“[An] exhaustive discussion of the campaign of 1884.” — RALPH
“Summers’s special contribution to revisionism is that he demonstrates how even the election of 1884 fits into a revisionist framework. . . . Anyone wishing to understand the broader context behind those stories will find Summers’s analysis of great value.” — Labor History
“Written with gusto and peppered with insights, this is old-fashioned political history at its best.” — American Historical Review
“Summers is especially informative in his analysis of the attempts by the Republicans and Democrats to exploit third parties such as the Prohibitionists and Greenbackers to further their own electoral chances. . . . Deeply researched and presented in a colorful narrative style, this is a work that ranks with Geoffrey Blodgett’s The Gentle Reformers (1966) and Robert Marcus’s Grand Old Party (1971) for the revealing window that it opens on Gilded Age politics.” — North Carolina Historical Review
“Those seeking an introduction to the business of politics in the 1880s will find pithy quotations, good coverage of the scandals of the campaign, and a wealth of information on Republicans and Democrats.” — The Journal of American History
“[An] interesting and ably argued book.” — Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography
“A very good book. . . . It deserves an audience that reaches beyond academia.” — Virginia Quarterly Review
“For those who believe that running for president is the real national pastime and who enjoy reading history, this book will be of great interest. . . . Mark Summers has written a very good book. . . . It deserves an audience that reaches beyond academia.” — Virginia Quarterly Review
“Summers has unearthed sexual scandals, petty rivalries, comic happenstances, and enough historical drama to nurture interest in 1884 among the most jaded readers. . . . Summers’s true scholarship and thoroughness will impress historians and election buffs alike.” — CHOICE
“A terrific read for scholars and history buffs alike, full of new insights and crackling stories about a little-understood era of politics.” — Michael Les Benedict, Ohio State University
