Hubert Humphrey
The Conscience of the Country
Published on 16. October 2018
Book
Hardback
512 pages
978-0-300-22239-5 (ISBN)
Description
"A painstaking and . . . admiring portrait" (Edward Kosner, Wall Street Journal) of Hubert Humphrey, one of the great liberal politicians of the twentieth century
"An outstanding account of the life and accomplishments of a man who was my friend and my hero. This book captures Hubert Humphrey's passion and unwavering commitment to our nation's highest ideals."-President Jimmy Carter
Hubert Humphrey (1911-1978) was one of the great liberal leaders of postwar American politics, yet because he never made it to the Oval Office he has been largely overlooked by biographers. His career encompassed three well-known high points: the civil rights speech at the 1948 Democratic Convention that risked his political future; his shepherding of the 1964 Civil Rights Act through the Senate; and his near-victory in the 1968 presidential election, one of the angriest and most divisive in the country's history.
Historian Arnold A. Offner has explored vast troves of archival records to recapture Humphrey's life, giving us previously unknown details of the vice president's fractious relationship with Lyndon Johnson, showing how Johnson colluded with Richard Nixon to deny Humphrey the presidency, and describing the most neglected aspect of Humphrey's career: his major legislative achievements after returning to the Senate in 1970. This definitive biography rediscovers one of America's great political figures.
"An outstanding account of the life and accomplishments of a man who was my friend and my hero. This book captures Hubert Humphrey's passion and unwavering commitment to our nation's highest ideals."-President Jimmy Carter
Hubert Humphrey (1911-1978) was one of the great liberal leaders of postwar American politics, yet because he never made it to the Oval Office he has been largely overlooked by biographers. His career encompassed three well-known high points: the civil rights speech at the 1948 Democratic Convention that risked his political future; his shepherding of the 1964 Civil Rights Act through the Senate; and his near-victory in the 1968 presidential election, one of the angriest and most divisive in the country's history.
Historian Arnold A. Offner has explored vast troves of archival records to recapture Humphrey's life, giving us previously unknown details of the vice president's fractious relationship with Lyndon Johnson, showing how Johnson colluded with Richard Nixon to deny Humphrey the presidency, and describing the most neglected aspect of Humphrey's career: his major legislative achievements after returning to the Senate in 1970. This definitive biography rediscovers one of America's great political figures.
Reviews / Votes
"A painstaking and . . . admiring portrait of a more complex and compelling political figure than the caricature his detractors draw....Humphrey missed the ultimate prize in American politics, but, aside from Vietnam, he was on the right side of history on most issues."-Edward Kosner, Wall Street Journal"An outstanding account of the life and accomplishments of a man who was my friend and my hero. This book captures Hubert Humphrey's passion and unwavering commitment to our nation's highest ideals."-President Jimmy Carter
"He devoted his life to public service; he was the first major politician of either party to champion the civil rights movement; he was an enormously effective lawmaker who understood compromise; he brought joy and integrity to American democracy. Why isn't Hubert Humphrey better remembered? With this excellent, thorough, readable biography by Arnold Offner, maybe he will be."-Evan Thomas, author of Robert Kennedy: His Life, Ike's Bluff: President Eisenhower's Secret Battle to Save the World, and Being Nixon: A Man Divided
"Arnold Offner's riveting account of the life and leadership of Hubert Humphrey shows us the man and legislator who fought to make the United States a more liberal and humane society and leader of a free and peaceful world order. We miss this 'conscience of the country' more than ever now."-Walter F. Mondale
"Well written and exhaustively researched, this is the definitive biography of Hubert Humphrey."-Irwin F. Gellman, author of The President and The Apprentice: Eisenhower and Nixon, 1952-1961
"Hubert Humphrey was one of the twentieth century's political giants. In this gracefully written, insightful biography, Arnold Offner has captured the essence of the man and his times."-Randall B. Woods, author of LBJ:Architect of American Ambition
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Product notice
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
35 b-w illus.
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 35 mm
Weight
907 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-300-22239-5 (9780300222395)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Arnold A. Offner is Cornelia F. Hugel Professor of History Emeritus at Lafayette College. His previous books include Another Such Victory: President Truman and the Cold War, 1945-1953, and American Appeasement: United States Foreign Policy and Germany, 1933-1938.