fionak's review against another edition
5.0
Pitch perfect non-fiction narrative. Pacing and structure are excellent. And everything is cited properly. The epilogue gets maudlin at the end though and I could have done without the last four pages.
ste3ve_b1rd's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this book and thought it was well done. At certain points, I was unable to grasp / keep track of the details, but I was impressed with O'Donnell's presentation of his subject and so this work kept my interest. I normally don't read books about politics / U.S. political history, but the time period interested me as I was 8 years old in 1968. My father was a Republican (moderate conservative) and my mother a Democrat (centrist liberal). Which I mention because this kind of "bipartisanship" was still possible back in 1968 and in the years before Washington gridlock became so suffocating. From Watergate of course, I remember that Nixon was evil (a sociopath) and that he was the sworn enemy of the hippies / anti-war protesters. But I didn't know until reading "Playing With Fire" that he'd swung the election in his favor through treasonous actions taken via the Vietnam Peace Talks/Chennault Affair. The material about Eugene McCarthy was enlightening since as a child, I only remember his name and not what he stood for and what he achieved (which I admire). Knowing what I know now, I have great respect for McCarthy's anti-war stance and his refusal to compromise. The only thing I'd remembered about the Hubert Humphrey of 1968 is that he was a "square"; a Democrat, but an old-fashioned guy like my father.
The section about the Abbie Hoffman and the creative anarchy of the yippies and their "merry prankster tactics" was also elucidating; I've been meaning to read Abie Hoffman's "Steal This Book" and it's next on my list. I'm in agreement with O'Donnell's point of view re: the similarities between the 1968 and 2016 elections: the convergence of the far left [the yippies] the far right [George Wallace] the inability of the Democrat party to unify [the friction between Bobby / Ted Kennedy, McCarthy and Humphrey). And in terms of the "what ifs": If only Humphrey hadn't been outspent by Nixon, then maybe the course of history could have been changed. The communications between Johnson & Nixon, as presented by O'Donnell, seemed downright creepy in the way they avoided the "elephant in the room" [Nixon's treasonous actions re: the Vietnam Peace Talks/Chennault Affair]. Finally, in the context of "Playing With Fire" and in my view, the difference between 1968 and 2016 is that Nixon was implementing his corrupt actions behind the scenes (Nixon wanted to be seen as "good" / "A fine upstanding citizen"). Whereas Trump is blatantly corrupt, shameless and lacking in restraint. And he enjoys flaunting all of that in the public arena.
The section about the Abbie Hoffman and the creative anarchy of the yippies and their "merry prankster tactics" was also elucidating; I've been meaning to read Abie Hoffman's "Steal This Book" and it's next on my list. I'm in agreement with O'Donnell's point of view re: the similarities between the 1968 and 2016 elections: the convergence of the far left [the yippies] the far right [George Wallace] the inability of the Democrat party to unify [the friction between Bobby / Ted Kennedy, McCarthy and Humphrey). And in terms of the "what ifs": If only Humphrey hadn't been outspent by Nixon, then maybe the course of history could have been changed. The communications between Johnson & Nixon, as presented by O'Donnell, seemed downright creepy in the way they avoided the "elephant in the room" [Nixon's treasonous actions re: the Vietnam Peace Talks/Chennault Affair]. Finally, in the context of "Playing With Fire" and in my view, the difference between 1968 and 2016 is that Nixon was implementing his corrupt actions behind the scenes (Nixon wanted to be seen as "good" / "A fine upstanding citizen"). Whereas Trump is blatantly corrupt, shameless and lacking in restraint. And he enjoys flaunting all of that in the public arena.
rick2's review against another edition
5.0
Fantastic book. 1968 packed one hell of a lot of events into a single year. The 1968 election is like a Who’s Who of 1960s and 70s political people. A Mickey Mouse club of Bobby Kennedy, McCarthy, MLK, Nixon, and LBJ. Even Reagan comes in and makes a couple head fakes towards the presidency. Kind of how I imagine 2020 will be looked at. People saw their chance to take advantage of an atypical election, and they gathered round like sharks to a chum bucket. Lawrence does a great job in keeping the threads of narrative clean and understandable. This is a great overview, but there’s just so much that I imagine it’s impossible to get it all.
I think one of the huge strengths of this book is that parallels you can draw from 1968 to today. Change McCarthy for Bernie, and Humphrey for Biden and, if you squint a little while mildly intoxicated, you can see a pretty stunning resemblance to the DNC process so far.
Minor quibbles with the book. I was really hoping they would go into the demonic contract I was assuming Nixon entered after his “ you don’t have Nixon to kick around anymore” tantrum. I heard that he promised 1000 souls to Alaxxor the Defiler of Political Campaigns in order to gain the republican nomination. And another 2000 souls to the Unnamed Tentacles reaching out of the Pit of Dispair to incapacitate George Wallace in the general. So I was mildly disappointed when Lawrence didn’t confirm anything other than the fact that Nixon committed what amounts to treason to prolong the Vietnam war during his campaign. Which despicably resulted in far more than 3000 deaths. If only he had just pledged to his eldritch overlords like a good soulless power seeker.
I think one of the huge strengths of this book is that parallels you can draw from 1968 to today. Change McCarthy for Bernie, and Humphrey for Biden and, if you squint a little while mildly intoxicated, you can see a pretty stunning resemblance to the DNC process so far.
Minor quibbles with the book. I was really hoping they would go into the demonic contract I was assuming Nixon entered after his “ you don’t have Nixon to kick around anymore” tantrum. I heard that he promised 1000 souls to Alaxxor the Defiler of Political Campaigns in order to gain the republican nomination. And another 2000 souls to the Unnamed Tentacles reaching out of the Pit of Dispair to incapacitate George Wallace in the general. So I was mildly disappointed when Lawrence didn’t confirm anything other than the fact that Nixon committed what amounts to treason to prolong the Vietnam war during his campaign. Which despicably resulted in far more than 3000 deaths. If only he had just pledged to his eldritch overlords like a good soulless power seeker.
pamiverson's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting look at everything leading up to the 1968 election (civil rights, assasinations, Vietnam War) and some of the repurcussions of the election. A lot of background I didn't know because I was a pretty naïve teen at the time. Read by the author, who shares some of his memories.
orangefan65's review against another edition
1.0
In today's political climate, I am not in the mood for leftist revisionist history and that's all this is. And not even a clever or well-written history. I got a little more than halfway through and couldn't finish it. In case you wonder how Donald Trump could have anything to do with politics and politicians of the 1968 presidential campaign...I asked myself the same question after I read no less than a dozen pointed references (I counted them) to Trump's character and presidency - the Nancy Pelosi disease is alive and well in yet another alleged "objective" journalist who spends numerous pages on a worshipful reverie of the messianic character of Bobby Kennedy without shame.
izzyb363's review against another edition
5.0
loved it!!! It was a little hard to keep track of all the names but this was an excellent story, would definitely recommend to anyone even remotely interested in politics
dougsasser's review against another edition
5.0
O'Donnell examines all the players and influencers in the 1968 Presidential election with reflections on the continued influence on politics today. He used journalistic curiosity and his screen writer skills to write this great book.
jennms_qkw's review against another edition
4.0
I am long curious about the 1968 elections and this book gave me a lot of context. It's the second book I read about the 1968 elections. Start date is not accurate, I picked it up in May but I put it on my currently reading tab last fall. I wanted to read it during this election cycle and while the book was still "current" as a new book.