OUT OF THE JAWS OF VICTORY

by Jules Abels ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 27, 1959

Jules Abels, at present Chief Economist of the Small Business Administration in Washington, D.C., is a former associate editor of Newsweek and author of Truman Scandals and Welfare State. This book is an examination, tinged with some asperity, of the totally unexpected outcome of the 1948 presidential election. The author discusses the issues prominent in 1947 which made the prospects of that ""flaming New Dealer"" -- Truman appear abysmal: the Palestine partition question, Henry Wallace's bolt, Southern disaffection from the Democratic Party and conservative reaction to the presidential committee on Civil Rights. Truman's attack on the 80th Congress, which was termed a purely political maneuver, the bizarre movement to make first General Eisenhower, then Justice Douglas, the Democratic nominee, all served to indicate that Truman would be a sure loser. The struggle between Taft, Stassen and Dewey preceding the Republican convention is traced along with the campaign strategy of both parties. And it is at this point that the author claims that Dewey's decision to wage a ""high-level"" campaign cost the victory. In comparing the outome of '48 and the prospects for 1960 the author suggests that Truman's campaign may be considered something of a model from the standpoint of political propaganda: ""in these perilous times a delusion like that of '48 can arise again with more serious consequences to the nation than the defeat of Thomas E. Dewey"". It is not difficult to understand why Mr. Truman refused to be interviewed for this book by Mr. Abels.

Pub Date: Oct. 27, 1959

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Henry Holt

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1959

Categories: NONFICTION