Harding, Warren Gamaliel

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Magic and Mayhem - What a Treat!
Humor, History, Adventure and Mystery
Clever, fast-paced and entertaining
Making Character Disappear
Literary Magic

Carter Beats the Devil
Glen David Gold
Manufacturer: Hyperion
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0786886323

Amazon.com's Best of 2001

In Carter Beats the Devil, Glen David Gold subjects the past to the same wondrous transformations as the rabbit in a skilled illusionist's hat. Gold's debut novel opens with real-life magician Charles Carter executing a particularly grisly trick, using President Warren G. Harding as a volunteer. Shortly afterwards, Harding dies mysteriously in his San Francisco hotel room, and Carter is forced to flee the country. Or does he? It's only the first of many misdirections in a magical performance by Gold. In the course of subsequent pages, Carter finds himself pursued by the most hapless of FBI agents; falls in love with a beautiful, outspoken blind woman; and confronts an old nemesis bent on destroying him. Throw in countless stunning (and historically accurate) illusions, some beautifully rendered period detail, and historical figures like young inventor Philo T. Farnsworth and self-made millionaire Francis "Borax" Smith, and you have old-fashioned entertainment executed with a decidedly modern sensibility.

Gold has written for movies and TV, so it's no surprise that he delivers snappy, fast-paced dialogue and action scenes as expertly scripted as anything that's come out of Hollywood in years. Carter Beats the Devil has a mustachioed villain, chase scenes, a lion, miraculous escapes, even pirates, for God's sake. Yet none of this is as broadly drawn as it might sound: Gold's characters are driven by childhood sorrows and disappointments in love, just like the rest of us, and they're limned in clever, quicksilver prose. By turns suspenseful, moving, and magical, this is the historical novel to give to anyone who complains that contemporary fiction has lost the ability to both move and entertain. --Mary Park

Book Description

he response to Glen David Gold's debut novel, Carter Beats the Devil was extraordinary. He hypnotized us with his portrait of a 1920s magic-obsessed America and of Charles Carter-a.k.a. Carter the Great-a young master performer whose skill as an illusionist exceeded even that of the great Houdini. Filled with historical references that evoke the excesses and exuberance of Roaring Twenties pre-Depression America, Carter Beats the Devil is a complex and illuminating story of one man's journey through a magical and sometimes dangerous world, where illusion is everything.

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America in the 1920s was a nation obsessed with magic. Not just the kind performed in theaters and on stages across the country, but the magic of technology, science, and prosperity. Enter Charles Carter—a.k.a. Carter the Great—a young master performer whose skill as an illusionist exceeds even that of the great Houdini.

Fueled by a passion for magic that grew out of desperation and loneliness, Carter has become a legend in his own time. His thrilling act involves outrageous stunts carried out on elaborate sets before the most demanding audiences. But the most outrageous stunt of all stars none other than President Warren Harding and ends up nearly costing Carter the reputation he worked so hard to create.

Filled with historical references that evoke the excesses and enthusiasm of postwar, pre-Depression America, Carter Beats the Devil is the complex and illuminating story of one man's journey through a magical—and sometimes dangerous—world, where illusion is everything, and everything is illusory.

Customer Reviews:

Magic and Mayhem - What a Treat!.......2007-05-22

This is a great book. Set in the San Francisco area in the 1920s, it tells a tale of murder, mayhem, romance and magic that is, amazingly, mostly factual. It's true that the author does take some liberties with the facts in several places, but it's all in the spirit of fun at the core of this novel. You'll meet magicians, a US president, secret service men, entrepreneurs, inventors, pirates, lions and elephants before this book ends and if you're like me you'll be left wanting more. Author Glen David Gold captures the spirit of the age - the rapid pace of technological innovation, the profligate spending habits of those with money - with a clarity that made me see the similarities to the present era in a way I had never considered before.

Granted, this was a fairly long book by current standards, but it was a page-turner that captured me within the first few pages and carried me effortlessly along all the way to the end. When will Glen David Gold produce another novel? The sooner the better as far as I am concerned. Definitely recommended.

Humor, History, Adventure and Mystery.......2007-05-18

I can't remember the last time I read something this exciting-- just plain fun! This is a great read for anyone who enjoyed The Illusionist or The Prestige, but has the added advantage of humor infused throughout. Gold has expertly crafted the characters, written clever dialogue, and created an entertaining mix of historical fiction, mystery, adventure, and humor. This novel would translate well on the screen.

Clever, fast-paced and entertaining.......2007-03-14

A well done suspenseful intricately told story that surrounds the mysterious death of President Warren Harding.

The backdrop of magic and Vaudeville gives a colorful cast of characters including; an evil magician, a pet lion, a genius inventor, the money managing brother, Houdini and even a pirate.

