1960: LBJ vs. JFK vs. Nixon: The Epic Campaign That Forged Three Presidencies

If political sagas are your cup of tea then you are going to love this book. The 1960 Presidential election was our first "modern-day" one and intriguing in many ways, starting with the fact that three of the candidates all went on to serve in the Oval Office. This election brought to bear the importance of television, i.e. the Kennedy/Nixon debates as well as the primaries prior to each party's National Convention. The author tracks the campaign both from the public perspective as well from behind the scenes - The Kennedy campaign masterminded and funded by Joseph Kennedy, executed by a cut-throat RFK and performed by JFK. The dithering and indecisive LBJ campaign - a harbinger if there ever was one - including the candidate's tempers tantrums and moments of anguish. And of course Richard Nixon's campaign that at first seemed pre-ordained but was marred by RN's insecurities, his inability to delegate, his secrecy - (ditto on the harbinger) - and President Eisenhower's, at best, lukewarm support. In the background are wannabes Hubert Humphrey and Nelson Rockefeller, critical foils that kept the campaign lively. The author has also dug up fascinating insider tidbits of which I'll only mention one. During the Democratic National Convention in California LBJ's daughter Luci disappeared. LBJ, in one of his less than stellar paternal moments asked her, "Where in the hell were you?" Luci - "I went to Disneyland." LBJ - "We didn't come to California for you to go to Disneyland." Her retort, - "Yeah? We didn't come to California for you to be vice-president either." Ouch! And there are plenty more where that came from. If you thought we didn't need another book on this epic election, think again. This is Theodore White's The Making of the President, 1960 with the gloves off and no holds barred. Highly recommended.

As I was born in 1951, the election of 1960 is only a faint memory. What I remember most of all is the virulent anti-Catholicism concerns of many of my Catholic friends, along with the pride these same Catholics felt about a Catholic president. It reminds me a lot of racist bigotry and racal pride in the 2008 election. My how the times have changed! Kennedy effectively bought this election on cash and charm, certainly not experience. Nixon lost the election as much on bad make up and strategy. There does not seem to be a huge difference in substance, but personalities could hardly be more different. Throw in LBJ and you have a real carnival of personalities. This is a well-written and readable book, one that draws the reader into an important story about American politics and the arrival of the "media" president.

Pietrusza's "1960" is an engaging and entertaining examination of the big personalities, politics and events of the 1960 presidential election. Like his other volume, "1920: The Year of the Six Presidents," his latest work is extremely well written, bringing to life the people and conflicts of history. His treatment of JFK, LBJ and Richard Nixon -- as well as others such as Nelson Rockefeller, Joe Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy and Barry Goldwater -- are superb and insightful. A must-read for anyone interested in presidential politics. I have used "1920" in my History of Presidential Elections course at the Graduate School of Political Management at George Washington University, much to the delight and enlightenment of my students, and I intend to use "1960" as well.

I have enjoyed David Pietrusza's books on Arnold Rothstein, Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, and the one on the election of 1920. His latest effort on the 1960 election was particularly significant for me since I was a senior in high school at the time. Author Pietrusza brings the principal characters back to life warts and all. I found it to be especially helpful to have them all introduced at the beginning of the book. This is a story involving more than Kennedy, Nixon, and Johnson. Joe Kennedy, Harry Truman, Robert Kennedy, Henry Cabot Lodge, Sam Giancana, Judith Campbell Exner, Frank Sinatra, and several others add to the complexity of the story. This was the first year of televised debates, and it was interesting to see how they were viewed by the candidates and to be able to compare them to the Obama and McCain debates of today. Whether you lived through the 1960 election or not this is a story of American history brought to life, and we should be thankful for the author's efforts to educate the reader.

Following up on his superb "1920: The Year of the Six Presidents", author David Pietrusza produces another political page-turner, this time dealing with the characters and machinations of a presidential race which marked the beginning of the modern era of campaigning. Another reviewer complains there is nothing new here (I suppose if you've read 200 books on the Kennedy assassination you might very well feel overly familiar with the material!). Even if true (it's not), the story has never been better or more completely told. Pietrusza comes into this with no particular hero and no pony in the race, a fact which makes his analyses far more objective than most any review of the topic. He shows his characters warts and all, while at the same time not descending to the level of a hit piece on any of them. They are what they are: Johnson, Kennedy, Nixon, Humphrey, Stevenson, Eleanor Roosevelt and scores of extras. While interesting and engaging throughout, where Pietrusza really shines is in his analysis of the strategy and tactics of the four debates that nudged the election to Kennedy and changed modern politics forever. The release of this book is perfect timing, especially for those who think the art of campaigning was invented yesterday. Pietrusza adds to his ever-more-outstanding body of work and has placed himself in the first tier of writers of popular history. Well done.