
The Triumph of William McKinley
Why the Election of 1896 Still Matters
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Narrated by:
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Karl Rove
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By:
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Karl Rove
About this listen
From New York Times best-selling author and political mastermind Karl Rove comes a fresh look at President William McKinley, who found a message that healed his nation, pried his party away from its bosses, and extended its reach to forge a governing majority that lasted 30 years.
Many of the changes that the country experienced in 1896 match those of today: A rising immigrant population made traditional white Protestants a shrinking share of the electorate, an economic upheaval led to rising inequality, and there was little common ground between the two parties. McKinley's campaign found answers to many of these challenges, which is why it is so relevant to what ails our politics now.
A talented politician and reserved Ohioan, McKinley (called "The Major") changed the arc of American history by running the first truly modern presidential campaign. Knowing he didn't stand a chance with the GOP's traditional base of supporters, he did the unthinkable and reached out to diverse ethnic groups, including openly seeking the endorsement of Catholic Church leaders. Running on the slogan "The Man Against the Bosses", McKinley also took on the moneymen who controlled the party by doling out favors. He even deployed what we would consider modern tactics, including microtargeting voters with the use of the latest technology. Above all, he offered bold and controversial answers to the nation's most pressing challenge: how to make a new, more global economy work for everyone. And although he alienated factions within his party and longtime allies, he won the White House.
The 1896 election is a compelling drama in its own right, but McKinley's brilliant strategies offer important and powerful lessons for both political parties today.
©2015 Karl Rove (P)2015 Simon & SchusterListeners also enjoyed...
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By: David L. Roll
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The Man Who Ran Washington
- The Life and Times of James A. Baker III
- By: Peter Baker, Susan Glasser
- Narrated by: Michael Quinlan
- Length: 26 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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For a quarter-century, from the end of Watergate to the aftermath of the Cold War, no Republican won the presidency without his help or ran the White House without his advice. James Addison Baker III was the indispensable man for four presidents because he understood better than anyone how to make Washington work at a time when America was shaping events around the world. The Man Who Ran Washington is a pause-resisting portrait of a power broker who influenced America's destiny for generations.
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We Need Baker Now More Than Ever
- By @Gazi2a on 01-08-21
By: Peter Baker, and others
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President McKinley
- Architect of the American Century
- By: Robert W. Merry
- Narrated by: Tom Perkins
- Length: 19 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Republican President William McKinley transformed America during his two terms as president. Although he does not register large in either public memory or in historians' rankings, in this revealing account, Robert W. Merry offers "a fresh twist on the old tale . . . a valuable education on where America has been and, possibly, where it is going" (The National Review).
By: Robert W. Merry
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The Three Lives of James Madison
- Genius, Partisan, President
- By: Noah Feldman
- Narrated by: John H. Mayer
- Length: 34 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Over the course of his life, James Madison changed the United States three times: First, he designed the Constitution, led the struggle for its adoption and ratification, then drafted the Bill of Rights. As an older, cannier politician, he cofounded the original Republican party, setting the course of American political partisanship. Finally, having pioneered a foreign policy based on economic sanctions, he took the United States into a high-risk conflict, becoming the first wartime president and, despite the odds, winning.
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Cogently organized, meticulously balanced
- By Diana Black Kennedy on 06-15-18
By: Noah Feldman
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1774
- The Long Year of Revolution
- By: Mary Beth Norton
- Narrated by: Kimberly Farr
- Length: 16 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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From one of our most acclaimed and original colonial historians, a groundbreaking book - the first to look at the critical "long year" of 1774 and the revolutionary change that took place from December 1773 to mid-April 1775, from the Boston Tea Party and the First Continental Congress to the Battles of Lexington and Concord.
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The US revolutionary war was baked in by 1775
- By Randall Parker on 04-18-20
By: Mary Beth Norton
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October 1964
- By: David Halberstam
- Narrated by: Angelo Di Loreto
- Length: 13 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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David Halberstam, an avid sports writer with an investigative reporter’s tenacity, superbly details the end of the 15-year reign of the New York Yankees in October 1964. That October found the Yankees going head-to-head with the St. Louis Cardinals for the World Series pennant. Expertly weaving the narrative threads of both teams’ seasons, Halberstam brings the major personalities on the field - from switch-hitter Mickey Mantle to pitcher Bob Gibson - to life. Using the teams’ subcultures, Halberstam also analyzes the cultural shifts of the '60s.