Charles Carter is a sympathetic protagonist who we enjoy rooting for, sometimes from the edge of our seat. His magic reminds me of David Copperfield's, amazing and fantastic.

The many historical references add another layer of interest. I gasped out loud several times at the unexpected twists and turns in this story.

Making Character Disappear.......2007-02-04

Glen Gold is a good writer who can show a clever
turn of phrase. He knows how to build a plot and
even though this book wanders off from time to time,
he knows how to charm an audience.
I was thoroughly entertained by Carter and I enjoyed
being the victim of his magic trick as the plot
comes together. What disappointed me was that
there was not much development of Carter as a
character. I didn't feel that I knew him any better
at the end of the book than I did when I followed
his childhood at the beginning.
A book that's about magic and illusion really invites
the reader to ask and answer questions about what's
real and what's smoke and mirrors. I finished this book
feeling sorry that this very good writer didn't go
deeper. Still it was a great entertainment and
perfect for a long airplane ride.

--Lynn Hoffman, author of THE NEW SHORT COURSE IN WINE and
the forthcoming novel bang BANG from Kunati Books.ISBN
9781601640005

Literary Magic.......2007-01-19

I just finished reading Carter Beats the Devil and enjoyed the journey thoroughly. Gold performs an act that keeps you guessing for the length of the engagement. When I began reading, Carter seemed like a fantastic work of fiction, but as the name-dropping of contemporaries and descriptions of Carter's times poured in, I looked into the biographical names and places. The lavish set Gold arranges is rich in detail that grows more intriguing with the experience.

My only complaints touch on the cover and middle of the book. The cover is illustrated to look like the magician's promotional poster, and it features a goofy-looking devil and a made-up-for-stage Carter who looks androgynous with lipstick and a beaded turban that looks like it came out of Aunt Mabel's dressing room. Other magician posters are illustrated between sections of the book, which capture the sense of mystery of the acts. Too bad the cover didn't get similar treatment, but don't let that turn you off.

The book has a strong opening act, followed by a story setup that leads back to the core mystery. But then it meanders through a labyrinth of side stories that eventually come together for a grand finale. Getting there, though, takes some patience, as the heaviness of the plots weigh down in the middle, when you aren't sure how they all tie together.

Carter comes together in the end, and all the pieces fit nicely into a brilliant climax. I recommend Carter Beats the Devil as a worthwhile read that will immerse you into a time and place of intricate showmanship, both the magician's and the author's

Warren G. Harding (The American Presidents Series)

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Posthumous Rehabilitation
A quick look at Harding
An obscure man
Yeah, and Hitler really was pro-Jewish
A Fresh Look at Our 29th President

Warren G. Harding (The American Presidents Series)
John W. Dean
Manufacturer: Times Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0805069569

Book Description

Warren G. Harding may be best known as America's worst president. Scandals plagued him: the Teapot Dome affair, corruption in the Veterans Bureau and the Justice Department, and the posthumous revelation of an extramarital affair. Raised in Marion, Ohio, Harding took hold of the small town's newspaper and turned it into a success. Showing a talent for local politics, he rose quickly to the U.S. Senate. His presidential campaign slogan, 'America's present need is not heroics but healing, not nostrums but normalcy,' gave voice to a public exhausted by the intense politics following World War I. Once elected, he pushed for legislation limiting the number of immigrants; set high tariffs to relieve the farm crisis after the war; persuaded Congress to adopt unified federal budget creation; and reduced income taxes and the national debt, before dying unexpectedly in 1923. In this wise and compelling biography, John W. Dean-no stranger to controversy himself-recovers the truths and explodes the myths surrounding our twenty-ninth president's tarnished legacy.

Customer Reviews:

Posthumous Rehabilitation.......2007-06-20

John W. Dean is a native of Marion Ohio and lived a few blocks from Harding's home. Since his teenage years Dean has read almost every book about Harding. This book attempts to get the right facts about a President who was given a bad reputation after his untimely death at age 58. Warren Gamaliel Harding was a precocious child, the oldest of the children. His father studied medicine and farmed, his mother was a midwife. Warren worked as a farm boy and was sympathetic to the problems of farmers. He started working in the printing business at age 11. At 14 he started college, and bought a newspaper at age 19. Harding made this newspaper a success. The story how Warren met his wife tells about small town life (Chapter 2). [What really happened in those days?]

Harding was elected to the Ohio Senate from a Democratic district. His 1910 defeat as a gubernatorial candidate led to a withdrawal from politics. After the adoption of the 17th Amendment Harding was elected as US Senator (Chapter 3). Harding was a master of rhetoric, high-sounding speech that didn't say much (p.36); a "bloviator". Harding was as skilled in politics as he was in poker (p.43). He prepared for running for President (p.45). Harding became the first US Senator to go directly to the White House (p.52). Read Harding's rhetoric on page 57. Harding positioned himself as a compromise candidate (pp.58-59). It worked (p.66). Woodrow Wilson's desire for a third term shows how he was out of touch with reality (p.68). Harding's campaign set a new precedent in using advertising techniques to sell the President (p.70). Harding won the largest victory in Republican history (p.77).

