Gould (Univ. of Texas) has long set a standard for the writing of superb political history, and this volume does not disappoint. Grounded in a host of manuscript collections, doctoral theses, scholarly writings, and contemporary articles, this book is unquestionably the definitive work on the seminal election of 1912, in the process superseding Frank K. Kelly, The Fight for the White House (1961); Francis L. Broderick, Progressivism at Risk (CH, Nov'89, 27-1692); and James Chace, 1912 (CH, Feb'05, 43-3599). The author ably recaptures the excitement of the presidential race between "Old Guard" Republican William Howard Taft, "Bull Moose" Progressive Theodore Roosevelt, Democrat Woodrow Wilson, and Socialist Eugene Victor Debs. Certain conclusions, not usually captured by historians, make this work somewhat revisionist: the already existing voter decline was not checked by such a crucial race; Roosevelt and Debs were both poor political strategists, squandering their political strength by electioneering in weak locales; public revelations concerning Wilson's health and a possible extramarital relationship could have killed his candidacy. Perhaps most important of all, the Roosevelt-Taft split so weakened Republican progressivism that the GOP has remained on a rightward course for close to a century.
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