Pivotal Tuesdays
Four Elections That Shaped the Twentieth Century
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $19.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
James Killavey
-
By:
-
Margaret O'Mara
About this listen
No matter how frustrated or disinterested voters might be about politics and government, every four years, on the first Tuesday in November, the attention of the nation - and the world - focuses on the candidates, the contest, and the issues. The partisan election process has been a way for a messy, jumbled, raucous nation to come together as a slightly-more-perfect union.
Pivotal Tuesdays looks back at four pivotal presidential elections of the past 100 years to show how they shaped the 20th century. During the rowdy, four-way race in 1912 between Teddy Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Eugene Debs, and Woodrow Wilson, the candidates grappled with the tremendous changes of industrial capitalism and how best to respond to them. In 1932, Franklin Roosevelt's promises to give Americans a "New Deal" to combat the Great Depression helped him beat the beleaguered incumbent, Herbert Hoover. The dramatic and tragic campaign of 1968 that saw the election of Richard Nixon reflected an America divided by race, region, and war and set in motion political dynamics that persisted into the book's final story - the three-way race that led to Bill Clinton's 1992 victory.
Exploring the personalities, critical moments, and surprises of these races, Margaret O'Mara shows how and why candidates won or lost and examines the effects these campaigns had on the presidencies that followed.
The book is published by University of Pennsylvania Press.
©2015 University of Pennsylvania Press (P)2016 Redwood AudiobooksListeners also enjoyed...
-
The Case for Trump
- By: Victor Davis Hanson
- Narrated by: David Lertham
- Length: 20 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Case for Trump, award-winning historian and political commentator Victor Davis Hanson explains how a celebrity businessman with no political or military experience triumphed over 16 well-qualified Republican rivals, a Democrat with a quarter-billion-dollar war chest, and a hostile media and Washington establishment to become president of the US—and an extremely successful president.
-
-
Fascinating!!
- By Wayne on 03-07-19
-
American Carnage
- On the Front Lines of the Republican Civil War and the Rise of President Trump
- By: Tim Alberta
- Narrated by: Jason Culp
- Length: 26 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The 2016 election was a watershed for the United States. But, as Tim Alberta explains in American Carnage, to understand Trump’s victory is to view him not as the creator of this era of polarization and bruising partisanship, but rather as its most manifest consequence. American Carnage is the story of a president’s rise based on a country’s evolution and a party’s collapse. As George W. Bush left office with record-low approval ratings and Barack Obama led a Democratic takeover of Washington, Republicans faced a moment of reckoning.
-
-
masterpiece
- By ZZ on 07-26-19
By: Tim Alberta
-
Every Man a King
- A Short, Colorful History of American Populists
- By: Chris Stirewalt
- Narrated by: Chris Stirewalt
- Length: 4 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
American populism has always been home to a fascinating assortment of charismatic leaders, characters, kooks, cranks, and sometimes charlatans who have led the charge of ordinary folks who have gotten wise to the ways of the swamp. Every Man a King tells the stories of America's populist leaders, from Andrew Jackson and Teddy Roosevelt to Ross Perot, Pat Buchanan, and Donald Trump. It is a rollicking history of an American attitude that has shaped not only our current moment, but also the long struggle over who gets to define the truths we hold to be self evident.
-
-
Education delivered in a most entertaining way.
- By Snaps And Snippets on 09-17-18
By: Chris Stirewalt
-
The Red and the Blue
- The 1990s and the Birth of Political Tribalism
- By: Steve Kornacki
- Narrated by: Steve Kornacki, Ron Butler
- Length: 17 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Red and the Blue, cable news star and acclaimed journalist Steve Kornacki follows the twin paths of Bill Clinton and Newt Gingrich, two larger-than-life politicians who exploited the weakened structure of their respective parties to attain the highest offices. For Clinton, that meant contorting himself around the various factions of the Democratic party to win the presidency. Gingrich employed a scorched-earth strategy to upend the permanent Republican minority in the House, making him speaker.
-
-
Simply marvelous
- By Hector Gonzalez on 10-04-18
By: Steve Kornacki
-
American Psychosis
- A Historical Investigation of How the Republican Party Went Crazy
- By: David Corn
- Narrated by: Steven Jay Cohen
- Length: 17 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A fast-paced, rollicking, behind-the-scenes account of how the GOP since the 1950s has encouraged and exploited extremism, bigotry, and paranoia to gain power, American Psychosis offers listeners a brisk, can-you-believe-it journey through the netherworld of far-right irrationality and the Republican Party’s interactions with the darkest forces in America.