After the war's end the economy suffered from deflation, tight credit, large inventories, and a drop in foreign trade. Harding picked men with good credentials, and political friends, for his Cabinet. The friends were to create scandals. His choices were considered good (p.93). The "booming economy of the roaring twenties" (p.111)? Agricultural areas were in economic decline. Employee wages were falling (p.114), unemployment rising (p.115). The Wilkerson injunction against railroad workers marked Harding as "antilabor" (p.121). The Washington Naval Conference was to limit battleships (p.133). Other treaties followed. America was back to normalcy. Harding could take care of his enemies, but his friends gave him trouble (p.141).

Harding had health problems before his trip west (p.150. Pneumonia was deadly in those days. But Harding seemed to be getting better until he died of a stroke (p.152). Later that year the Teapot Dome scandal erupted. Oil lands reserved for military use were being leased to private oil companies (pp.156-157). President Harding had approved this. Secretary of the Interior Fall had prospered. President Coolidge started an investigation (p.159). The result was to damage Harding's reputation forever (p.160). Harding's wife burned his papers, so writers were free to create scandalous details. In the 1940s they found Harding's papers were not destroyed, they were turned over to the Ohio Historical Society in 1963. These documents portray a different Harding from the legend (p.168).

Author John W. Dean tries to correct the legend of Harding (pp.161-165) with a sympathetic portrait of the 29the President, the last President from Ohio. Does it seem too good to be true? Why didn't his former Cabinet officers or personal friends ever defend Harding? Nixon was defended by his friends. [I wonder if the facts about Harding's youth would tell us something?]

A quick look at Harding.......2007-04-04

I am reading all the presidential biographies in order.

When I ordered this book, I didn't realize that the author was THE John Dean, from the Nixon Watergate scandal. It was rather surreal at some points reading about presidential scandals by someone involved in a presidential scandal.

I was also suprised at how short this book was, but it felt much longer. I'd say 75% of the time, it read like a textbook (yawn), but I did get a loose sense of what Harding was like. The juicy parts were handled very well, and it was easy to follow the drama. His handling of Harding's last trip when he died was handled rather oddly though. He'd provide too little, then too much information. For instance, I was reading one paragraph about how Harding was resting and preparing for the rest of his trip and reviewing state papers. At the end of the paragraph, I looked up at the clock to see what the time was. When I looked back down, the first sentence of the next paragraph was "Harding died that night."

Also, his explanation of the Teapot Dome scandal was too short, though I guess most of it played out after Harding's death. I will probably investigate that further after this reading project.

I would recommend this book to get a quick overview of Harding if you are reading all the bios like I am. When I have finished this reading project, I will probably want to go back and read a larger book on Harding. Certainly a coloful point in our nation's history...

An obscure man.......2006-12-05

You figure John Dean has, sometime in the last three decades, contemplated the effect of scandal on the public's assessment of an American president? Dean was President Nixon's counsel before becoming his administration's chief accuser. Nixon, of course, is forever linked with Watergate, and whatever was accomplished during his administration - and there was much - is obscured by the glare cast by the biggest political scandal in American history. Without Watergate Nixon wouldn't be bringing up the rear on those historians' lists of American presidents, a bottom-feeder swimming with the likes of Millard Fillmore, James Buchanan, and Warren G. Harding. Harding, if he's remembered at all nowadays, is remembered as the president whose administration gave us the second greatest political scandal in American history - Teapot Dome.

In `Warren G. Harding,' a volume in The American Presidents series, author John Dean claims Harding has been the victim of writers who have "uncritically perpetuated specious and baseless stories." These stories range from the relatively wonkish canard that Harding was a puppet president nominated by a cabal of US senators to the sensational story, first to see print in 1927, claiming Harding was the father of an illegitimate daughter. Harding died young, of natural causes (an `apoplexy stroke,' according to Dean, although later there were rumors he was poisoned by his wife, who was fed up with his extra-marital affairs) only 882 days into his administration. Harding hardly had time to louse things up bad enough to rank him amongst the worst.

And, in some sense, Dean's patient detailing of Harding's life makes his point for him. If you discount the scandals and accusations (all of which waited until after Harding's death to become headline news,) he wasn't the worst president by a long shot. I've read a few books in The American Presidents series and they all follow the classic biography form - Youth (including parents and their forebears); education and early career; political career; party nomination; acts as president and legacy. All these books are under 200 pages longs, and, even with a short-termer like Harding, they all have a lot of ground to cover. Harding was born in 1864, bought the Marion Star in 1884, and was by profession a newspaper editor. He was first elected to the United States Senate in 1914. In 1920 he won the Republican nomination to run for president on the tenth ballot, and went on to win a landslide victory over his Democratic opponent, James Cox. In the meantime we learn "everyone appreciated Harding's political civility and personal graciousness," Harding Cabinet appointees were well above average, and he had the strength of character to hew to his fiscal conservatism and veto a popular bonus bill for veterans of World War I.

