Dewey Defeats Truman: A Novel - Softcover

Mallon, Thomas

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0312180861 ISBN 13: 9780312180867

Publisher: Picador, 1997

Synopsis

In 1948, the small town of Owosso, Michigan, is electrified by the presidential campaign of native favorite Thomas Dewey. Just as voters must decide between Dewey and Harry Truman, so must bookstore clerk Anne Macmurray choose between two suitors-the ardent United Auto Workers organizer and his polar opposite, the wealthy young Republican attorney with political ambitions.

About this title

Review:

Despite what the title might imply, this isn't speculative fiction about what would have happened if Thomas Dewey had defeated Harry Truman in 1948. Rather, it's a gently comic novel set in Dewey's home town of Owosso, Michigan, in the period between his presidential nomination in June 1948 and his stunning defeat that November. The town's mania for its native son serves as a framework for the book's story, which centers on a love triangle among Peter Cox, a dashing, up-and-coming young Republican; Jack Riley, a disheveled Democratic union organizer; and Anne Macmurray, a fetching bookstore clerk and would-be novelist. They and other deftly drawn Owossoans move briskly through a plot that smoothly interweaves public and private events. The book is flavored with nostalgia for what the author has called an era with "a lack of sourness."

From the Publisher:

Praise for Thomas Mallon's previous novel Henry and Clara:

"Riveting...Mallon's most polished gem to date."
-- Chicago Tribune

"The powerful story is superbly told...You can't ask for much more from historical fiction."
-- George Garrett, The Washington Post Book World

"Thomas Mallon has retrieved the all-but-forgotten tragedy from history's footnotes...A transporting, beautifully written novel."
-- Entertainment Weekly

About this edition

• Publisher: Picador
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0312180861
• ISBN 13: 9780312180867
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 368