-
-
Important history poorly read
- By A. Hawley on 09-16-22
By: David Corn
-
The Amateur
- Barack Obama in the White House
- By: Edward Klein
- Narrated by: John McLain
- Length: 6 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It’s amateur hour at the White House. So says New York Times best-selling author Edward Klein in his political exposé The Amateur. Tapping into the public’s growing sentiment that President Obama is in over his head, The Amateur argues that Obama’s toxic combination of incompetence and arrogance has run our nation and his presidency off the rails.
-
-
Interesting, revealing and a little - scary...
- By rlovegreen on 05-17-12
By: Edward Klein
-
The Case for Trump
- By: Victor Davis Hanson
- Narrated by: David Lertham
- Length: 20 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Case for Trump, award-winning historian and political commentator Victor Davis Hanson explains how a celebrity businessman with no political or military experience triumphed over 16 well-qualified Republican rivals, a Democrat with a quarter-billion-dollar war chest, and a hostile media and Washington establishment to become president of the US—and an extremely successful president.
-
-
Fascinating!!
- By Wayne on 03-07-19
-
American Carnage
- On the Front Lines of the Republican Civil War and the Rise of President Trump
- By: Tim Alberta
- Narrated by: Jason Culp
- Length: 26 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The 2016 election was a watershed for the United States. But, as Tim Alberta explains in American Carnage, to understand Trump’s victory is to view him not as the creator of this era of polarization and bruising partisanship, but rather as its most manifest consequence. American Carnage is the story of a president’s rise based on a country’s evolution and a party’s collapse. As George W. Bush left office with record-low approval ratings and Barack Obama led a Democratic takeover of Washington, Republicans faced a moment of reckoning.
-
-
masterpiece
- By ZZ on 07-26-19
By: Tim Alberta
-
Every Man a King
- A Short, Colorful History of American Populists
- By: Chris Stirewalt
- Narrated by: Chris Stirewalt
- Length: 4 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
American populism has always been home to a fascinating assortment of charismatic leaders, characters, kooks, cranks, and sometimes charlatans who have led the charge of ordinary folks who have gotten wise to the ways of the swamp. Every Man a King tells the stories of America's populist leaders, from Andrew Jackson and Teddy Roosevelt to Ross Perot, Pat Buchanan, and Donald Trump. It is a rollicking history of an American attitude that has shaped not only our current moment, but also the long struggle over who gets to define the truths we hold to be self evident.
-
-
Education delivered in a most entertaining way.
- By Snaps And Snippets on 09-17-18
By: Chris Stirewalt
-
The Red and the Blue
- The 1990s and the Birth of Political Tribalism
- By: Steve Kornacki
- Narrated by: Steve Kornacki, Ron Butler
- Length: 17 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Red and the Blue, cable news star and acclaimed journalist Steve Kornacki follows the twin paths of Bill Clinton and Newt Gingrich, two larger-than-life politicians who exploited the weakened structure of their respective parties to attain the highest offices. For Clinton, that meant contorting himself around the various factions of the Democratic party to win the presidency. Gingrich employed a scorched-earth strategy to upend the permanent Republican minority in the House, making him speaker.
-
-
Simply marvelous
- By Hector Gonzalez on 10-04-18
By: Steve Kornacki
-
American Psychosis
- A Historical Investigation of How the Republican Party Went Crazy
- By: David Corn
- Narrated by: Steven Jay Cohen
- Length: 17 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A fast-paced, rollicking, behind-the-scenes account of how the GOP since the 1950s has encouraged and exploited extremism, bigotry, and paranoia to gain power, American Psychosis offers listeners a brisk, can-you-believe-it journey through the netherworld of far-right irrationality and the Republican Party’s interactions with the darkest forces in America.
-
-
Important history poorly read
- By A. Hawley on 09-16-22
By: David Corn
-
The Amateur
- Barack Obama in the White House
- By: Edward Klein
- Narrated by: John McLain
- Length: 6 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It’s amateur hour at the White House. So says New York Times best-selling author Edward Klein in his political exposé The Amateur. Tapping into the public’s growing sentiment that President Obama is in over his head, The Amateur argues that Obama’s toxic combination of incompetence and arrogance has run our nation and his presidency off the rails.
-
-
Interesting, revealing and a little - scary...
- By rlovegreen on 05-17-12
By: Edward Klein
-
Fault Lines
- A History of the United States Since 1974
- By: Kevin M. Kruse, Julian E. Zelizer
- Narrated by: Fajer Al-Kaisi
- Length: 14 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
If you were asked when America became polarized, your answer would likely depend on your age: You might say during Barack Obama’s presidency, or with the post-9/11 war on terror, or the culture wars of the 1980s and 1990s, or the “Reagan Revolution” and the the rise of the New Right. How did the US become so divided? Fault Lines offers a richly told, wide-angle history view toward an answer.
