The Democrats are the oldest political party in the world, with a legacy stretching back to the infighting among members of George Washington's administration. Witcover's thick history devotes significant space to the party's perpetual struggle to define itself, with detailed accounts of intraparty rivalries and convention intrigues between geographical and ideological factions, as well as efforts throughout the 20th century to create a "brain trust" leadership. Like Lewis Gould's Grand Old Party
(Forecasts, Aug. 11), this is essentially a history of presidents and also-rans with some attention to the congressional record (though House Speaker Tip O'Neill's opposition role during the Reagan years is a surprising omission). The FDR section inevitably serves as a centerpiece, encapsulating all the issues—social reform, government programs, race, international relations—with which the party has wrestled before and since, while underscoring the author's talent for tracking shifting political alliances. Although Witcover has a half-century's journalistic experience, much of it on the Democratic campaign trail, he rarely (and subtly) interjects personal observations, nimbly handling an unavoidable discussion of his own part in getting Thomas Eagleton off the 1972 ticket. The campaigns he witnessed are presented in colorful detail, but then so are those from the early 1800s, showing how the mud slung against Jefferson and Jackson compares to that thrown against Clinton. Between the two party histories, his is more dynamic and, despite the greater length, more readable as well, almost always forgoing overt analysis for illuminating description. 16 pages of b&w photos not seen by PW. (On sale Nov. 4)
