"Ain't You Glad You Joined the Republicans?": A Short History of the Gop [Hardcover]

John Calvin Batchelor (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1996

Using primary sources long over-looked by traditional historians and employing a novelist's eye and ear for the telling detail, Batchelor, in his sweeping narrative, encompasses one and a half centuries of Republican battle and paradox.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Whatever one's political persuasion, this breezy, hugely entertaining, opinionated chronicle of the Republican Party will nettle and provoke. Founded in 1854 by opponents of slavery, the party of Abraham Lincoln by 1897 had turned itself into a conservative arbiter that championed the liberty of the American marketplace, according to novelist Batchelor (Father's Day). Yet the Republicans, he maintains, have consistently claimed an obligation to the values of the American people, whether in support of liberty, sound money, trust-busting, anticommunism or family values. Among the Republican presidents he particularly admires are fearless, progressive Theodore Roosevelt, Nixon (whose Watergate-triggered ouster Batchelor blames mostly on vengeful Democrats' partisan politics) and Reagan, whose massive military buildup and aggressive foreign policy hastened the U.S.S.R.'s collapse, in Batchelor's estimate. Contemporaneous political cartoons and illustrations, memorabilia and campaign songs and verses are woven into the colorful narrative. 50,000 first printing.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Don't expect a standard history from the sharp-tongued Batchelor (Father's Day, LJ 8/94), who takes Lincoln's 1860 campaign slogan as his title.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 399 pages
• Publisher: Henry Holt & Co; 1st edition (May 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805032673
• ISBN-13: 978-0805032673
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,104,782 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A solid history of the GOP, July 28, 2001

By 

Eric G (Northeast US) - See all my reviews

This review is from: "Ain't You Glad You Joined the Republicans?": A Short History of the Gop (Hardcover)

If you're either a Republican or a political junkie, you'll enjoy John Calvin Batchelor's "Ain't You Glad You Joined the Republicans?" While it doesn't dig deep into the personalities and issues that have defined the GOP, it provides a wonderful study of the party and its robust history. After finishing the book, you'll have not only a greater understanding of the Republican Party, but perhaps a greater appreciation as well.

It's also well-worth the time for the use of political cartoons from throughout the years. Batchelor uses these wonderful treasures effectively, providing not only appropriate art but a study of the art of political cartooning and how it has changed over the past 150 years.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Batchelor brings history alive, January 27, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: "Ain't You Glad You Joined the Republicans?": A Short History of the Gop (Hardcover)

Guiding us through countless elections, John Calvin Batchelor brings history alive in describing the triumphs and trials of the Republican Party. A must-read for any history buff or anyone wondering exactly where the "most successful revolutionary party in history" came from

8 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars not bad, April 29, 2000

By 

Steve Iaco (northern new jersey) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: "Ain't You Glad You Joined the Republicans?": A Short History of the Gop (Hardcover)

A thoroughly enjoyable history of the greatest revolutionary party in the history of the Republic. Very readable. However, I was irked by several factual errors, which, in my opinion, are inexcusable in a history book. (For example, former GOP Minority Whip Bob Michel was from Illinois, not Indiana. Richard Nixon died in 1994, not 1993. There are several others that struck me while reading but that I cannot recall now.) One my consider such factual mistakes as "no big deal." However, I cannot help wondering what other errors there are that I am just not aware of.