-
-
Good overview of the past 45 years
- By Adam Shields on 02-26-19
By: Kevin M. Kruse, and others
-
Billionaire at the Barricades
- The Populist Revolution from Reagan to Trump
- By: Laura Ingraham
- Narrated by: Laura Ingraham
- Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Americans didn’t just go to the polls in 2016. They joined a movement that swept the unlikeliest of candidates, Donald Trump, into the Oval Office. Can he complete his agenda? Or will his opponents in the media, protester class, and political establishment block his efforts and choke off the movement he represents?
-
-
The unlikelist US president!
- By Wayne on 11-15-17
By: Laura Ingraham
-
Rule and Ruin
- The Downfall of Moderation and the Destruction of the Republican Party, from Eisenhower to the Tea Party
- By: Geoffrey Kabaservice
- Narrated by: Michael Bulter Murray
- Length: 21 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The chaotic events leading up to Mitt Romney's defeat in the 2012 election indicated how far the Republican Party had rocketed rightward away from the center of public opinion. Republicans in Congress threatened to shut down the government and force a U.S. debt default. Tea Party activists mounted primary challenges against Republican officeholders who appeared to exhibit too much pragmatism or independence. Moderation and compromise were dirty words in the Republican presidential debates. The GOP, it seemed, had suddenly become a party of ideological purity. Except this development is not new at all.
-
-
Kabaservice doesn't make the case
- By MJE on 01-22-16
-
Fracture
- Barack Obama, the Clintons, and the Racial Divide
- By: Joy-Ann Reid
- Narrated by: Joy-Ann Reid
- Length: 10 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Barack Obama's speech on the Edmund Pettus Bridge to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery marches should have represented the culmination of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s dream of racial unity. Yet in Fracture, MSNBC national correspondent Joy-Ann Reid shows that, despite the progress we have made, we are still a nation divided - as seen recently in headline-making tragedies such as the killing of Trayvon Martin and the uprisings in Ferguson and Baltimore.
-
-
Intelligent Incite On Race In Politics
- By T Spencer on 10-04-15
By: Joy-Ann Reid
-
Partisans
- The Conservative Revolutionaries Who Remade American Politics in the 1990s
- By: Nicole Hemmer
- Narrated by: Nicole Hemmer
- Length: 10 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A bold new history of modern conservatism that finds its origins in the populist right-wing politics of the 1990s.
-
-
Great history of the fringe elements of the Republican party that led to Donald Trump!
- By John on 01-24-23
By: Nicole Hemmer
-
Wingnuts
- How the Lunatic Fringe Is Hijacking America
- By: John P. Avlon, Tina Brown - foreword
- Narrated by: John P. Avlon, Tina Brown (foreword)
- Length: 6 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Whats a wingnut? A wingnut is someone on the far-right or far-left wing of the political spectrum professional partisans, unhinged activists, and paranoid conspiracy theorists. Barack Obama campaigned as an antidote to the politics of polarization, promising to transcend the old divides of left and right, black and white, red states and blue. But in the first year of his presidency, he is presiding over an eruption of hate and hyper-partisanship that threatens to mock the promise upon which he was elected.
-
-
Disturbingly disappointing
- By Steven on 02-20-10
By: John P. Avlon, and others
-
The Right
- The Hundred-Year War for American Conservatism
- By: Matthew Continetti
- Narrated by: Carl Sayles
- Length: 14 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Matthew Continetti gives a sweeping account of movement conservatism’s evolution, from the Progressive Era through the present. He tells the story of how conservatism began as networks of intellectuals, developing and institutionalizing a vision that grew over time, until they began to buckle under new pressures, resembling national populist movements. Drawing out the tensions between the desire for mainstream acceptance and the pull of extremism, Continetti argues that the more one studies conservatism’s past, the more one becomes convinced of its future.
-
-
Authors bias shows
- By Mary Lou Vodar on 04-30-22
-
Insurgency
- How Republicans Lost Their Party and Got Everything They Ever Wanted
- By: Jeremy W. Peters
- Narrated by: Jeremy W. Peters
- Length: 13 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An epic narrative chronicling the fracturing of the Republican Party, Jeremy Peters’s Insurgency is the story of a party establishment that believed it could control the dark energy it helped foment—right up until it suddenly couldn’t. How, Peters asks, did conservative values that Republicans claimed to cherish, like small government, fiscal responsibility, and morality in public service, get completely eroded as an unshakable faith in Donald Trump grew to define the party?
