Whistlestop: My Favorite Stories from Presidential Campaign History

I have enjoyed his own podcast I first found John Dickerson on the Slate Political Gabfest, which is where the idea for Whistlestop came from. I have enjoyed his own podcast, which turned into this book, and like his perspective and his historical attention to detail. These stories are important to see where we have come from, and where we might be going.. Jesse Liberty said For Political Junkies, this is the real deal.. Dickerson is one of my favorite political commentators/moderators. He is great on Face the Nation, he is even better on the Political Gabfest, but the most fun is his WhistleStop podcast. Here, he takes much of that wonderful material and fleshes it out, making for some wonderful stories about life on the campaign trail throughout US history. Highly recommended. Enjoyed it so much, I bought four copies as gifts for friends Anyone who enjoys the history of presidential elections will thoroughly appreciate this book--a lively tour de force encompassing Callender's defamations, Dean's scream, Dukakis' tank, Reagan's microphone, and many more unforgettable stories from campaigns past. Mr. Dickerson's writing style is rich and engaging--smart and scholarly without coming off as stuffy. This was the third--and easily, the best--book on presidential campaign history that I bought this election season.

In addition to the familiar tales, WHISTLESTOP also remembers the forgotten stories about the bruising and reckless campaigns of the nineteenth century when the combatants believed the consequences included the fate of the republic itself. NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERFrom Face the Nation moderator and contributing editor for The Atlantic John Dickerson come the stories behind the stories of the most memorable moments in American presidential campaign history. The stakes are high. Presidential campaigns are a contest for control of power in the most powerful country on earth. At the bar at the end of a campaign day, these are the stories reporters rehash for themselves and embellish for newcomers. As Mike Murphy the political strategist put it, "Campaigns are like war without bullets."WHISTLESTOP tells the human story of nervous gambits hatched in first-floor hotel rooms, failures of will before the microphone, and the cross-country crack-ups of long-planned stratagems. The characters full of striving and ego. The battle of ideas has a clear end, with winners and losers, and along the way there are sharp turning points-primaries, debates, conventions, and scandals that squeeze candidates into emergency action, frantic graspi

. John Dickerson is Moderator of Face the Nation, Chief Washington Correspondent for CBS News, and a contributing editor for The Atlantic. Dickerson has been a reporter in Washington for almost 20 years covering the White House, Congress and political campaigns. Dickerson is a co-host of the Slate Political Gabfest as well as the host of "Whistlest

It connects and interconnects signal campaigns from our 'glorious' past, where the same sausage making we decry today is on vivid, sometimes impressive, sometimes hilarious, display. You read Whistlestop to put the chaos of today into perspective - or, perhaps, to escape from it."NYT Book Review"Filled with colorful characters and rollicking tales, this chronicle of exciting presidential campaigns is fun, informative, and enlightening. It's nice to be reminded of the beauty and glory of American democracy at its best."Walter Isaacson"With a delightful conversational style featuring casual asides and plenty of incisive commentary, Dickerson's many years of experience covering politics informs his intriguing inside looks at how certain stories begin and how they grow A politically astute, timely book that will also have great historical value for future campaigns."Kirkus Review "W