- ISBN13: 9780743293174
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Product Description
“They could write like angels and scheme like demons.” So begins Pulitzer Prize-winner Edward Larson’s masterful account of the wild ride that was the 1800 presidential election — an election so convulsive and so momentous to the future of American democracy that Thomas Jefferson would later dub it “America’s second revolution.” This was America’s first true presidential campaign, giving birth to our two-party system and indelibly etching the lines of partisanship that have so profoundly shaped American politics ever since. The contest featured two of our most beloved Founding Fathers, once warm friends, facing off as the heads of their two still-forming parties — the hot-tempered but sharp-minded John Adams,… More >>
A Magnificent Catastrophe: The Tumultuous Election of 1800, America’s First Presidential Campaign
I got this for my dad for Christmas and was kind of disappointed when I saw a small rip in the front cover…but it did come quickly! Rating: 3 / 5
Having read with interest dozens of books about this period in American history, my view is this work falls sadly short. To the point, it’s about the author’s views being portrayed as facts. On page 6 ‘America, however, never enjoyed abler representation in a foreign capital.’ ‘Never’ certainly covers a lot of ground… Page 9 Larson definitively states Abigail Adams was Jefferson’s ‘itellectual equal’. Really??? She was certainly a savvy woman and a good letter writer, but Jefferson’s equal? Page 11 casually relates that Jefferson’s father had instilled in him a ‘craving for material possessions’. Is having an appreciation for finer things the same as craving material possessions? This is nearly a 300 page book which, if read in its entirety, will keep you on your guard for the questionable and gratuitous. Rating: 1 / 5
As explained in the notes, the author took a classroom lecture and expanded it for a book. Not a great read, but the information on how the press started to influence elections and how we drifted to the practice of electing both President/VP in one vote is educational (use to be the second highest vote getter became VP). I had the priviledge of meeting the author and he is very entertaining speaker.
Though we disagree on our opinions of Alex Hamilton (I like Alex)..the book talks less than flattering of Hamilton, so if you want the rest of the story on him, I suggest reading the Ron Chernow book. Rating: 2 / 5
The election of 1800 – again, and yet again. Few topics in American history have been treated so excessively as the election of 1800. It has suspense, drama and is historically unique. The founders eschewed political partisanship. They felt anyone who ran for President must have the national interest at heart. Therefore, the highest vote-getter became President, while the second-highest became vice-president. (This was before the Twelfth Amendment, which was adopted in part because of the 1800 election.) Imagine Al Gore as George Bush’s vice-president (or vice-versa) and you can see why the amendment was necessary.
Larson, who wrote a superfluous and curiously lacuna-ridden book on evolution, has now turned to this well-worn subject. In the last 10 years, the 1800 election has been treated repeatedly: another reviewer wrote of Professor Ackerman’s recent book, that at first glance one may feel like saying “not another book on the election of 1800.” That was a couple of books before Larson’s. Recent “Election of 1800″ titles include “America Afire,” “The Revolution of 1800,” “The Failure of the Founding Fathers,” “Negro President: Jefferson and the Slave Power,” “Adams v. Jefferson: The Tumultuous Election of 1800,” “Jefferson’s Second Revolution,” “From Bullets to Ballots,” etc., etc. I personally recommend Ackerman’s book, “The Failure of the Founding Fathers,” which is more thoughtful than most and raises some fascinating constitutional questions. Larson has notes but no bibliography. One wonders how much he owes to the other authors who have already treated this subject – often in more interesting and provocative ways. This book exudes opportunism. Rating: 3 / 5
The book was in excellent condition and my daughter was extremely satisfied with this book. Rating: 5 / 5