-
-
Insurgency
- By Linda Blake on 02-18-22
By: Jeremy W. Peters
-
How Trump Won
- The Inside Story of a Revolution
- By: Joel B. Pollak, Larry Schweikart
- Narrated by: Jack Griffin
- Length: 9 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the moment Donald Trump announced his candidacy for the White House until very late on election night, media and pollsters kept insisting Trump wouldn't - couldn't - be president. But for Larry Schweikart - one of a ragtag group of amateur politicos called the "Deplorables", who had been publishing shockingly accurate polls and predictions, and Joel Pollak, a senior editor at Breitbart News following Trump on the campaign trail - Trump's 2016 win was a near certainty.
-
-
Absolute Must Read!!!!!
- By Meredith Garrett on 03-08-17
By: Joel B. Pollak, and others
-
To Make Men Free
- A History of the Republican Party
- By: Heather Cox Richardson
- Narrated by: Heather Cox Richardson
- Length: 15 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Acclaimed historian Heather Cox Richardson traces the shifting ideology of the Republican Party from the antebellum era to the Great Recession. While progressive Republicans like Teddy Roosevelt and Dwight Eisenhower revived Lincoln’s vision and expanded the government, their opponents appealed to Americans’ latent racism and xenophobia to regain political power, linking taxation and regulation to redistribution and socialism. In the modern era, the schism within the Republican Party has grown wider, pulling the GOP ever further from its founding principles.
-
-
Fascinating read!
- By Marsha on 12-27-21
-
The Center Holds
- Obama and His Enemies
- By: Jonathan Alter
- Narrated by: Jonathan Alter
- Length: 18 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Center Holds: Obama and His Enemies, Jonathan Alter uses his unmatched access and deep knowledge of politics and history to produce the first full account of America at the crossroads. He pierces the bubble of the White House and of the presidential campaigns with exclusive reporting and rare historical insight. More than a campaign book, this is the epic story of an embattled president facing a historic moment he considered more pivotal than 2008.
-
-
The Best Telling of the 2012 Campaign So Far
- By Mike on 06-11-13
By: Jonathan Alter
-
Believer
- My Forty Years in Politics
- By: David Axelrod
- Narrated by: David Axelrod
- Length: 19 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The man behind some of the greatest political changes of the last decade, David Axelrod has devoted a lifetime to questioning political certainties and daring to bring fresh thinking into the political landscape. Whether as a child hearing John F. Kennedy stump in New York or as a strategist guiding the first African American to the White House, Axelrod shows in Believer how his own life stands at the center of the tumultuous American century.
-
-
Love letter to Obama
- By DaWoolf on 03-15-15
By: David Axelrod
Critic reviews
Related to this topic
-
Every Man a King
- A Short, Colorful History of American Populists
- By: Chris Stirewalt
- Narrated by: Chris Stirewalt
- Length: 4 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
American populism has always been home to a fascinating assortment of charismatic leaders, characters, kooks, cranks, and sometimes charlatans who have led the charge of ordinary folks who have gotten wise to the ways of the swamp. Every Man a King tells the stories of America's populist leaders, from Andrew Jackson and Teddy Roosevelt to Ross Perot, Pat Buchanan, and Donald Trump. It is a rollicking history of an American attitude that has shaped not only our current moment, but also the long struggle over who gets to define the truths we hold to be self evident.
-
-
Education delivered in a most entertaining way.
- By Snaps And Snippets on 09-17-18
By: Chris Stirewalt
-
Into the Bright Sunshine
- Young Hubert Humphrey and the Fight for Civil Rights (Pivotal Moments in American History Series)
- By: Samuel G. Freedman
- Narrated by: Mike Lenz
- Length: 17 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
During one sweltering week in July 1948, the Democratic Party gathered in Philadelphia for its national convention. The most pressing and controversial issue facing the delegates was not whom to nominate for president—the incumbent, Harry Truman, was the presumptive candidate—but whether the Democrats would finally embrace the cause of civil rights and embed it in their official platform. On the convention's final day, Hubert Humphrey, the relatively obscure mayor of the midsized city of Minneapolis, ascended the podium.
-
-
Narrator bungles pronunciations
- By ARV on 09-23-23
-
Fault Lines
- A History of the United States Since 1974
- By: Kevin M. Kruse, Julian E. Zelizer
- Narrated by: Fajer Al-Kaisi
- Length: 14 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
If you were asked when America became polarized, your answer would likely depend on your age: You might say during Barack Obama’s presidency, or with the post-9/11 war on terror, or the culture wars of the 1980s and 1990s, or the “Reagan Revolution” and the the rise of the New Right. How did the US become so divided? Fault Lines offers a richly told, wide-angle history view toward an answer.
