The Revolution of '28

Reviews / Votes

May galvanize readers currently feeling cheated by a shortage of contemporary political heroes. I, for one, can never get enough of New York's 1920s governor Alfred E. Smith, whom Robert Chiles... reanimates in The Revolution of '28.

(The New York Times) This is an exceptionally thorough, well-balanced, and clearly written volume. It puts Progressivism, Smith's governorship and 1928 campaign for the presidency, and the New Deal in a broader context.

(Choice) Robert Chiles has written an insightful contribution to the scholarship on Alfred E. Smith.... Chiles analyzes Smith's governorship, his campaign message in the election of 1928, the reasons why people cast ballots for him, and the extent to which his agenda and appeals presaged Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal. These subjects blend seamlessly throughout the book, which benefits from the author's lucid prose, logical organization, command of the secondary literature, and prodigious digging in manuscript collections and newspapers.... Chiles has entered the debate on Smith's contributions to American politics in a rigorous and stimulating manner.... His book deserves a wide audience.

(Australasian Journal of American Studies) The Revolution of '28 offers a fresh, revisionist take on Smith.... The book is a substantial achievement and is indispensable reading for those interested in the interwar period or in twentieth-century American political history.

(New England Quarterly) Chiles's solidly researched, well-documented, well-indexed book illuminates Smith's role in the emergence of the Democratic party coalition of the 1930s.

(Journal of American History) Smith is finally getting his due, thanks to the fine scholarship of Robert Chiles. As his splendid account of Al Smith's governorship, failed presidential bid, and transformational political appeal makes clear, Smith was perhaps the most influential American politician of the first half of the twentieth century never to hold national office.... In these troubled times, we have much to learn from this story, and Robert Chiles is to be commended for telling it so beautifully.

(The Hudson River Valley Review) To understand why Smith is considered New York's greatest governor, read this book.

(The Island Now) Robert Chiles makes a strong case that we should start the modern era of American politics not with Franklin D. Roosevelt but with his predecessor as Democratic presidential nominee, Al Smith. Chiles has convinced me that not enough attention has been paid to Smith and his platform, and this well written and argued book is the remedy.

- Larry J. Sabato, Director, U.Va. Center for Politics and author of The Kennedy Half-Century