Masks in a Pageant

by William Allen White

""Masks in a Pageant"" is a novel written by William Allen White. The story is set in a small town in Kansas and revolves around the lives of the town's residents. The book explores themes of love, loyalty, and betrayal as the characters navigate their way through the complexities of small-town life. The title ""Masks in a Pageant"" refers to the idea that people often wear masks or put on a facade to hide their true selves. The novel delves into the various masks that the characters wear and the consequences that come with revealing their true selves. The book is a poignant and insightful look at human nature and the ways in which we interact with each other. It is a must-read for anyone who enjoys character-driven stories and a deep exploration of the human psyche.1928. White, a journalist, worked for various Kansas newspapers before purchasing the Emporia Gazette, which he edited for the next 49 years. A staunch Republican, White�������s Masks in a Pageant is his account of leading politicians including Grover Cleveland, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Harding, Coolidge and William Hale Thompson.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.

Genres: Politics, History

560 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1928

About the author

William Allen White was a renowned American newspaper editor, politician, author, and leader of the Progressive movement. Between 1896 and his death, White became the iconic spokesman for middle America.

Reviews

[Mark Desrosiers · Rating 5 out of 5]

William Allen White was apparently the "spokesman for Middle America" for many years, but I bet today's middle America (whatever that may be now -- false consciousness sipping weak tea?) would consider him a radical, a revolutionary even. That is, if they can figure out what the hell he's on about -- White's prose gallops and trots along a wondrous furrow that was later well stamped by Murray Kempton and Gore Vidal.

This long out-of-print volume consists of White's capsule biographies of the fourteen major statesmen and scoundrels of his lifetime -- from Richard Croker to William Hale Thompson, with some Presidential geniuses and buffoons and beardo nonentities in between (Ben Harrison through Calvin Coolidge). Every page got me pie-eyed with the beauty of White's language and the depths of his kitchen-sink wisdom, and -- much like Kempton later on -- he underscores the strange value that losers and martyrs hold for our American culture. Benjamin Harrison emerges a man of stark principle who largely refused to consort with business interests or patronage hucksters. Do any Americans know today that Harrison's grandson -- the "McKee baby" -- was a beloved White House fixture "forever crawling over the front page of the newspapers"?

Conversely, White underscores the tragedy of Warren Harding's presidency, where a handsome orator utterly unfit for the role was trotted out by the Republicans to lead the nation: "Some day America will realize the tragic drama in which he moved, will realize how wickedly unfair the Republic was to pick up that man -- weak, unprepared, with no executive talent, and with an unused mind -- and pinnacle him in the most powerful place on earth." I don't need to point out that the Republican party repeated this scenario twice again -- Reagan and George W. Bush -- and arguably got away with graver scandals and even the illusion that the puppet in the Executive Mansion had his own will and cognition.

But White also had a good and dear friend, who died nine years before this book's publication, named Theodore Roosevelt. Here is White's summary of this strange man:

He made men see that the crafty imitation of honorable conduct which the political and financial rulers of the land were often simulating was treason to the social order. He would have swept away the loaded dice of contemporary commerce and instituted at least the vision of a square deal. He applied to the problems of the day a keen, sometimes offensive sanity, a sturdy impatience at unjust traditions, an aggression which startled and finally overcame the well-fed prosperous alliance between politics and business by arousing the popular conscience.

There's no need to evoke "hope" when you have a man like that on the job...

[Chase Parsley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful, 1920s-contemporary look at the Presidents. It is written in a language easy to understand and intended for the non-historian. I felt that it was a bit dated, but historians and fans of the Presidency will love this book.