-
-
Good overview of the past 45 years
- By Adam Shields on 02-26-19
By: Kevin M. Kruse, and others
-
Rule and Ruin
- The Downfall of Moderation and the Destruction of the Republican Party, from Eisenhower to the Tea Party
- By: Geoffrey Kabaservice
- Narrated by: Michael Bulter Murray
- Length: 21 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The chaotic events leading up to Mitt Romney's defeat in the 2012 election indicated how far the Republican Party had rocketed rightward away from the center of public opinion. Republicans in Congress threatened to shut down the government and force a U.S. debt default. Tea Party activists mounted primary challenges against Republican officeholders who appeared to exhibit too much pragmatism or independence. Moderation and compromise were dirty words in the Republican presidential debates. The GOP, it seemed, had suddenly become a party of ideological purity. Except this development is not new at all.
-
-
Kabaservice doesn't make the case
- By MJE on 01-22-16
-
The Red and the Blue
- The 1990s and the Birth of Political Tribalism
- By: Steve Kornacki
- Narrated by: Steve Kornacki, Ron Butler
- Length: 17 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Red and the Blue, cable news star and acclaimed journalist Steve Kornacki follows the twin paths of Bill Clinton and Newt Gingrich, two larger-than-life politicians who exploited the weakened structure of their respective parties to attain the highest offices. For Clinton, that meant contorting himself around the various factions of the Democratic party to win the presidency. Gingrich employed a scorched-earth strategy to upend the permanent Republican minority in the House, making him speaker.
-
-
Simply marvelous
- By Hector Gonzalez on 10-04-18
By: Steve Kornacki
-
Wingnuts
- How the Lunatic Fringe Is Hijacking America
- By: John P. Avlon, Tina Brown - foreword
- Narrated by: John P. Avlon, Tina Brown (foreword)
- Length: 6 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Whats a wingnut? A wingnut is someone on the far-right or far-left wing of the political spectrum professional partisans, unhinged activists, and paranoid conspiracy theorists. Barack Obama campaigned as an antidote to the politics of polarization, promising to transcend the old divides of left and right, black and white, red states and blue. But in the first year of his presidency, he is presiding over an eruption of hate and hyper-partisanship that threatens to mock the promise upon which he was elected.
-
-
Disturbingly disappointing
- By Steven on 02-20-10
By: John P. Avlon, and others
-
Every Man a King
- A Short, Colorful History of American Populists
- By: Chris Stirewalt
- Narrated by: Chris Stirewalt
- Length: 4 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
American populism has always been home to a fascinating assortment of charismatic leaders, characters, kooks, cranks, and sometimes charlatans who have led the charge of ordinary folks who have gotten wise to the ways of the swamp. Every Man a King tells the stories of America's populist leaders, from Andrew Jackson and Teddy Roosevelt to Ross Perot, Pat Buchanan, and Donald Trump. It is a rollicking history of an American attitude that has shaped not only our current moment, but also the long struggle over who gets to define the truths we hold to be self evident.
-
-
Education delivered in a most entertaining way.
- By Snaps And Snippets on 09-17-18
By: Chris Stirewalt
-
Into the Bright Sunshine
- Young Hubert Humphrey and the Fight for Civil Rights (Pivotal Moments in American History Series)
- By: Samuel G. Freedman
- Narrated by: Mike Lenz
- Length: 17 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
During one sweltering week in July 1948, the Democratic Party gathered in Philadelphia for its national convention. The most pressing and controversial issue facing the delegates was not whom to nominate for president—the incumbent, Harry Truman, was the presumptive candidate—but whether the Democrats would finally embrace the cause of civil rights and embed it in their official platform. On the convention's final day, Hubert Humphrey, the relatively obscure mayor of the midsized city of Minneapolis, ascended the podium.
-
-
Narrator bungles pronunciations
- By ARV on 09-23-23
-
Fault Lines
- A History of the United States Since 1974
- By: Kevin M. Kruse, Julian E. Zelizer
- Narrated by: Fajer Al-Kaisi
- Length: 14 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
If you were asked when America became polarized, your answer would likely depend on your age: You might say during Barack Obama’s presidency, or with the post-9/11 war on terror, or the culture wars of the 1980s and 1990s, or the “Reagan Revolution” and the the rise of the New Right. How did the US become so divided? Fault Lines offers a richly told, wide-angle history view toward an answer.
