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Pivotal Tuesdays
- Four Elections That Shaped the Twentieth Century
- Narrated by: James Killavey
- Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins
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Publisher's summary
No matter how frustrated or disinterested voters might be about politics and government, every four years, on the first Tuesday in November, the attention of the nation - and the world - focuses on the candidates, the contest, and the issues. The partisan election process has been a way for a messy, jumbled, raucous nation to come together as a slightly-more-perfect union.
Pivotal Tuesdays looks back at four pivotal presidential elections of the past 100 years to show how they shaped the 20th century. During the rowdy, four-way race in 1912 between Teddy Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Eugene Debs, and Woodrow Wilson, the candidates grappled with the tremendous changes of industrial capitalism and how best to respond to them. In 1932, Franklin Roosevelt's promises to give Americans a "New Deal" to combat the Great Depression helped him beat the beleaguered incumbent, Herbert Hoover. The dramatic and tragic campaign of 1968 that saw the election of Richard Nixon reflected an America divided by race, region, and war and set in motion political dynamics that persisted into the book's final story - the three-way race that led to Bill Clinton's 1992 victory.
Exploring the personalities, critical moments, and surprises of these races, Margaret O'Mara shows how and why candidates won or lost and examines the effects these campaigns had on the presidencies that followed.
The book is published by University of Pennsylvania Press.
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- Narrated by: Tom Perkins
- Length: 17 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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A wide-ranging cultural and political history that will forever redefine a misunderstood decade, Stayin' Alive is prize-winning historian Jefferson Cowie's remarkable account of how working-class America hit the rocks in the political and economic upheavals of the 1970s. In this edgy and incisive book, Cowie, with "an ear for the power and poetry of vernacular speech" (Cleveland Plain Dealer), reveals America's fascinating path from rising incomes and optimism of the New Deal to the widening economic inequalities and dampened expectations of the present.
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Couldn’t get past “rank and file”
- By A. Arena on 10-13-21
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What It Took to Win
- A History of the Democratic Party
- By: Michael Kazin
- Narrated by: Lee Goettl
- Length: 13 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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In What It Took to Win, the eminent historian Michael Kazin identifies and assesses the Democratic Party's long-running commitment to creating "moral capitalism" - a system that mixed entrepreneurial freedom with the welfare of workers and consumers. And yet the same party that championed the rights of the white working man also vigorously protected or advanced the causes of slavery, segregation, and Indian removal.
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Timely and informative History Book
- By Asha Sceanca on 03-24-22
By: Michael Kazin
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We Should Have Seen It Coming
- From Reagan to Trump - A Front-Row Seat to a Political Revolution
- By: Gerald F. Seib
- Narrated by: Jason Culp
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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The executive Washington editor of The Wall Street Journal chronicles the astonishing rise, climax, and decline of the conservative movement, from the election of Ronald Reagan to the Republican Party's takeover by Donald Trump - with a new introduction covering the 2020 election and the future of the GOP.
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Brilliant!!!
- By Amazon Customer on 11-04-20
By: Gerald F. Seib
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Wingnuts
- How the Lunatic Fringe Is Hijacking America
- By: John P. Avlon, Tina Brown - foreword
- Narrated by: John P. Avlon, Tina Brown (foreword)
- Length: 6 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Whats a wingnut? A wingnut is someone on the far-right or far-left wing of the political spectrum professional partisans, unhinged activists, and paranoid conspiracy theorists. Barack Obama campaigned as an antidote to the politics of polarization, promising to transcend the old divides of left and right, black and white, red states and blue. But in the first year of his presidency, he is presiding over an eruption of hate and hyper-partisanship that threatens to mock the promise upon which he was elected.
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Disturbingly disappointing
- By Steven on 02-20-10
By: John P. Avlon, and others
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Invisible Hands
- The Making of the Conservative Movement from the New Deal to Reagan
- By: Kim Phillips-Fein
- Narrated by: Lorna Raver
- Length: 12 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Long before the "culture wars" usually associated with the rise of conservative politics, driven individuals funded think tanks, fought labor unions, and formed organizations to market their views.These nearly unknown, larger-than-life, and sometimes eccentric personalities - such as General Electric's zealous, silver-tongued Lemuel Ricketts Boulware and the self-described "revolutionary" Jasper Crane of DuPont - make for a fascinating, behind-the-scenes view of American history.
