Joseph Cummins

After George Washington, Who Could You Trust?

There are too many of them, spread over too many years, to remember the details. So Anything For A Vote is a welcome compendium of the vicious comedy that is presidential elections. It is terrific to read the human side of the candidates, the personalities behind the party rhetoric, their tics, foibles and predilections. You learn what they were trying to hide, how they undermined their opponents, and how voters perceived them in the context of show more their times. It makes them into real human beings. Names that have been forgotten, and some that deserve to be, pepper the campaigns. The backroom antics, the dirty tricks, outright lies and backstabbing are all there for your enjoyment.

Sleaze predominates, and Cummins provides a Sleaze-O-Meter before many of the elections, to give an advance clue as to how bad it became. Seven of them hit ten, mostly in the modern era, since Kennedy-Nixon. The negative campaigns of our time are nothing new. The mudslinging started with, or rather against, Thomas Jefferson, who ironically could appeal to any political stripe: “Are you prepared to see your dwellings in flames, female chastity violated, your children writhing on the pike? Great God of compassion and justice, shield my country from destruction.”Jefferson won anyway.

For over a century, it was unseemly to campaign. Candidates literally stayed home, talked to reporters, and held court, but pressing the flesh and haranguing the crowd was frowned upon. Warren Harding was the first to invite Hollywood onto his front porch, so he could be photographed with film stars. It made him seem part of the scene rather than just a politician, and elections have never been without them since.

This is not the first version of Anything For A Vote. It’s an ongoing franchise, updatable every decade with new stories provided courtesy of the tweedledum-tweedledee of the political parties. It’s a refresher course, an eye-roller and a laughfest all in one.

David Wineberg show less

I have to give an embarrassing preface to this review: I never paid much attention in my American History classes. Meaning, I basically memorized the information for the tests then immediately forgot it. As far as my brain is concerned, the US Presidents go in this order: Washington, some Adams, Jeffersons and Jacksons, Lincoln, big blank spot, Roosevelt, some randos I recognize the name of but can't place, Daddy Bush, Clinton, Bush Jr., Obama.

So much ouch. I'm going to go cry in a corner show more now with my English class awards.

This being said, I still really enjoyed this book. When every election cycle is filled with people crying out about how dirty politics is now compared to yester-year... That's some convenient retelling of history. I was pretty amazed by how much worse campaigns were around our founding fathers. Talk about some back door dealing, they were masters. Especially since they didn't have the 24-hr media that we have today.

The chapters are broken down into each individual presidential race. The more controversial ones are rated on the "Sleaze-O-Meter" at the beginning of the chapter, while the more staid elections are just told in a brief rundown. Cummins does a wonderful job of succinctly telling the story of each election, as well as giving context for the elections to explain why people voted the way they did and why candidates made the decision they made. Not to mention going into the gaffes and scandals that followed almost every election cycle.

This book really opened my eyes to how campaigns have always been run, and I'm very glad that I read it. Now I just can't wait to get into this election cycle and see what happens!

Copy courtesy of Quirk Books, via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review show less

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

The Boston Tea Party is a well known piece of American history, but it's usually talked about as a singular event: the one tea party that happened that one time. But less well known is the fact that there were actually many tea parties happening around the country during that time, all with their own unique and interesting stories. Joseph Cummins' book Ten Tea Parties brings the stories of these forgotten tea parties show more to light in an informative and greatly enjoyable read.

This book is in the "history" category, but it definitely doesn't read like a history book. Cummins weaves quotes and information from primary sources into his narrative, but he does it with the wonderfully conversational tone of a master storyteller. This is no dry restating of facts; Cummins makes history come alive by highlighting interesting, little known details about each tea party and their key players.

This is a great read, especially for those with an interest in Revolutionary era American history. The author's passion for the subject is clear, and contagious too; I dare you to read this book and be able to resist sharing the fascinating tidbits you learn from it!

Full review posted on my blog, PidginPea's Book Nook. show less

Most of the comments are "great book" about "important events". Well, if the only important events in the world were Euro-American. Pretty one-sided and while a good read, calling it "History's Greatest Hits" shows the western prejudice. Of the 37 events described, one concerned Russia, two Japan (both in the context of WWII), and one Vietnam (again, only because of the US involvement). There are so many events of significance to cull, yet the author called these 37 the "greatest" - sad show more commentary. show less