Author Description

Named by the Wall Street Journal as among the "Top Five" Books on "Campaigns and Candidates."************************************************************************** The wild, combative inside story of the most stunning upset in the history of presidential elections: Harry Truman's 1948 victory over Tom Dewey. Award-winning historian David Pietrusza unpacks the most ingloriously iconic headline in the history of presidential elections―DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN―to reveal the 1948 campaign's backstage events and recount the down-to-the-wire brawl fought against the background of an erupting Cold War, the Berlin Airlift, the birth of Israel, and a post-war America facing exploding storms over civil rights and domestic communism. "1948" offers rich detail on both the political tensions and the character of the candidates."―The Wall Street Journal "Outstanding.... by far the best yet about the fateful [1948] election." ―Minneapolis Star-Tribune "Coherent, compelling.... A skillful, authoritative investigation." ―Kirkus Reviews "A terrific book.... a must-read." ―Ron Faucheux, former editor-in-chief, Campaigns & Elections magazine "David Pietrusza brilliantly portrays President Harry Truman's successful efforts to stave off the challenge of New York Gov. Tom Dewey, who was making a repeat bid as the Republican nominee." ―David Mark, journalist, political analyst, and author of Going Dirty: The Art of Negative Campaigning "Sweeping... compelling." ―Library Journal "A master of presidential history, Pietrusza gives away neither left nor right-leaning biases (he has also authored gems on Calvin Coolidge and JFK). Here he examines one of the greatest upsets in U.S. presidential history without drowning in mundane stats."―Boating Long Island