-
-
Good overview of the past 45 years
- By Adam Shields on 02-26-19
By: Kevin M. Kruse, and others
-
Rule and Ruin
- The Downfall of Moderation and the Destruction of the Republican Party, from Eisenhower to the Tea Party
- By: Geoffrey Kabaservice
- Narrated by: Michael Bulter Murray
- Length: 21 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The chaotic events leading up to Mitt Romney's defeat in the 2012 election indicated how far the Republican Party had rocketed rightward away from the center of public opinion. Republicans in Congress threatened to shut down the government and force a U.S. debt default. Tea Party activists mounted primary challenges against Republican officeholders who appeared to exhibit too much pragmatism or independence. Moderation and compromise were dirty words in the Republican presidential debates. The GOP, it seemed, had suddenly become a party of ideological purity. Except this development is not new at all.
-
-
Kabaservice doesn't make the case
- By MJE on 01-22-16
-
The Red and the Blue
- The 1990s and the Birth of Political Tribalism
- By: Steve Kornacki
- Narrated by: Steve Kornacki, Ron Butler
- Length: 17 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Red and the Blue, cable news star and acclaimed journalist Steve Kornacki follows the twin paths of Bill Clinton and Newt Gingrich, two larger-than-life politicians who exploited the weakened structure of their respective parties to attain the highest offices. For Clinton, that meant contorting himself around the various factions of the Democratic party to win the presidency. Gingrich employed a scorched-earth strategy to upend the permanent Republican minority in the House, making him speaker.
-
-
Simply marvelous
- By Hector Gonzalez on 10-04-18
By: Steve Kornacki
-
Wingnuts
- How the Lunatic Fringe Is Hijacking America
- By: John P. Avlon, Tina Brown - foreword
- Narrated by: John P. Avlon, Tina Brown (foreword)
- Length: 6 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Whats a wingnut? A wingnut is someone on the far-right or far-left wing of the political spectrum professional partisans, unhinged activists, and paranoid conspiracy theorists. Barack Obama campaigned as an antidote to the politics of polarization, promising to transcend the old divides of left and right, black and white, red states and blue. But in the first year of his presidency, he is presiding over an eruption of hate and hyper-partisanship that threatens to mock the promise upon which he was elected.
-
-
Disturbingly disappointing
- By Steven on 02-20-10
By: John P. Avlon, and others
-
To Make Men Free
- A History of the Republican Party
- By: Heather Cox Richardson
- Narrated by: Heather Cox Richardson
- Length: 15 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Acclaimed historian Heather Cox Richardson traces the shifting ideology of the Republican Party from the antebellum era to the Great Recession. While progressive Republicans like Teddy Roosevelt and Dwight Eisenhower revived Lincoln’s vision and expanded the government, their opponents appealed to Americans’ latent racism and xenophobia to regain political power, linking taxation and regulation to redistribution and socialism. In the modern era, the schism within the Republican Party has grown wider, pulling the GOP ever further from its founding principles.
-
-
Fascinating read!
- By Marsha on 12-27-21
-
The Center Holds
- Obama and His Enemies
- By: Jonathan Alter
- Narrated by: Jonathan Alter
- Length: 18 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Center Holds: Obama and His Enemies, Jonathan Alter uses his unmatched access and deep knowledge of politics and history to produce the first full account of America at the crossroads. He pierces the bubble of the White House and of the presidential campaigns with exclusive reporting and rare historical insight. More than a campaign book, this is the epic story of an embattled president facing a historic moment he considered more pivotal than 2008.
-
-
The Best Telling of the 2012 Campaign So Far
- By Mike on 06-11-13
By: Jonathan Alter
-
Believer
- My Forty Years in Politics
- By: David Axelrod
- Narrated by: David Axelrod
- Length: 19 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The man behind some of the greatest political changes of the last decade, David Axelrod has devoted a lifetime to questioning political certainties and daring to bring fresh thinking into the political landscape. Whether as a child hearing John F. Kennedy stump in New York or as a strategist guiding the first African American to the White House, Axelrod shows in Believer how his own life stands at the center of the tumultuous American century.
-
-
Love letter to Obama
- By DaWoolf on 03-15-15
By: David Axelrod
-
The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution: 1763-1789
- By: Robert Middlekauff
- Narrated by: Robert Fass
- Length: 26 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The first book to appear in the illustrious Oxford History of the United States, this critically-acclaimed volume - a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize - offers an unsurpassed history of the Revolutionary War and the birth of the American republic.
-
-
Strong History Rich With Behind The Scenes Details
- By John on 10-06-11
-
Outsider in the White House
- Special Audio Edition
- By: Bernie Sanders, Huck Gutman, John Nichols - afterword
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett, Brian Sutherland
- Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bernie Sanders' campaign for the presidency of the United States has galvanized supporters all over the country, drawing attention to issues of economic, racial, and social justice and spotlighting one of the most interesting and unconventional candidates in decades.
