The Routledge Historical Atlas of Presidential Elections (Routledge Atlases of American History) [Paperback]

Yanek Mieczkowski (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 23, 2001 | ISBN-10: 0415921392 | ISBN-13: 978-0415921398 | Edition: 1

From the ratification of the Constitution in 1788 to the election of 2000, this up-to-date atlas covers all of the US presidential races. A variety of colourful, clearly presented, maps, graphs and illustrations place state by state results at the reader's fingertips, and provide insights into the local and regional trends that played a decisive role in who was elected president and how. This book also illuminates major themes in electoral politics, ranging from the role of status, voter anxiety, and ethnic conflict to the influence of corporations and elites.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Another in the attractive and affordable Routledge Atlases of American History series. This one covers elections through the December 14, 2000, Supreme Court decision that stopped the Florida recount. Other titles in the series are The Routledge Historical Atlas of African American History (2000), The Routledge Historical Atlas of American Railroads [RBB F 1 00], The Routledge Historical Atlas of Religion in America (2001), The Routledge Historical Atlas of the American South [RBB F 1 00], and The Routledge Historical Atlas of Women in America (2000). REVWR
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Review

...this work will be useful for students at public and academic libraries because it gathers all the data in one spot and offers summaries not typically given in encyclopedias. -- Library Journal
Another [volume] in the attractive and affordable Routledge Atlases of American History series. This one covers elections through the December 14,2000, Supreme Court decision that stopped the Florida recount. -- Booklist
...the book combines concise prose with color maps and charts to illustrate how the nation's highest elective office is filled...[making] this volume a useful research tool for reports on the presidency. -- School Library Journal
...offers comprehensive and appealing coverage of all the US presidential elections accompanied by maps and statistics. A valuable addition at a moderate price Pennsylvania School Librarians Association Best Reference Titles 2001 selection.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (March 23, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415921392
• ISBN-13: 978-0415921398
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 6.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,145,773 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Pretty, and pretty useful, but needed better editing, June 7, 2001

By 

Si Sheppard (Larchmont, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Routledge Historical Atlas of Presidential Elections (Routledge Atlases of American History) (Paperback)

As the previous reviewer pointed out, the atlas called West Virginia for Gore last year, which would have given him the election. On the other hand, in the foreword, the author states Gore received 300,000 more votes than Bush, when actually it was a more than 500,000 vote margin - so perhaps he was trying to compensate.

These were far from the only mistakes.

The Atlas also gave Louisiana to Stevenson in 1956 (despite saying in the accompanying text "Louisiana went for a Republican presidential candidate for the first time since 1876"), one of many occasions in which the maps contradict the text.

In its summary of 1936, the text says "Maine had been a bellwether state, voting for the winning candidate since 1860" (in fact, it voted for the losing candidate in 1884, 1892, 1916 and 1932), and "Landon even lost his home state of Kansas, which had voted Republican in every election since its entry into the Union in 1861" (in fact, it voted Populist in 1892 and Democratic in 1896, 1912, 1916 and 1932).

In its summary of 1928, the text says "Smith won only seven states, six in the South plus Massacuhsetts." In fact, Smith won eight states, including Rhode Island, which is also missed on the map.

The map gives Pennsylvania to Cleveland in 1888, when it voted Republican.

There are numerous other errors and omissions - the text leaves out Washington when mentioning the states Bryan lost from 1896-1900; it claims Filmore carrying Maryland in 1856 was the first time a third party won votes in the Electoral College, when the Anti-Masons carried Vermont in 1832; it claims Pierce failed to win a majority of the popular vote in 1852, when the pie chart next to the text gives him 50.9%; it gives Adams instead of Burr four states in the Congressional balloting that decided the election of 1800.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A helpful, albeit flawed, resource, October 22, 2002

By 

Bruce K Patterson (Ottawa, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Routledge Historical Atlas of Presidential Elections (Routledge Atlases of American History) (Paperback)

I agree with the other reviews: this is a useful and attractive book, but more care could have been taken with it. To add to the errors that have already been pointed out, the map for the 1988 election erroneously gives the DC electoral votes to Bush rather than Dukakis, and no explanation is given about Bentsen's single electoral vote. Also, Millard Filmore is not included in the list of presidents at the end of the book, even though the other "unelected" presidents are. The text does not mention that he succeeded Zachary Taylor, and his partial term as president is only mentioned in passing in relation to his later presidential bid.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent resource, June 18, 2003

By 

Michael Pappalardo (Ronkonkoma, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Routledge Historical Atlas of Presidential Elections (Routledge Atlases of American History) (Paperback)

Having the privilege of studying under Dr. Mieczkowski for 2 full years, as well as having worked as research assistant and having him as my Undergraduate advisor at Dowling College on Long Island, I can affirm to you that Dr. Mieczkowski is definitely a well-educated and intelligent person. This book helps to prove that point.

I agree with other reviewers that the book did require some better editing. There are noticable errors in it, particularly in the maps. Otherwise, this book is very handy. The summarizations of each election, dating back to the first ever Presidential election to the most recent Presidential election of 2000, are short, concise and well-researched. Some of the more pivotal and landmark elections generally have more information. The accuracy and detail of each summary definitely shows the extensive research that went into the book.

This book proved to be a very handy and crucial resource to me in my studies at Dowling College, and is an excellent resource to any Presidential or general American Historian. Despite minor flaws, this is a worthwhile book and I highly recommend it to any professor looking for a secondary class resource or to any student looking for a resource to help them in their studies.