Robert S. Allen (1) (1900–1981)

A sequel to the authors' "Washington Merry-Go-Round" of the previous year, 1931; this book continues to cover Congress and the Presidency (caustically), but also has quite a lot to say about the Supreme Court, the Army, and the Navy, as well as the crime scene in Washington. The chapter on the Supreme Court (which examines each of the then-members, in turn) is quite interesting, as the authors wax indignant about the Court interfering with the legislative process, and preventing experimentation by legislatures. They give a fairly good overview of the development, up through the early 1930s, of the commerce clause. The section on the Army is rather interesting, in particular because Gen. Douglas MacArthur features fairly prominently, as he was Chief of Staff of the Army at the time (and also responsible for clearing the BEF out of Anacostia). For the most part, the authors are hardest on the GOP, though the Democrats (generally the more conservative ones) come in for a few shots. Fiorello LaGuardia generally comes off fairly well in this book (and in the previous book); LaGuardia, at this time, was some months away from being elected Mayor of New York. Definitely a book for history and political junkies.… (more)

436. The Truman Merry-Go-Round, by Robert S. Allen and William V. Shannon (read 18 June 1952) I read this in June of 1952 and commented on it as follows: "Of course it is a very weak book because one can't trust it. It has that about it, just like a Drew Pearson (he had nothing to do with this book) column which requires that all be taken with a consideration of the source. Further, it was written in 1950 and is greatly dated. It has the style of 1932's Washington Merry-Go-Round in an age which has outgrown that style and demands facts, not generalizations. All the people that are called stupid--but this book is obviously written by very stupid guys. Mind you, I agree with the political bias of the authors. It is that they wrote a poor book--hasty, superficial and unbearably loaded with blacks and whites. A tendency to sweeping over all condemnation re Congress was especially notorious. I rejected the portraits of congressmen as totally lacking in the research and attention required.… (more)

This book is a collection of essays, each about a different American city. Each essay is written by a prominent journalist of the city in question. The key to this book's fascination for me is that it was published in 1947. So we get a fascinating insight into the history, political makeup, problems and strengths of 15 different U.S. cities as of the immediate post-WW2 period. The problems of race, political machines and corruption, the growth of the suburbs and a host of other issues are all presented here in what amounts in the current day to a series of time capsules. How will L.A. manage its growth, its need for ever greater amounts of water and the apparent political apathy of its citizens? How will Mobile overcome its festering race problems and the economic tension caused by the fact that its major industries are all owned by out-of-town concerns who do not care for the city's well-being? How will Boston deal with the fact that the well-to-do classes have opted out of city management and left things to machine politicians of questionable ethics? We get all of these questions posed to us circa 1947. I very much enjoyed this book and learned a lot.… (more)