-
-
Behind the Scenes with Bernie--- WORTH it!
- By Susie on 02-23-16
By: Bernie Sanders, and others
-
The American Experiment
- By: James MacGregor Burns
- Narrated by: Mark Ashby
- Length: 88 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
James MacGregor Burns’s stunning trilogy of American history, spanning the birth of the Constitution to the final days of the Cold War. In these three volumes, Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winner James MacGregor Burns chronicles with depth and narrative panache the most significant cultural, economic, and political events of American history.
-
-
American History ABCs
- By Michael on 06-16-15
-
Machine Made
- Tammany Hall and the Creation of Modern American Politics
- By: Terry Golway
- Narrated by: Adam Grupper
- Length: 13 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For decades, history has considered Tammany Hall, New York's famous political machine, shorthand for the worst of urban politics: graft, crime, and patronage personified by notoriously corrupt characters. Infamous crooks like William "Boss" Tweed dominate traditional histories of Tammany, distorting our understanding of a critical chapter of American political history. In Machine Made, historian and New York City journalist Terry Golway convincingly dismantles these stereotypes.
-
-
A missed opportunity
- By Kathy on 05-27-15
By: Terry Golway
-
We've Got People
- From Jesse Jackson to AOC, the End of Big Money and the Rise of a Movement
- By: Ryan Grim
- Narrated by: Sean W. Stewart
- Length: 16 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez may seem like she came from nowhere, but the movement that propelled her to office - and to global political stardom - has been building for 30 years...With the party and the nation at a crossroads, this timely and original audiobook offers new insight into how we’ve gotten where we are - and where we're headed.
-
-
Excellent and illuminating, despite tech "issue"
- By DanoB on 08-25-19
By: Ryan Grim
-
The Road to Camelot
- Inside JFK's Five-Year Campaign
- By: Thomas Oliphant, Curtis Wilkie
- Narrated by: L. J. Ganser
- Length: 14 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A behind-the-scenes, revelatory account of John F. Kennedy's wily campaign for the White House, beginning with his bold failed attempt to win the vice presidential nomination in 1956. A young and undistinguished junior plots his way to the presidency and changes the way we nominate and elect presidents. John F. Kennedy and his young warriors invented modern presidential politics.
-
-
Absolutely excellent
- By T-Ward on 08-22-20
By: Thomas Oliphant, and others
-
American Carnage
- On the Front Lines of the Republican Civil War and the Rise of President Trump
- By: Tim Alberta
- Narrated by: Jason Culp
- Length: 26 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The 2016 election was a watershed for the United States. But, as Tim Alberta explains in American Carnage, to understand Trump’s victory is to view him not as the creator of this era of polarization and bruising partisanship, but rather as its most manifest consequence. American Carnage is the story of a president’s rise based on a country’s evolution and a party’s collapse. As George W. Bush left office with record-low approval ratings and Barack Obama led a Democratic takeover of Washington, Republicans faced a moment of reckoning.
-
-
masterpiece
- By ZZ on 07-26-19
By: Tim Alberta
-
The Shadow Party
- How George Soros, Hillary Clinton, and Sixties Radicals Seized Control of the Democratic Party
- By: David Horowitz, Richard Poe
- Narrated by: Gregg Rizzo
- Length: 6 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
America is under attack. Its institutions and values are under daily assault. But the principal culprits are not foreign terrorists. They are influential and powerful Americans secretly stirring up disunion and disloyalty in the shifting shadows of the Democratic Party. Radical infiltrators have been quietly transforming America's societal, cultural, and political institutions for more than a generation. Now, backed by George Soros, they are ready to make their move.
-
-
Best introduction to the Democrat party in 2019
- By Larry on 06-12-19
By: David Horowitz, and others
-
Resistance
- How Women Saved Democracy from Donald Trump
- By: Jennifer Rubin
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber
- Length: 13 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the tradition of Shattered and Game Change, Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin provides an insider’s look at how women across the political spectrum carried a revolution to the ballot box and defeated Donald Trump, based on interviews with key figures such as Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Stacey Abrams, Nancy Pelosi, and many more.
-
-
An excellent book
- By Gary on 02-02-22
By: Jennifer Rubin
What listeners say about Pivotal Tuesdays
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jean
- 09-22-16
Captivating Read
I thought this might be a good book to read while observing the theatrics of the current election process and how it will affect the future of our country. Every four years the voters must focus on electing a new president. O’Mara’s book looks back at four pivotal presidential elections of the past 100 years to show how they shaped the twentieth century.