There's a movement afoot to rehabilitate Harding's reputation, and Dean surely belongs in that camp. It can be argued that Harding shouldn't be held accountable for the actions of Administration officials. After all, he wasn't the Interior Secretary taking kickbacks for oil leases, nor was he the Veterans' Bureau administrator who was also taking kickbacks, in this case for the construction of hospitals. Nor was he the Attorney General who was eventually tried on charge of conspiring to defraud the US government. But it all happened during his brief tenure, and all have to be a part of the equation when assessing Harding as president. If those scandals are all entered on the debit side of the ledger sheet, there's precious little to put down as assets. Although Dean does yeoman work, it's hard to disagree with H.L. Mencken's assessment of Harding, written shortly after the President's sudden death, a reaction piece questioning the outpouring of transient affection for the departed leader. Mencken called Harding "an obscure man" who "leaves behind him a career so horribly bare of achievement, and also so bare of intelligible effort, that the historian will have to labor, indeed, to make him more than a name." Dean gives us more than a name, but still something less than a mediocre president.

Yeah, and Hitler really was pro-Jewish.......2006-09-20

All of you idiots manipulated by this tripe can spout off all you like about how unfair a shake poor ol' Warren G. has gotten from the history books. Gee, it just took one manipulative book to change eighty years of historical consensus. I mean, forget Teapot Dome and Harry Daughtery and his numerous affairs and his drinking alcohol and his blithering incompetence, he really was not that bad. Uhh, you are right, Mr. Dean, he was the worst, as is your ridiculous book.

A Fresh Look at Our 29th President .......2006-06-19

Wow!!! This book is a perfect example of why I continue to read this excellent series. In John W. Dean's respectful biography, we are reminded that history does not always judge our Chief Executives very fairly. Warren G. Harding has long been considered the worst of American Presidents (in the rankings he generally is at the bottom, holding place in a category alongside James Buchanan and Franklin Pierce).

History has indeed ben unkind to Mr. Harding. Thankfully, Dean tries (and succeeds) to take a much more balanced look at Harding the man and his presidency. It turns out that Harding was the right man for his time-- someone the country looked to in order to return stability to life following the first World War. Tired of Woodrow Wilson's rhetoric, the U.S. was eager for Harding's conservative return to "normalcy."

Not that Harding was a laid-back executive. He was, in fact, an energetic legislative President. He was also very courageous in his public statements: though "[his] presidency ended before his actions could equal his words" (126) Harding proposed fair and equal education opportunities for African-Americans (a considerable position that sets him apart from men like FDR or Dwight Eisenhower, both of whom were far less vocal and engaged on such a critical issue). In fact, even a man as admired as JFK was unwilling to take such a politically-risky stance, and thus failed to make a strong vocal commitment to what was morally right.

Harding's critics have generally dismissed his presidency as having been filled with scandals (many of which only surfaced in the public's attention following his death). Forgotten (or over-looked) is the fact the Harding himself was never personally linked to or involved in any wrongdoing. Like Grant, he is victim of circumstance: tarnished through guilt by association. Harding's great misfortune is that he was unable to live out his full term in office. Had he lived, he might have been able to defend himself before history's critics and validate his service to a country that at one time genuinely admired him.

John W. Dean deserves thanks for his thoughtful re-examination of Warren Harding.

The Shadow of Blooming Grove: Warren G. Harding in His Times

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Warren the Bad
ooh the delicious taste of scandal
warren G
The Oft-maligned President
Why not the worst?

The Shadow of Blooming Grove: Warren G. Harding in His Times
Francis Russell
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0070543380

Customer Reviews:

Warren the Bad.......2005-09-02

The worst of our presidents? That's the usual judgment, but it's hard to say because nothing of real consequence occurred during Harding's two years in office that would have tested his mettle: calling the Washington Conference in 1921 to limit naval armaments, perhaps his biggest (positive) accomplishment, doesn't exactly go down in history as memorable. His reputation, though, much of it hidden from the public until long after his death, is horrendous. He would rather play poker than do anything else, and he revelled in his own pomposity. He fathered a child out of wedlock as a Senator and had other affairs as well. His presidency was one of the most corrupt in history: many of his cabinet cronies were involved in one scandal after another, the biggest being the Teapot Dome affair, which was all about selling off the government's oil reserve to the highest bidders behind everyone's back. Not much to admire, and Russell pulls no punches in expressing his disdain for his subject. The book is solidly written, though it is overly long, especially where Russell goes into Harding's death (food poisoning?) in California. One of the better Presidential biographies out there, however. Recommended.

