Perhaps the best way to avoid any sense of impending fear about the upcoming presidential election is to actually engage in some form of civic engagement during the four days leading up to November 5th, but get off the couch and interact with other human beings. If you don’t like doing that, reading is a good alternative to volunteering. As a journalist who has been thinking, talking, and writing about electoral politics every day for as long as I can remember, this may give readers a new perspective on politics without any of the unpleasant mental health side effects of spending. You can suggest 5 books that you don’t have. Hours online.
“The Count of Louisiana” by AJ Liebling
Liebling’s chronicle of the 1959 gubernatorial election of Huey Long’s older brother, Earl Long, who rose to become a powerful figure in national politics in the decades after his brother’s assassination, is a great example of literary journalism. It is one of the classics. Set in the Byzantine world of mid-20th century Louisiana politics, this book follows the remarkable character of the young Long, who served three terms as Bayou State governor (and was briefly institutionalized by his wife during his last term). It is a statue. (as recorded by Liebling). It may not even be the best book about a member of the Long family, but T. Harry Williams’s biography of Huey is a masterpiece, and it shows how American politics began with the rise of television and the beginnings of the civil rights movement. It precisely captures the moment of transition that adapts to both. This glimpse of change also serves as a final shout-out to a kind of traditional politics that seems distant in the online age.
Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ’72, by Hunter S. Thompson
Thompson’s story of the 1972 presidential election has been an exciting introduction to American campaigning for generations of teenage political junkies. His gonzo journalism tends to toe the line between fact and fiction as advice at best, but he also steps into the art of real politics in a way that few others have been able to. His description of George McGovern’s campaign’s careful management of the Democratic National Convention floor is both genuinely informative for experts and easy to understand for those with only a passing interest in the field. Reading Thompson is even more valuable in a year when “atmosphere” has taken on new primacy in campaign coverage. Because he did a better job of reporting the atmosphere of the moment than anyone else.
Written by Hunter S. Thompson
SDP: The Birth, Life and Death of the Social Democratic Party, by Ivor Crewe and Anthony King.
Americans often complain about the two-party system and wonder why a third party that has some form of appeal to a wide range of voters hasn’t yet emerged. However, as the history of the British Social Democratic Party shows, maintaining such popular popularity is even more difficult than it seems. Perhaps the closest thing to a full-fledged third party to emerge in the Anglosphere over the past century was the one formed in 1981 when the SDP broke away from the Labor Party, which sought to win back the fringe left and Trotskyites. He seemed to be in control. Meanwhile, Margaret Thatcher was the only candidate the Conservative Party could offer. The SDP, aligned with the Liberal Party (a long-standing moderate party with moderate funding and membership), appeared positioned to break the mold of British politics. In the early 1980s, it became number one among British voters. However, according to Crewe and King’s chronicle, that momentum was stalled by both internal conflicts and external events such as the Falklands War. The party, which now exists as the Liberal Democrats, has since had mixed fortunes in British politics, but has never reached the heights it once seemed possible in the early 1980s. Crews and King explain why, and outline how close SDP has come.
Written by Ivor Crewe and Anthony King
This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden, and the Fight for America’s Future, by Jonathan Martin and Alex Burns
If you’re feeling the need to reflect on modern American politics right now, Martin and Burns’ book about the tumultuous end of the Trump administration and the beginning of the Biden presidency is a must-read after Donald Trump leaves Washington in disgrace. , will provide you with a clever field guide to understand how exactly it went. from January 6 to a possible re-election in 2024. It chronicles the series of compromises and maneuvers within the Republican Party that first enabled and then fueled Mr. Trump’s political resurgence, and also delves into the Democratic Party. The party is analyzing Kamala Harris’ rise as Joe Biden’s running mate and the missteps that hampered her role in Biden’s early days in office. Days after the presidential election, this is a perfect opportunity to reflect on how our country got here.
Written by Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns
On Politics, by H.L. Mencken.
Journalism rarely lasts long. After all, many stories that make headlines one day are forgotten the next. A reporter’s or columnist’s legacy rarely lives on after their retirement. Much less its death. One of the few exceptions to this is Mencken, and rightly so. Mencken was not only a gifted memoirist and scholar of American English, but also one of the preeminent political writers of his time. Indeed, many of his decisions were not valid. Mencken had a lot of racial prejudice at the time, and his dislike of Franklin D. Roosevelt is not exactly borne out by history. But this collection of articles covers the parade of sordid and hypocritical politics of the Roaring Twenties, when Prohibition was the law in name. The election of Calvin Coolidge in 1924 (of whom Mencken wrote, “It would be difficult to imagine a man more obscure and unimportant”) may justifiably be forgotten today. But it produced absurdities such as the Democratic National Convention, which required 103 votes to decide the candidate who lost to Coolidge in a landslide, ripe for Mencken’s cynical skewering. Today, his work serves as a model of satire worth revisiting.
Written by H.L. Mencken
If you buy books using links on this page, we may earn a commission. Thank you for your support Atlantic Ocean.
