The Making of the President, 1960 - (Harper Perennial Political Classics) by Theodore H White (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

A Harper Perennial Political Classic, The Making of the President 1960 is the groundbreaking national bestseller and Pulitzer Prize-winning account of the 1960 presidential campaign and the election of John F. Kennedy.

The Making of the President: 1960 revolutionized the way modern presidential campaigns are reported. Reporting from within the campaign for the first time on record, White's extensive research and access to all parties involved set the bar for campaign coverage and remains unparalleled. White conveyed, in magnificent detail and with exquisite pacing, the high-stakes drama; he painted the unforgettable, even mythic, story of JFK versus Nixon; and most of all, he imbued the nation's presidential election process with a grandeur that later political writers have rarely matched.

From the Back Cover

The greatest political story ever told--the epic clash between John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon, as captured in Theodore White's dramatic and groundbreaking chronicle

The Making of the President 1960 is the book that revolutionized--even created--modern political journalism. Granted intimate access to all parties involved, Theodore White crafted an almost mythic story of the battle that pitted Senator John F. Kennedy against Vice-President Richard M. Nixon--from the decisive primary battles to the history-making televised debates, the first of their kind. Magnificently detailed and exquisitely paced, The Making of the President 1960 imbues the nation's presidential election process with both grittiness and grandeur, and established a benchmark against which all new campaign reporters would measure their work. The winner of the Pulitzer Prize for general nonfiction--and the first entry in White's influential four-volume "narrative history of American politics in action"--this classic account remains the keystone of American political journalism.

Review Quotes

"A notable achievement. White has written a fascinating story of a fascinating campaign." -- Time magazine

"No book that I know of has caught the heartbeat of a campaign as strikingly as Theodore White has done in The Making of the President 1960." -- New York Times

"A masterpiece . . . full of deep insights into political power in America and how our democracy works in choosing the President. It gripped me from beginning to end as very few books have." -- William L. Shirer

"More than a fascinating account of how one man succeeded in reaching the White House, while other failed; it is a graduate lesson in the rough, relentless, subtle and devious workings of American politics. It is a magnificent job of reporting, but it is also history." -- Saturday Review

"[White] revolutionized the art of political reporting." -- William F. Buckley