ooh the delicious taste of scandal.......2005-06-25

Over the last several years I have read around 30 presidential biographies, usually using Amazon readers as my guide to find the best available book. This is certainly my favorite biography of a failed presidency. Many presidents are "in over their heads" once they become president. Harding was over his head as a senator , if not before. He was a fairly successful small town newspaper publisher and a gregarious glad-hander. Shadow of Blooming Grove lays out all of the sordid details in a highly readable way, connecting the reader to the times. Covered are the rumors of Harding being a mulatto, his marriage to a difficult woman, Ohio politics (which managed to produce about every other president for 60 years), the smoke filled room convention, the cronyism and party life in Washington D.C. , the almost complete involvement of Harding's cabinet in one shady deal after another, and Harding's affairs and his illegitimate child. Amazingly, Harding remained popular with the people as so little of the scandals made it into the press while he is alive.

Reading reviews of other Harding books on Amazon and finding that John Dean tries to rehabilitate Harding's reputation is laughable. Personally, Harding is a disaster. As a president he was incompetent, and his administration was rife with corruption.

My edition of Shadow of Blooming Grove has a few quotes and half-pages from Harding's love letters to a mistress censored out due to threats of a lawsuit. Even 40 years after his death, his family tried to hang onto to some decency. The censorship just adds to the fun.

I highly recommend Shadow of Blooming Grove, a top ten presidential biography.

warren G.......2003-09-19

This is by far the best book on President Harding. The name "shadow of blooming grove" apparently refers to a rumour that he had black ancestors, if this is true then Jesse Jackson can sit down because we have had a black president.

Harding has been sighted as the worst of American presidents. he was currupt(teapot dome) and he cheated on his wife and he was not interested in foriegn policy and the country suffered internal strife during his administration(the communists were on the loose).

Now this book helps bring Harding to life, to let us understand his roots, the bigotry against him and his presidency. What one will see is that perhaps Mr. Harding was not the worst president. He presidency was beset by the same failures as the CLinton administration and the Grant administration.

A very well researched book.

The Oft-maligned President.......2003-07-12

With few exceptions, Warren G Harding is always referred to as America's "worst president" and this book goes to great depths to find out just exactly why.

It's no secret now that Warren G. Harding was the William Jefferson Clinton of his day when it came to an eye for the opposite sex. The difference between the two in this regard (which in no way compares their presidencies) is that in Harding's day, no one talked about it, and if they did, absolutely no one wrote about it.

Harding was one of the most notorious (and last) of America's "selected" Presidents, where party bosses met in "smokey back rooms" and arrived at reasonable compromises. In fact, the author is sympathetic to the reasoning that Harding never had any aspirations on being President and probably could have cared less if he had lost. (It's hard to say he showed any passion in campaigning for the job)

Harding was faced with many obstacles besides an inability to keep his zipper up. He doesn't seem to have made the wisest choice in his choosing of a mate, in fact, according to the author, she appears to be the one who had true aspirations for the presidency.

Harding was dogged throughout the campaign by rumors that he was of African-American descent, something that his relatives still seem intent on fighting to this day. What does appear to be true is the fact that the family were devout abolitionists and served on the Underground Railroad.

Harding's most prominent flaw seems to be his affability, something that many had assumed at the time to be his dominant strength. His inability to call his friends to task, allowed them to run free with the power of the Federal government.

His death will be controversial for years to come, and the author does little to truly answer the question of murder vs. food poisioning, but his presidency remains notorious. If simply for the fact that is considered "the worst."

Why not the worst?.......2003-06-25

Harding often makes the list of the worst presidents in US history and this book explores the reasons behind this judgement. Never a statesman, deeply flawed and ultimately tragic, shows what happens when a person whose only qualifications for the job was that he was good natured back slapper abovc controversy is elected to the presidency. He was from an important state which helped as well, but these should never be considered as qualifcations for the highest office in the land.

Harding was scandal prone from his early days. There was a rather nasty rumor that, given the circumstances of the time significant. This was that his family was part African American. In some ways this was the transformation of the old Democratic civil war "bloody shirt" strategy that dated back to Reconstruction. The Republicans were accused even after they had abandoned Civil Rights (in 1876) of somehow attempting to promote African American interests at the expense of white Americans. This issue continued to pop up throughout Harding's career.

