Michael Wolraich

I'm grateful to have received an early reader copy of this book (although, I'm not early any more...)

You can tell you're reading a good narrative history when, despite knowing in broad terms how the story turns out, you find your heart pounding as you read. Author Michael Wolraich draws that kind of tension out of a story of political campaigns and legislative maneuvering between Progressive Republicans (Sen. Bob La Follette and, ultimately, former President Teddy Roosevelt) and Standpatter Republicans (above all, Sen. Nelson Aldritch), between 1904 and 1913. Wolraich provides enough context and detail to understand the major policy issues, but the story really focuses on the repeated clashes between the main characters. One of the pleasures of the book is the series of cynical epigraphs, at the start of each chapter, by 'Uncle Joe' Cannon, the Speaker of the House, who had no use for the idealism of the various Progressives and was shameless in his use of his authority to dominate the legislative agenda. These epigraphs serve as an excellent ground and counterpoint to the passionate rhetoric of justice, fairness, and wisdom invoked by the other major figures in the book.… (more)