The Peerless Leader William Jennings Bryan

by Paxton Hibben, Charles A. Beard (Introduction)

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. 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 the original work.

484 pages, Hardcover

First published July 25, 2007

Reviews

[Autumn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book about a little known (to me) Democratic politician who received his party's nomination for President three times, the first when he was just 36. The beginning of the book is the strongest; as Jennings ages and as his reputation seems to increasingly be based on his strengths as an orator, I lost interest. He was obviously a compelling figure to millions of Americans, but something is lost when you cannot hear the speeches he gave. The author died part way through writing the book and the latter half of it was compiled from his notes. There isn't a marked change in the feel of the book, but it definitely loses a little something. I also would have liked to read more about Bryan's family, his remarkable wife, and his role in the Scopes trial (he was the prosecutor).
It is an interesting look at late 19th century politics, the growing importances of the West, and the fact that government corruption and hypocrisy has a long tradition in this country.