Then there are the women. Harding was married to a woman who appears to have been a bit of a shrew. He sought comfort elsewhere and from a variety of sources. His primary mistress was a political liabilty for more than obvious reasons. Carrie Phillips was pro-German and after the end of their affair was a thorn in Harding's flesh. Unfortunately, the letters between the two are surpressed in this book due to the legal efforts of Harding's nephew, George T. Harding. Given Harding's reputation, it is unclear what he was trying to protect by doing so. I suppose, given Harding's questionable fluency in English, the letters might make for a further negative reassessment. After all when one is the second worst president, one has to fight tooth and nail anything that would put one below James Buchanan even a collection of letters which may express certain needs in a less than eloquent manner.

There is also Nan Britton, who was kind of the Monica Lewinsky of her day. Fortunately for Harding, this story of their affair and daughter did not come to public notice until after he died.

Sex scandals were only part of Harding's presidency. The people he selected for high office were the worst kind of cronies, who say public service as the means to make a raid on the treasury and public property. The worst of these was the Teapot Dome scandal in which national oil reserves were sold to private companies below what would be considered fair market price (in exchange for bribes). This was not Harding's finest hour, but again luckily he was dead when most of these revelations became public. By then stories of bootlegged liquor in the White House, Little Houses on K Street and stock market tips (which proved to be bad ones) had destroyed Harding's reputation forever. This is why Harding is remembered as one of our worst presidents. Long term relationships with pro-German Americans and out-of-wedlock children are really just so much grist for the mill.

Harding's presidency was not quite the disaster it might have been, due to the lack of any great national crisis during his presidency. It is fortunate that this mediocre figure was not in power during a war or economic recession. His role could only have been negative as Russell frequently demonstrates.

Though the subject of Russell's book is not an important figute, it does serve as a cautionary tale of what can go wrong in the selection of presidents. In 1920, the Republicans would have been better served by nominating Leonard Wood (an associate of Theodore Roosevelt). Russell is a fan of Wood's who is far a more compelling figure. If anything this proves that the reputation of Harding is beyond all hope.

Average customer rating:

Inspired Lunacy.
The funniest book I have ever read!!!!
Hilarious and Historical!
Funny, funny--and there sure aren't enough of those anymore.
Surpirsed to find so much hate filled language

My Search for Warren Harding
Robert Plunket
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0060973900

Customer Reviews:

Inspired Lunacy........2007-07-08

This is one of the funniest books I've ever read. It is a blend of slapstick, gallows humor, and literary wit, the likes we haven't seen since Nabokov's Pale Fire, which this book nods to often, with its incorporation of recipes (cold squash soup, sour cream coffee cake), a hysterical acknowledgments page (where the character complains about the Foundation that has provided his grant money but "disassociated" itself from his project) and footnotes.

The plot concerns a desperate historian who moves into the poolhouse of Warren Harding's still-alive ex-mistress in Southern California in hopes of nabbing her trove of love letters. He then gets involved with the woman's daughter, an obese woman who falls immediately in love with him, and pure mayhem ensues, including a disastrous excursion on a yacht that involves the coast guard and a giant leather diaper. No description can do it justice.

Plunket's comic voice, his riffs on the characters he meets ("I knew right away I wasn't going to like the play. No plot, no jokes, and God knows, no stars. Just eight ugly girls whining about rejection. Well, I'll say this for them--they looked like experts on the subject.") are laugh-out-loud funny, and yes, very un-P.C.

Jonathan Yardley listed this book as one of the top five comic novels in America, and he's right.

There is no book like it.

The funniest book I have ever read!!!!.......1999-07-23

I have read this book at least 6 times and each time I have enjoyed it more. Definitely one of those books where you can't help laughing at loud. I first discovered the book shortly after it was published. I was browsing one evening at the great, old (and now, alas, departed) Doubleday Bookstore at 58th & 5th in Manhattan. The title just jumped out and me and I knew I had to read this book even though I knew nothing about it. I had been living in NYC for about 4 years at the time and had only visited LA once for about a month in the late 70's. Plunkett must have lived there at about the same time because everything was so recognizable. I understood how out-of-place a New Yorker can feel in the land of swimming pools and movie stars. My job transferred me to Los Angeles in 1991 and I read the book again. It resonated even more for a recently transplanted New Yorker. Now I've lived in Los Angeles for eight years (only one year shy of my New York experience). I recently pulled my well-worn copy of the book off the bookshelf, dusted it off, and re-read it. The book is as funny as ever but there is something sad about it now when I realize how much not only I have changed over the past fifteen years but also New York and Los Angeles. As a New Yorker at heart I can daily find a hundred reasons New York is better than LA but at the same time LA is my home now I can't ever imagine myself living in NYC again. This time I read the book not as a New Yorker laughing at Los Angeles but as a Los Angelo laughing at a New Yorker laughing at LA. How the times change. Still, this is the best and funniest book ever written about the differences (both good and bad) between New York and Los Angeles. A must read for anyone who loves/hates either city.