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an excellent baseball book
- By Joe H on 12-31-18
By: David Halberstam
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Winnie and Nelson
- Portrait of a Marriage
- By: Jonny Steinberg
- Narrated by: Puleng Lange-Stewart
- Length: 19 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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One of the most celebrated political leaders of a century, Nelson Mandela has been written about by many biographers and historians. But in one crucial area, his life remains largely untold: his marriage to Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. During his years in prison, Nelson grew ever more in love with an idealized version of his wife, courting her in his letters as if they were young lovers frozen in time. But Winnie, every bit his political equal, found herself increasingly estranged from her jailed husband’s politics.
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Outstanding insights into Winnie & Nelson myths & mastery
- By Marie on 06-15-23
By: Jonny Steinberg
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Tecumseh and the Prophet
- The Shawnee Brothers Who Defied a Nation
- By: Peter Cozzens
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 19 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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The first biography of the great Shawnee leader in more than 20 years, and the first to make clear that his misunderstood younger brother, Tenskwatawa, was an equal partner in the last great pan-Indian alliance against the United States. Tecumseh and the Prophet presents the untold story of the Shawnee brothers - the two most significant siblings in Native American history, who, Cozzens helps us understand, should be writ large in the annals of America.
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Excellent. Good companion to other Tecumseh bios
- By Chris on 11-05-20
By: Peter Cozzens
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Those Wild Wyndhams
- Three Sisters at the Heart of Power
- By: Claudia Renton
- Narrated by: Claudia Renton
- Length: 15 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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They were confidantes to British prime ministers, poets, writers, and artists, their lives entwined with the most celebrated and scandalous figures of the day, from Oscar Wilde to Henry James. They were the lovers of great men - or men of great prominence... They lived in a world of luxurious excess, a world of splendor at 44 Belgrave Square and later at the even more vast Clouds, the exquisite Wiltshire house on 4,000 acres, the "house of the age", designed in 1876 by the visionary architect Philip Webb - the model for Henry James' The Spoils of Poynton.
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SLOW START BUT STICK WITH THIS ONE
- By The Louligan on 01-22-19
By: Claudia Renton
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The Case Against the Supreme Court
- By: Erwin Chemerinsky
- Narrated by: Philip Hernandez
- Length: 14 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Both historically and in the present, the Supreme Court has largely been a failure. In this devastating book, Erwin Chemerinsky—“one of the shining lights of legal academia” (The New York Times)—shows how, case by case, for over two centuries, the hallowed Court has been far more likely to uphold government abuses of power than to stop them.
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Splendid!
- By Butch on 05-19-23
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Last Hope Island
- Britain, Occupied Europe, and the Brotherhood That Helped Turn the Tide of War
- By: Lynne Olson
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey, Kimberly Farr
- Length: 18 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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A groundbreaking account of how Britain became the base of operations for the exiled leaders of Europe in their desperate struggle to reclaim their continent from Hitler, from the New York Times best-selling author of Citizens of London and Those Angry Days.
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Not What I Expected--More What I Needed to Know
- By DanD on 06-25-17
By: Lynne Olson
President McKinley and the Temper of his Time
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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.Understand Modern Presidential Campaigns
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"Politics is a game of addition, but Bryant played subtraction and McKinley took advantage of it."
Of course this is a very thinly veiled admonishment to all of us that if The Donald continues on the perilous path that he's on, we will wind up with another impeachable President Clinton.......
Just as important today as it was then.
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Interesting, insightful and very Karl Rove
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Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?
I would recommend this book to any history buff, or any political junkie. For most everyone else, it's a pretty long recap of McKinly and his lifeFor History Buffs and Political Junkies
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Interesting
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Good History
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well done as only Karl Rove could do
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Excellent Work!!!
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Thanks Karl
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