They Also Ran; The Story of the Men Who Were Defeated for the Presidency

Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc, 1945. Presumed First Edition, later printing (initial copyright date is 1943). Hardcover. Good. xi, [5], 427, [3] pages. Illustrated end papers. Twenty listed illustrations. Inscribed by the author on the fep. Inscription reads For Charles: From his very nice Mother, and his new friend, at Christmas, 1963 Irving Stone. Includes Prologue; Book One--The Press Pass; Book Two--Three Time Losers!; Book Three--"Judge Not!"; Book Four--Generals Die in the Army; Book Five--Heroes Stand Alone; Book Six--Main Chance Politicos; Book Seven--"Governors, Pardon!"; Book Eight--Honest Wall Street Lawyers; Book Nine--The Prosecution Rests! Also includes Epilogue, Source Notes; Bibliography; and Index. Irving Stone (born Tennenbaum, July 14, 1903 - August 26, 1989) was an American writer, chiefly known for his biographical work on noted artists, politicians and intellectuals. Among the best known are Lust for Life (1934), about the life of Vincent van Gogh, and The Agony and the Ecstasy (1961), about Michelangelo. In 1923, Stone received his bachelor's degree from the University of California, Berkeley. After receiving his M.A. there, he went to Paris. In 1930 he received a letter from Dr. Felix Rey, who had treated Van Gogh after he'd cut off his own ear in December 1888. Rey, who was the subject of a portrait painting by Van Gogh, became Stone's friend; he confirmed that Van Gogh's whole ear was removed and not only the earlobe. When at home, Stone relied upon the research facilities and expertise made available to him by Esther Euler, head research librarian of the University of California at Los Angeles. He dedicated books to her and thanked her in several of his works. This is the story of the twenty men who enjoyed, or suffered, an identical fate: they were all defeated for the presidency of the United States. Stone evaluates several unsuccessful candidates for President of the United States, from the elections of 1824 through 1940. He explores their places in history (and those of their victorious opponents), and tries to assess whether or not the American people made the "right" choice in choosing another candidate for that office. Stone groups the also-rans by profession, rather than listing them in chronological order. For example, the first section assesses newspapermen Horace Greeley and James M. Cox. Coincidentally Stone happens to rate them favorably compared to the candidates who were elected: Grant and Harding. The Chicago Tribune described They Also Ran as "a fascinating and challenging book." The New York Times praised it as "a brilliant idea ... brilliantly executed". The book inspired the Also-Ran Gallery, founded in Norton, Kansas in 1965, a collection of black-and-white portraits of unsuccessful presidential candidates that is displayed within the First State Bank building. Derived from a Kirkus review: These "psychographs" of unsuccessful candidates for president, which animates historical speculation in estimating what might have happened had they won. Greeley and Cox, contenders from journalism; Clay and Bryan who made a career of presidential campaigning; Parker and Hughes who failed to leave the judiciary for a higher post; the generals -- Scott, Fremont, McClellan, Hancock; the solitary Tilden; the professional politicians Douglas and Blaine; the governors, Cass, Seymour, Smith, Landon; the Wall Street lawyers, Davis and Willkie -- a parade that aligns the campaigners into parallels of backgrounds, temperaments and characters, that provokes our curiosity and interest.