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The Conservative battle for taking back the New Deal
- By Dr Joseph Borreggine on 05-13-24
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Collision 2012
- Obama vs. Romney and the Future of Elections in America
- By: Dan Balz
- Narrated by: Jeffrey Kafer
- Length: 15 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Four years ago, a bright young presidential candidate named Barack Obama campaigned on a theme of hope and change, and made history. Today, he finds himself in another bitter, divisive presidential race but without the buzzwords. Instead, an embattled president struggles with a dysfunctionally divided Congress, a controversial healthcare bill, a decade-long war, and a stagnant economy.
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Fascinating. Couldn't stop listening.
- By Gregory E Benoit on 07-24-16
By: Dan Balz
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To Make Men Free
- A History of the Republican Party
- By: Heather Cox Richardson
- Narrated by: Heather Cox Richardson
- Length: 15 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Acclaimed historian Heather Cox Richardson traces the shifting ideology of the Republican Party from the antebellum era to the Great Recession. While progressive Republicans like Teddy Roosevelt and Dwight Eisenhower revived Lincoln’s vision and expanded the government, their opponents appealed to Americans’ latent racism and xenophobia to regain political power, linking taxation and regulation to redistribution and socialism. In the modern era, the schism within the Republican Party has grown wider, pulling the GOP ever further from its founding principles.
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Fascinating read!
- By Marsha on 12-27-21
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The Center Holds
- Obama and His Enemies
- By: Jonathan Alter
- Narrated by: Jonathan Alter
- Length: 18 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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In The Center Holds: Obama and His Enemies, Jonathan Alter uses his unmatched access and deep knowledge of politics and history to produce the first full account of America at the crossroads. He pierces the bubble of the White House and of the presidential campaigns with exclusive reporting and rare historical insight. More than a campaign book, this is the epic story of an embattled president facing a historic moment he considered more pivotal than 2008.
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The Best Telling of the 2012 Campaign So Far
- By Mike on 06-11-13
By: Jonathan Alter
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Believer
- My Forty Years in Politics
- By: David Axelrod
- Narrated by: David Axelrod
- Length: 19 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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The man behind some of the greatest political changes of the last decade, David Axelrod has devoted a lifetime to questioning political certainties and daring to bring fresh thinking into the political landscape. Whether as a child hearing John F. Kennedy stump in New York or as a strategist guiding the first African American to the White House, Axelrod shows in Believer how his own life stands at the center of the tumultuous American century.
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Love letter to Obama
- By DaWoolf on 03-15-15
By: David Axelrod
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The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution: 1763-1789
- By: Robert Middlekauff
- Narrated by: Robert Fass
- Length: 26 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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The first book to appear in the illustrious Oxford History of the United States, this critically-acclaimed volume - a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize - offers an unsurpassed history of the Revolutionary War and the birth of the American republic.
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Strong History Rich With Behind The Scenes Details
- By John on 10-06-11
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Outsider in the White House
- Special Audio Edition
- By: Bernie Sanders, Huck Gutman, John Nichols - afterword
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett, Brian Sutherland
- Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Bernie Sanders' campaign for the presidency of the United States has galvanized supporters all over the country, drawing attention to issues of economic, racial, and social justice and spotlighting one of the most interesting and unconventional candidates in decades.
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Behind the Scenes with Bernie--- WORTH it!
- By Susie on 02-23-16
By: Bernie Sanders, and others
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Whistlestop
- My Favorite Stories from Presidential Campaign History
- By: John Dickerson
- Narrated by: John Dickerson
- Length: 13 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Whistlestop tells the human story of nervous gambits hatched in first-floor hotel rooms, failures of will before the microphone, and the cross-country crack-ups of long-planned stratagems. At the bar at the end of a campaign day, these are the stories reporters rehash for themselves and embellish for newcomers. In addition to the familiar tales, Whistlestop also remembers the forgotten stories about the bruising and reckless campaigns of the 19th century.
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Lovers of the podcast this is ultimate fix!
- By killerqueen on 09-06-16
By: John Dickerson
What listeners say about Pivotal Tuesdays
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Jean
- 09-22-16
Captivating Read
I thought this might be a good book to read while observing the theatrics of the current election process and how it will affect the future of our country. Every four years the voters must focus on electing a new president. O’Mara’s book looks back at four pivotal presidential elections of the past 100 years to show how they shaped the twentieth century.
