Would you listen to The Triumph of William McKinley again? Why?
Yes. This book will reward a second reading since there is a lot of new background information about 19th Century politics that explains how McKinley was elected President.
What other book might you compare The Triumph of William McKinley to and why?
Any book from the "Making of a President" series.
What three words best describe Karl Rove’s performance?
Decent--no actor.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
No.
Any additional comments?
Readers who bring a contrary opinion about Rove to the reading of this book will not enjoy this book. I say lighten up! Rove understands how elections work and how to get a candidate elected to the highest state or national office. This book is written by one of the leading political campaign strategists today (the equal on the Democratic side is David Axelrod). Rove is not manipulating the reader; he is providing a reasonably objective account of McKinley the man, the politician and his campaigns for public office up to and including his Presidential campaign. The book is an account of how McKinley rose to the Presidency by examining the strategy of his successive campaigns. It provides a pretty good account of the competing 1896 campaigns, and explains why McKinley won. Most historians agree with Rove's conclusions about the campaign, but they cannot hope to write an account from the point of view of someone like Rove, who has actually successfully managed Presidential campaigns. Rove also explains why modern political campaigns are the active, aggressive, personal campaigns we are seeing today.