The Making of the President, 1960

First edition

The Making of the President, 1960, written by journalist Theodore White and published by Atheneum Publishers in 1961,^[1] is a book that recounts and analyzes the 1960 election in which John F. Kennedy was elected President of the United States. The book won the 1962 Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction ^[2] and was the first in a series of books by White about American presidential elections. (The others are The Making of the President, 1964 (1965), The Making of the President, 1968 (1969), and The Making of the President, 1972 (1973).)

The book traces the 1960 campaign from the primaries (in which John F. Kennedy faced Hubert Humphrey and Senator Stuart Symington) to the conclusion of the general election contest against Richard Nixon. Much of the narrative is written in an almost novelistic style, describing politicians' looks, voices and personalities. But it also contains thought-provoking discussions of various trends in American life and politics.

The Making of the President, 1960 was a huge success, staying on the best-seller list for more than 40 weeks. Critics and journalists hailed it as a new way of looking at its subject. It had a huge impact on political reporting and even on American politics itself. As White noted, it was an up-close look at a leader under the pressure of circumstances.^[3] Its literary-journalistic book brought a dramatic point of view on the world of politics and its strategies, victories and defeats. One chapter was devoted to detailing the reasons behind Americans' ways of voting and ways of life.^[4]

White's book, and its successor volumes, inspired a trend toward campaign books and toward a more personality-driven approach to political reporting. White in later years would bemoan the changes he had helped create.^[5]

David L. Wolper produced a film version of The Making of the President, 1960 which was finished shortly before President Kennedy's November 1963 assassination. It was released without revision.

References

External links

• The Making of the President, 1960 on Open Library at the Internet Archive
  

Hubert Humphrey
38th Vice President of the United States, 1964—1969 United States Senator from Minnesota, 1949—1964, 1971—1978
Political career	Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party 1948 Civil Rights speech Humphrey–Hawkins Full Employment Act
Electoral history	Democratic Party presidential primaries, 1960 1968 1972 Democratic National Convention 1960 1964 1968 protests 1972 United States presidential election 1964 1968 1968 presidential campaign(Edmund Muskie)
Legacy	Primary (1960 documentary) Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Humphrey School of Public Affairs Hubert H. Humphrey Building
Family and personal life	Muriel Humphrey (wife) Hubert "Skip" Humphrey III (son)
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