The Iowa Precinct Caucuses: The Making of a Media Event [Hardcover]

Hugh Winebrenner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 30, 1998 | ISBN-10: 0813824893 | ISBN-13: 978-0813824895 | Edition: 2 Sub

Once an obscure regional affair, the Iowa precinct caucuses have become political olympics, of make-or-break importance to presidential candidates every four years. How this transformation came about -- and what it means to state and national politics -- is the subject of this book, a penetrating look into the role of the media in the American electoral process. Ground breaking when it was first published in 1987, Iowa Precinct Caucuses has been extensively updated, expanded and revised in this second edition to reflect the profound, rapid changes that mark American politics.

With Iowa as a prism on the national scene, Winebrenner examines the beginning of the precinct caucuses and explores the serendipitous events that thrust them into the political spotlight in the early 1970s. In particular, Winebrenner focuses on the ways in which politicos in and out of Iowa, along with the national media, manipulated Iowa's caucuses into a position of undeniable prominence. Furthermore, he exposes the harmful effects of this prominence on the political process, extrapolating local opinions and results into unjustified and ultimately unreal national outcomes. A timely analysis of American politics on the ground floor, this book offers persuasive evidence that the public interest is ill-served when manipulation and distortion of events like the Iowa caucuses determine the viability of presidential candidates. It should be required reading for every citizen concerned about the nation's political future.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 281 pages
• Publisher: Iowa State Pr; 2 Sub edition (April 30, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813824893
• ISBN-13: 978-0813824895
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,949,023 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars thought-provoking, April 13, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Iowa Precinct Caucuses: The Making of a Media Event (Hardcover)

Winebrenner's sardonic yet accurate view of politics and the media (specifically Iowa's politics) make for a very interesting read. Political science might be dull to some, but he keeps this book very alive with truisms (e.g. Reagan and his surprise lack of support in Iowa when he failed to bodily show up to campaign). The facts of each caucus and the pre-caucus activity leading up to them are well-chronicled. The index is very well done, making specific events and people, both media-types and political-types simple to find in the text.