We are again facing some of the same issues, for example the 1912 election year discussion of what to do with large dominant corporations. We are also facing gigantic corporations controlling their sector but now it is globally. We had a severe recession after deregulating the banks from the 1932 reforms and last but not least racism and anti-Semitism have raised their heads again as in the 1950s-60s. On top of all this we are weary of long wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
I found it most interesting that O’Mara chose the 1912 four-way race between Teddy Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Eugene Debs, and Woodrow Wilson. I have found this election most interesting and have read biographies of each of these men along with other books on the subject to help me understand the issues of this critical election. The candidates grappled with the tremendous change of industrial capitalism and how to respond to it. The next election O’Mara chose was in the heart of the depression in 1932 between Herbert Hoover and Franklin Roosevelt. They addressed ways to combat the depression and ways to prevent it from happening again. In 1968 the election campaign of Herbert Humphry verses Richard Nixon saw an America divided by race, region and the Viet Nam War. In 1992 there was the three-way race between George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Ross Perot.
The book is well written and researched. O’Mara discusses the politics but also explores their personalities, critical moments and surprises of each of these races. The author shows how candidates won or lost and how these campaigns effected the next presidential races. The author reveals the evolution of our nation and the importance of each person’s vote. Margaret O’Mara is a history professor.
If I had not been so interested in the topic of this book I would have stopped listening. There is something wrong with the quality of the sound; the sound seemed like it was far away. James Killavey’s narrative style was not appropriate for this academic book. Killavey has been narrating audiobooks for over twenty years so he either should have chosen a different style or the publisher should have chosen a different narrator.
I would recommend this be read in book or e-book format and skip the audiobook format because of poor sound and inappropriate narrative style.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
7 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Rea
- 06-11-20
A good overview - minus WWII
This book is exactly what I was looking for, an overview of the sociocultural and political climate of the United States over the past century, as evidenced by the 4 elections she chose to highlight.
My only gripe about the book is she completely skips over WWII, and the American climate and presidency during it. She explains that her goal was to cover things that aren't usually covered..but leaving out those critical years made the transition to the latter part of the century pretty jarring. So much so, that I felt I had to go study WWII exclusively to fill in what felt like a gap in my understanding. It should also be noted that the author is a little left-leaning, as she was a volunteer for the Clinton campaigns. Overall, however, I'm pretty pleased with the book.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Caitlyn
- 10-22-16
Intriguing and Topical read.
What did you love best about Pivotal Tuesdays?
A amazing book on every level.
What was one of the most memorable moments of Pivotal Tuesdays?
These are probably the four most important elections of the last century and with another coming up, an important listen for any concerned citizen.
What does James Killavey bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
Deep mellow voice. Easy to listen to.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
No. Too long.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
18 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Peter
- 08-07-16
Captivating...and chilling
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
To many friends. Election coming up and this book could make a difference. Just listen to the sample to see what I mean.
What did you like best about this story?
Made history come alive. Fascinating and very well written.
Have you listened to any of James Killavey’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
I think so..don't recall what titles, though. Good voice for this book.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
Very beginning about qualifications for President. This part is actually in the sample
Any additional comments?
Another Pivotal Tuesday coming up in November. I hope God Americans have the sense to pick a qualified person, not an egomaniac, or the pivot for the county could be straight down!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
29 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Alexi
- 10-20-16
Great book
Would you consider the audio edition of Pivotal Tuesdays to be better than the print version?
Yes...was able to read it while commuting. Can't do that with print!
Which scene was your favorite?
Too many to name just one.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
No..too long.
Any additional comments?
Important book..especially this year with an election coming up.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
20 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jim
- 07-31-16
Important book...especially this year.
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Yes. Shows how important it is to vote. And the ins and outs of the campaigns were fascinating.
What about James Killavey’s performance did you like?
Nice voice. Good pacing. Intelligent reading.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
Quite a few, actually.
Any additional comments?
This quote about the print copy was what got me looking for the audio:
"Four presidents are on the cover of this book, but the elections in between are covered quite thoroughly as well. It's honestly kind of shocking to realize how many times the majority has voted for a certain candidate only because the other option was so unfavorable. As I'm writing this review, the general 2016 election hasn't yet started, and Clinton and Trump are to be the two candidates. As I read this book, I couldn't help but make similarities between this election and others in history, even though this election year already seems so strange."
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
32 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Angelina
- 08-06-18
Interesting topic, dry narration.
Interesting look at several different controversial elections, especially in light of the 2016 election. Narration was a bit dry though. Also I wish that if the academic work and research was done by a female that the narration would match.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!