We are again facing some of the same issues, for example the 1912 election year discussion of what to do with large dominant corporations. We are also facing gigantic corporations controlling their sector but now it is globally. We had a severe recession after deregulating the banks from the 1932 reforms and last but not least racism and anti-Semitism have raised their heads again as in the 1950s-60s. On top of all this we are weary of long wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
I found it most interesting that O’Mara chose the 1912 four-way race between Teddy Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Eugene Debs, and Woodrow Wilson. I have found this election most interesting and have read biographies of each of these men along with other books on the subject to help me understand the issues of this critical election. The candidates grappled with the tremendous change of industrial capitalism and how to respond to it. The next election O’Mara chose was in the heart of the depression in 1932 between Herbert Hoover and Franklin Roosevelt. They addressed ways to combat the depression and ways to prevent it from happening again. In 1968 the election campaign of Herbert Humphry verses Richard Nixon saw an America divided by race, region and the Viet Nam War. In 1992 there was the three-way race between George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Ross Perot.
The book is well written and researched. O’Mara discusses the politics but also explores their personalities, critical moments and surprises of each of these races. The author shows how candidates won or lost and how these campaigns effected the next presidential races. The author reveals the evolution of our nation and the importance of each person’s vote. Margaret O’Mara is a history professor.
If I had not been so interested in the topic of this book I would have stopped listening. There is something wrong with the quality of the sound; the sound seemed like it was far away. James Killavey’s narrative style was not appropriate for this academic book. Killavey has been narrating audiobooks for over twenty years so he either should have chosen a different style or the publisher should have chosen a different narrator.
I would recommend this be read in book or e-book format and skip the audiobook format because of poor sound and inappropriate narrative style.
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7 people found this helpful
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- Rea
- 06-11-20
A good overview - minus WWII
This book is exactly what I was looking for, an overview of the sociocultural and political climate of the United States over the past century, as evidenced by the 4 elections she chose to highlight.
My only gripe about the book is she completely skips over WWII, and the American climate and presidency during it. She explains that her goal was to cover things that aren't usually covered..but leaving out those critical years made the transition to the latter part of the century pretty jarring. So much so, that I felt I had to go study WWII exclusively to fill in what felt like a gap in my understanding. It should also be noted that the author is a little left-leaning, as she was a volunteer for the Clinton campaigns. Overall, however, I'm pretty pleased with the book.
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- Caitlyn
- 10-22-16
Intriguing and Topical read.
What did you love best about Pivotal Tuesdays?
A amazing book on every level.
What was one of the most memorable moments of Pivotal Tuesdays?
These are probably the four most important elections of the last century and with another coming up, an important listen for any concerned citizen.
What does James Killavey bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
Deep mellow voice. Easy to listen to.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
No. Too long.
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18 people found this helpful
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- Jim
- 07-31-16
Important book...especially this year.
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Yes. Shows how important it is to vote. And the ins and outs of the campaigns were fascinating.
What about James Killavey’s performance did you like?
Nice voice. Good pacing. Intelligent reading.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
Quite a few, actually.
Any additional comments?
This quote about the print copy was what got me looking for the audio:
"Four presidents are on the cover of this book, but the elections in between are covered quite thoroughly as well. It's honestly kind of shocking to realize how many times the majority has voted for a certain candidate only because the other option was so unfavorable. As I'm writing this review, the general 2016 election hasn't yet started, and Clinton and Trump are to be the two candidates. As I read this book, I couldn't help but make similarities between this election and others in history, even though this election year already seems so strange."
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32 people found this helpful
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- Angelina
- 08-06-18
Interesting topic, dry narration.
Interesting look at several different controversial elections, especially in light of the 2016 election. Narration was a bit dry though. Also I wish that if the academic work and research was done by a female that the narration would match.
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- Peter
- 08-07-16
Captivating...and chilling
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
To many friends. Election coming up and this book could make a difference. Just listen to the sample to see what I mean.
What did you like best about this story?
Made history come alive. Fascinating and very well written.
Have you listened to any of James Killavey’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
I think so..don't recall what titles, though. Good voice for this book.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
Very beginning about qualifications for President. This part is actually in the sample
Any additional comments?
Another Pivotal Tuesday coming up in November. I hope God Americans have the sense to pick a qualified person, not an egomaniac, or the pivot for the county could be straight down!
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29 people found this helpful
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- Alexi
- 10-20-16
Great book
Would you consider the audio edition of Pivotal Tuesdays to be better than the print version?
Yes...was able to read it while commuting. Can't do that with print!
Which scene was your favorite?
Too many to name just one.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
No..too long.
Any additional comments?
Important book..especially this year with an election coming up.
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20 people found this helpful