Ol' Strom: An Unauthorized Biography of Strom Thurmond

Myself and other progressive young southerners who were previously appalled by his well-known Segregationist tactics could not have even imagined Strom Thurmond himself fathering an interracial child, only to gleefully keep his family and other in racial subordination supposedly for their and/or country's own good.Sure, I was previously aware of slave-owner-slave stories which basically told the same tale in eighteenth century language, but I did not believe somebody intentionally kept their family in segregation today. There has been much discussion about conscience, character, and morals within the public sector and what quantities of these ingredients are required of 'good' public servants versus those that simply keep getting re-elected for tradition sakes---but Thurmond's life (long overdue for an examination) lacks all three components. After former South Carolina Senator Strom Thurmond's death, a woman Essie Mae Washington came forward with revelation that she was Thurmond's half-daughter. Her mother was a teenage African American worker in the Thurmond home, and he was a wealthy young adult whose activities were apparently concealed for fear of dominant society retaliation. If word of Thurmond's 'extracurricular' activities had leaked out while he was living, (especially in the segregation era) it would have been the end of his political career. I don't doubt that the incident (and others) in question happened, or Strom's legendary libido (ironically while courting voters from 'family values' crowd who made a national crisis out of President William Jefferson Clinton's consensual affair with a twenty something adult woman). Apparently because Ol'Strom forces himself on women far less powerful than himself, this is not only appropriate conduct but an expected public service perk that he was not in a hury to give up. Throughout his 'distinguished' life, Thurmond regarded women as objects for his convenience and entertainment, unable to consider us full and three-dimensional people. I am not shocked by the lurid details contained within this volume, but I sincerely hope conservatives and/or Republicans understand what allegations are in here before continuing to pretend only one political party houses ravenous libidos. Letting neither his switch to the Republican party or increasing age stop him, Strom remained the consummate womanizer, quickly falling out of step with an era that (at least in public relations) saw the importance of treating women as professional equals. Thurmond's death was one of the 2003 newstories, but it is ultimately telling of his supreme inhumanity that none of the Sunday talk shows devoted significant time to memorializing his influence on the nation. Good riddance!!

Insightful, provacative...You may not like Strom, but this bookwill make you view him in a different light. This book doesn't take sides. It does give you a view of someone many have thought of as a not very bright, but who has outlived or outsmarted most of his critics. A very good view of politics in South Carolina. Mr. Thurmond won my grudging respect in this book by taking care of his constituents...without regards to race or religion. Well documented facts by the writers!

I once had the pleasure of sharing a flight with the author Jack Bass. The man is a walking encyclopedia of anecdotes of South Carolina history and political lore and he was quite entertaining. Reading his take on Thurmond, who he knew well, is similar to an actual conversation with Bass. Put it to you this way, reading this book is like listening to some old-timers reminisce around the cracker barrel in front of the general store. Not a scholarly work,but an enjoyable one. BTW, I wish he would have gone into detail about Thurmond''s meeting with Coretta Scott King. I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall to hear what the former supreme segregationist had to say to the widow of Dr. King.

This book tells the public and private sides of Senator Strom Thurmond. I wasn't sure whether the authors liked or disliked the Senator. That was great! This is a must-read for anyone who wants to appreciate the true Statesman of South Carolina.

This book does a marvelous job capturing the essence of Strom Thurmond, political master. The book is concise but complete, very well written and readable. Knowing Sen. Thurmond ran for President as a Dixiecrat in 1948 and some of his race baiting campaigns of the 1950s, I have always had a negative impression. This book exposed me to a much broader perspective - Thurmond's liberalism at county education superintendent, providing adult literacy classes to both blacks and whites in the 1920s, his record as governor in the 1940s insisting of the fair prosecution of whites involved in South Carolina's last lynching, and a political career that now spans seven decades. The book could be a text on how to campaign aggressively for public office, using Thurmond as an example; or a text on superior constituent service, using Thurmond as an example; or a text on political endurance or courage, using Thurmond as an example. The book describes authoritatively his womanizing, not limited to his two wives (the first wife was 21 when they married, he was 44; second wife was 22 when they married, he was 66). The authors really know their subject well, having covered his campaigns and public service for decades, and having conducted numerous interviews with family, friends and former close aides. Strom Thurmond will be 100 years old when his current term ends, and he is still effective in the U. S. Senate. Reading this book helps greatly to explain why.