Playing with Fire
The 1968 Election and the Transformation of American Politics
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4.7 • 41 Ratings
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
The New York Times bestseller!
"A thriller-like, propulsive tour through 1968, told by a man who is in love with American politics and who knows how all the dots connect. Brilliant and totally engrossing."
-Rachel Maddow
"Delightful...brings to life the most fascinating election of modern times."
-Walter Isaacson
From the celebrated host of MSNBC’s The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell, an enthralling account of the presidential election that created American politics as we know it today
Long before Lawrence O'Donnell was the anchor of his own political talk show, he was a senior adviser to Senator Patrick Moynihan, one of postwar America’s wisest political minds. The 1968 U.S. presidential election—marked by RFK’s assassination, massive upheaval in the Democratic Party, and the first of Richard Nixon’s dirty tricks—was O’Donnell’s own political coming of age. In the decades since, the election has remained one of his abiding fascinations, as it set the tone for so much of what followed in American politics, all the way through to today. Playing with Fire represents his master class in American electioneering, as well as an extraordinary human drama that captures a system, and a country, coming apart at the seams.
Customer Reviews
The Greatest US Political Crime
Ever been to a party only to find out later that while there, you missed out on a most amazing moment?
1968 - I was but a teenager. But I was there. It is only from reading this book by someone for whom I have enormous respect, that I missed out on behind the scenes activity that changed the course of history.
Laurence O’Donnell’s writing in a conversational style makes it easy to absorb the complicated world of politics - then and now. He guides the reader through perhaps the most transformational campaign in the history of The United States. So many players, so many twists and turns, if somehow had not happened, could have altered history. O’Donnell lays it all out in small digestible bites that are easy to swallow.
At at the end, one knows not whether the meal of discovery is one that causes delight or indigestion. You get to decide.
terrific
A terrific read from O'Donnel. Points out how history can help explain the mess in the White House in 2017.