The Democratic Party: A Photographic History

Rating:
Summary: The Peoples Party
Review: Most people normally read non-fiction books that interest them and if the topic of the book is the history of one political party, I would bet the reader is almost always sympathetic, if not a strong supporter, of the party the book is written about. I fall into that category so I know that I come to this review with a bit of bias toward the book. Given that I am interested in the topic and consider myself a Democrat, you would probably assume that any review of write will just be full of glowing rubber stamp comments in support of the book. You are not that far off. I did really enjoy this book. Lets face it, a coffee table book is meant to be showy, engaging and full of attractive and interesting pictures. This book fits that bill, but it was more then just 8 by 10 glossies of party men. The book has a solid overall history of the Democratic party to start with and a nice running commentary of each 20 year period of the twentieth century.

I guess what I liked most is what the book set out to deliver, which is a nice collection of positive and dramatic pictures that tell the story of the Democratic party. Or at least the story a proud Democrat would want to tell. Overall the authors did a great job of presenting the subjects in the best light possible, they even have some flattering pictures of Jimmy Carter. I do not think you could use this book at a single history of the Democratic party, but it would be a nice start, if not a bit overly positive - the authors do not go out of their way to present the bits that most Democrats would rather forget. One bit of bias on my part is that I preferred the pictures once the book got into the JFK years and color photography came into fashion. I enjoyed the book and will find myself flipping through the pages every not and them for years to come. If you are interested in the Democratic Party then I think you will enjoy this book.