Ol' Strom

This rich, tell-all story combines academic precision with tabloid readability to portray the life of J. Strom Thurmond, one of America's most enduring political figures of modern times. A native of Edgefield County, South Carolina, Thurmond began his public service career in the 1920s. He enlisted in the United States Army and served during World War II, returning home a hero with high political ambitions. Elected governor of South Carolina in 1946 as a Democratic New Dealer, Thurmond ran for president in 1948 and captured the nation's attention as the segregationist and states' rights candidate of the Dixiecrats, a southern splinter of the national Democratic Party. His maverick political career continued in 1954 when he was elected to the United States Senate on a write-in campaign - the highest national office ever won on a write-in ballot. He began his senatorial career in 1955 and served continuously for forty-eight years - the longest Senate career and the oldest senator in American history.
In 1965 Thurmond took his boldest political step when he broke from the Democrats and publicly joined the Republican Party, which he is justly credited with reviving not only in South Carolina but throughout the nation.