Hilarious and Historical!.......1998-07-08

A friend loaned me the book about 8 years ago. I passed it on and eventually lost it. I found a few new copies a few years ago... I ordered it through a bookstore in Maine. They're hard to come by! I have since given it to many other friends who have said it's one of the funniest books they've read. It's one of my all-time favorites. Very sarcastic... and very entertaining. "Harding" has my highest recommendation!

Funny, funny--and there sure aren't enough of those anymore........1998-04-21

No book has ever made me laugh more. I've reread it more times than I can count. The Falls Church reader is right that the main character skewers everyone, but he's such a mess himself that it all comes out even. With all the sooo sooo serious books being published, thank goodness for this one. An all-time favorite.

Surpirsed to find so much hate filled language.......1998-03-16

I had been looking forward to reading this book for several years. I did laugh once, when the police found a pornographic magazine in the narrator's garbage. Then I was shocked that a character was repeatedly referred to as "The Faggot", as if that were his name. There is also an obese main character in the book, Jonica, that although he finds her disgusting, is willing to sleep with her and pretend to love her so he can get close to the secrets of Warren Harding. . . . ooooooh boy. Thirty pages away from the end of the book, and I no longer care about the secrets of Warren Harding. As I begin to read another of Mr. Plunketts unrelated ponderings, I just fall asleep.

The available man;: The life behind the masks of Warren Gamaliel Harding

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The available man;: The life behind the masks of Warren Gamaliel Harding
Andrew Sinclair
Manufacturer: Quadrangle Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0007DSPR0

The Presidency of Warren G. Harding (American Presidency Series)

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A man in over his head
THE MAN BEHIND THE MYTH

The Presidency of Warren G. Harding (American Presidency Series)
Eugene P. Trani , and David L. Wilson
Manufacturer: University Press of Kansas
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Warren G. Harding (The American Presidents Series)

ASIN: 070060152X

Book Description

In this volume, Eugene P. Trani and David L. Wilson evaluate the presidency of Warren G. Harding by surveying scholarship on the Harding years. Harding--generally considered one of the weakest American presidents--was elected chief executive in 1920, during a time of uncertainty and frustration for many of the American people. The authors assess the critics and defenders of Harding in light of the administration's accomplishments and failures.

Both the strengths and weaknesses of the Harding administration came from the people President Harding selected for high office. Charles G. Dawes accomplished much by implementing sound budgetary practices in the federal government for the first time in history. Herbert Hoover became the dominant figure in the Harding administration, using his influence to advance both domestic and foreign policies. And Charles Evans Hughes proved to be an able, if conservative, secretary of state. Yet the accomplishments of these and other capable men tended to be short-term in nature.

Trani and Wilson describe the widespread corruption and malfeasance in the Harding administration, pointing out the Harding's erratic judgment of character caused many of his problems as president. His personal habits--philandering, playing poker, and drinking liquor during national prohibition--tainted his reputation and appeared to connect him to the activities of his associates. Tragically, Harding sought to avoid controversy, even if it meant ignoring real problems or evading justice, and thus failed to provide moral leadership for the nation.

Harding and his advisers demonstrated little understanding of the social and economic forces at work in the country and abroad. In the early 1920s, the United States continued the transition from a rural society to an urbanized and industrialized society. Rather than adjusting the government to meet the needs of all segments of an industrialized society, Harding instituted "normalcy," an attempt to maintain the values of a rural society rapidly disintegrating under the impact of social and economic change. The few real accomplishments of the Harding administration were buried under scandal. and in the end, Harding must be rated as an ineffective leader at a time when the nation would have been better served by a different, more imaginative approach to government.

This book is part of the American Presidency Series.

Customer Reviews:

A man in over his head.......2004-10-19

In polls of historians, Warren Harding has consistently ranked last when their greatness is examined. Even those who are more favorably disposed towards his presidency never rank him out of the very bottom. While some of that is due to the major scandals of his administration, Harding himself was not a dynamic, imaginative figure. The major changes in the world due to the consequences of World War I meant that the American president needed those skills.
The old order in Europe was destroyed, new small nations were created out of the remnants of the old and the United States emerged as the economically most powerful country in the world. The colossal Russian Empire was dismembered and ruled by a revolutionary regime that openly advocated overthrowing the governments of other nations. Due to their assuming many traditional male roles during the war, women were finally granted the right to vote and other issues concerning female rights were still being debated. Japan emerged as the dominant power in Asia and their ruling class was determined to expand Japanese power as much as possible. Since the only nation standing in their way was the United States, the military forces of both countries began planning for a war between them. The end of the war saw a worldwide economic downturn and millions succumbed to a flu pandemic. Finally, the last years of the Wilson presidency saw American policy drift. Wilson's serious health problems meant that there was a leadership vacuum at the worst possible moment.
Harding stepped into this maze of problems and he simply was not capable of understanding them, much less dealing with them. Fortunately for the country and the world, he chose some very capable cabinet members and left them alone. Unfortunately, he also selected some really bad cabinet members and also left them alone. On the positive side, he chose Charles Hughes as secretary of state, Henry Wallace as secretary of agriculture and Herbert Hoover as secretary of commerce. As Trani so aptly points out, the position of the American secretary of commerce had changed dramatically due to the war. After the war, the only nation that could provide the funds for rebuilding the European economies and the food to feed the people was the United States. Trani spends a great deal of time describing how effective Hoover ways in transitioning the United States into the major global economic power.
The expanded U. S. involvement in world events meant that the secretary of state was more active than ever. While the main point of American domestic political contention was whether the U. S. should join the League of Nations, many other things were taking place. Two of the eight chapters are devoted to foreign policy, very little of which deals with the question of league membership. One chapter is devoted to the ending of the war in Europe and the early indications of the eventual conflict between the United States and Japan. The other deals largely with U. S. relations with Latin America. After decades of military interventions, the United States was beginning the "Good Neighbor" policy of non-intervention.
The negative side of Harding's cabinet appointments was significant. Attorney General Daugherty was indicted, although acquitted at trial and three officials of the Harding administration served time in jail. Harding was sexually active outside his marriage and did not feel bound to adhere to the laws against alcohol. Nearly all of the scandals were revealed after his death, so he personally did not have to face them. Herbert Hoover deserves credit for giving Harding advice that all politicians should heed. He told Harding that when faced with the possibility of scandal, "reveal it, at least you will be praised for your integrity."
This book does very little to raise the stature of Warren Harding as a president. That task is impossible, as it would force the author to commit historical turpitude. It describes Harding as he was. He was without vision, unable to take a stand on any issue and almost certainly the weakest personality ever to occupy the presidency.

THE MAN BEHIND THE MYTH.......2001-04-06

ANY SERIOUS STUDENT OF AMERICAN HISTORY, AND MORE ESPECIALLY THAT OF PARLIAMENTARY GOVERNMENT, IS WELL AWARE OF THE SCANDALS THAT HELPED TO BLACKEN PRESIDENT HARDING'S NAME FOREVER. HOWEVER, IN RECENT YEARS, INTEREST WITHIN THE ADMINISTRATIVE POLICIES HAVE SHOWN ITSELF TO BE QUITE OVERWHELMING TO SAY THE LEAST. WARREN HARDING REMAINS TODAY TO BE A SHADOW WHEN STANDING NEXT TO WOODROW WILSON AND CALVIN COOLIDGE. THE ROARING '20'S BROUGHT WITH IT SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN THE LIVES OF ALL AMERICANS, AND IN HOW THEY LIVED AND WORKED. THE ECONOMIC BOOM CAN BE DIRECTLY TRACED TO THE POLICIES OF THE HARDING ADMINISTRATION. HARDING PROMISED A RETURN TO "NORMALCY" AND HIS PLANS TO REVITILZ THE UNITED STATES WORKED BETTER THAN ANYONE FIRST THOUGHT. THE TWENTY-NINTH PRESIDENT IS LARGELY UNAPPRECIATED TODAY, BUT DESPITE THE SCANDALS, ONE WOULD HAVE TO CONCLUDE, AFTER REVIEWING ALL OF HIS DECISIONS, THAT THIS MAN CARED DEEPLY FOR THE FUTURE OF THIS GRAND NATION. PRESIDENT HARDING DONE MORE FOR THIS COUNTRY THAN MOST PEOPLE THINK, AND THAT CLAIM CAN WITHSTAND THE TEST OF TIME.

Warren Harding 1865-1923: Chronology-documents-bibliographical AIDS (Oceana presidential chronology series [14])

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Warren Harding 1865-1923: Chronology-documents-bibliographical AIDS (Oceana presidential chronology series [14])
Philip R. Moran
Manufacturer: Oceana Pubns
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Warren G. Harding: Our Twenty-Ninth President (Our Presidents)

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Warren G. Harding: Our Twenty-Ninth President (Our Presidents)
Gerry Souter , and Janet Souter
Manufacturer: Child's World
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

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ASIN: 1567668399

Book Description

A thorough, illustrated biography discussing the president's childhood, his career, his family, and his term as President of the United States. Includes a time line and glossary.

Warren G. Harding (Getting to Know the Us Presidents)

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Warren G. Harding (Getting to Know the Us Presidents)

Manufacturer: Children's Press (CT)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0516252283

Warren G. Harding: Twenty-Ninth President of the Unidted States (Encyclopedia of Presidents)

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Warren G. Harding: Twenty-Ninth President of the Unidted States (Encyclopedia of Presidents)
Linda R. Wade
Manufacturer: Children's Press (CT)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

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ASIN: 0516013688

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