”Senator barkley and I will win this election and make these Republicans like it--don’t you forget that!”“I recommended an increase in the minimum wage. What did I get? Nothing! Absolutely nothing!”Harry S. Truman A very jubilant HarryIn 1948 the Republicans thought they had a lock on the presidential election. The New York Lion, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, was dead, and that little pipsqueak from Missouri, Harry Truman, did not stand a chance. Thomas Dewey had been the Republican nominee in 1944, and had been soundly trounced by the electoral college 432 to 99. With Roosevelt finally off the ticket, this time he was going to win. In Owosso, Michigan they are so sure that Dewey is going to be the next president they are commissioning a walk to be built that will handle all the visitors that will be flocking to Dewey’s hometown to see where he was born and raised. Now maybe it makes sense that his hometown would feel this way, after all he is almost the most famous person to ever be born in Owosso. As President he would finally eclipse James Oliver Curwood, the bestselling author and the builder of that "monstrosity" Curwood Castle, in the esteem of the residents. Curwood CastleAnne Macmurray, aspiring writer and bookstore clerk, not only has to choose between two men for President, but also has to choose between two men vying for her affections and like the two presidential candidates her suitors are members of different political parties. As Truman goes on the offensive, attacking a do nothing Republican congress, in an attempt to win back the affections of the people who idolized his predecessor, Anne is also beseeched by her men and as one seems to gain an upper hand the other valiantly tries to keep her attention. We know who she should marry and so does she,but we can’t always help who we fall in love with. Jane Herrick lives in Owosso, but is trapped in the past. She lost her son in the war and her life revolves around memories of him and the other boys that died. ”She lived on anniversaries. They came along like mealtimes in a hospital--regular, necessary and much anticipated occasions. Dark Anniversaries as well as happy ones, dates pertaining not only to Arnie but to other dead boys, too: births, graduations, inductions. her year was as complicated as the Catholics’ church calendar...This December 17 would be the fourth one since 1944’s which had been the third December 17 you couldn’t turn on the radio without hearing Bing Crosby sing ‘White Christmas’; the last December 17 she had worn her green felt skirt to the Fellers’ Christmas party; the December 17 Arnie had been machine-pistoled to death along with eighty-five other American prisoners of war at Malmedy, Belgium.”Her second son Tim is living in this mausoleum of her making and feels he needs to do something drastic to pull himself out of this dark whirlpool of sadness that surrounds his mother as she bludgeons herself with these meaningless daily anniversaries. Tim has an unhealthy relationship with the book Raintree County as he tries to make sense of why the author Ross Lockridge Jr. killed himself at the very moment when he was achieving success.There are many more characters dotting the landscape of this novel. A Colonel with a secret that must be kept hidden. A teacher with a telescope that he uses to lure handsome young men into his attic. This is a book about secrets, small town secrets that turn out to be just as prevalent and just as dark as those of people living anywhere. ”You can’t get rid of the past. The past is not a matter of time. It’s a place. Somewhere just out of reach.”Without Roosevelt on the ticket in 1948 the enthusiasm of the American people was tepid at best. They missed his leadership; his assurances, but most importantly they missed his amber voice. ”It was when she walked back to the booth and collected the three face-up Franklin D. Roosevelt dimes the men had left for her that she realized whose voice she’d missed coming out of the radio tonight, the only one without a band behind it that had ever made her turn up the sound.” Governor Thomas E. DeweyThe American people in 1948 were still recovering from the mental fatigue and the sorrow of war. It was understandable that they looked at both candidates with jaundiced eyes. They just didn't measure up. Polling showed Dewey well ahead. Newspapers were printed ahead of time with headlines touting Dewey's victory. Republicans were sauntering around brimming with confidence. This reminded me of the most recent election with Mitt Romney despite polling that said they were going to lose were acting like people ready to start measuring for drapes in the oval office. At least in Dewey’s defense he was fooled by what turned out to be very bad polling data. He did improve on his performance against Roosevelt, but still lost rather badly in the electoral college 303 to 189. The spread would have been much worse if J. Strom Thurmond hadn’t won four states in the South as a third party candidate. Truman’s gamble to run against congress rather than against a candidate paid off. He turned out to be a lot feistier than what his opponents thought possible. Being a presidential political junkie I wanted more politics, but I think to most of the reading population Thomas Mallon showed a deft hand using the election as a backdrop instead of putting it on center stage. He explored the lives of the people of Owosso in a time when people could tell the world was changing very quickly and they were unsure of what their place would be in it. Some could cling to their past, but the majority of people will have to make adjustments and will have to embrace a new President along with a universe that is moving just ever so quicker with every new revolution.
Once again, Thomas Mallon blows me away.This novel, which takes place in Owosso, Michigan - Thomas Dewey's hometown - is a wonderful mixture of historical fact and incredible fiction. Mallon always manages to find a fictional parallel to the historical events which guide the story.In this case, the residents of Owosso are preparing to become a national tourist site when their native son is elected, as everyone in the US knows he WILL be, president of the United States. Although he lost in his bid against FDR, the little haberdasher (yes, he actually was) Truman is crude and should never have been president in the first place. Too bad FDR died and left him the farm.Entwined with the story of the new resident's desire to build a Dewey Walk along the river (with murals portraying the president's rise to the top, eventually with townspeople acting the parts of the people portrayed in each mural) is the story of the "Colonel" and his friends, one of whom is a suicide for love; a young college literature graduate who has come to the town because she wants the feel of this type of All-American town for the novel she plans to write; a young WWII vet who is now an UAW organizer (and an ardent Democrat); a young man of privilege who picked Owosso on the map to reside in in order to win his first election to government; two teenagers who long to break the solid wall of dullness and flee from their hometown; and a high school science teacher with a secret round out the characters. Anne, the young literature graduate, works in a bookstore and is courted both by Peter, the rich playboy, and Jack, the UAW organizer. Peter is rare, danger, not tied to this small stultifying town, but Jack is steady, reliable, the sturdy Midwestern type. Who will she chose? Who will the nation choose?We know the answer to the last. The New York Times stuck its foot in its mouth by bringing out an extra edition with the now priceless headline DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN. However.....Mallon is one of the smoothest writers I have ever read. It helps to have a knowledge of the historical period that he writes about so that the parallels between the nonfiction and the fiction are clear, but it's not absolutely necessary. I enjoy it mostly BECAUSE I know the historical periods and what will happen. But Mallon makes the fiction side seem almost as real as the real side.With his smooth, liquid language and his blending of history and fiction, Mallon is well worth reading.
Do You like book Dewey Defeats Truman (1997)?
Set in the small town in Michigan where Thomas Dewey was born, this a book with a bit of nostalgia and a bit of romance. Everyone is excited about their hometown boy becoming the next president. City fathers are planning on improvements so as not to disappoint the flood of tourists to be expected over the coming years as the hometown of a president. A new gal in town is heavily pursued by 2 very eligible bachelors, one a hot shot republican lawyer running for state senator and the other a "nice guy" labor organizer. Anne works at the local bookstore while trying to write her first novel. She is drawn to the lawyer by his good looks and his personality but is falling for the more plain-spoken unionized. With a trip to Mackinac Island the thrown in, this is a fun look back to small town Michigan suddenly in the nation's spotlight.
—Geo Forman
Great little period piece that reads like a movie you would watch on ABC or something. Loved the stories and the characters. However, I HATED the ending, and seriously considered not finishing with just five pages left, I was so upset. Guess that means that Mallon had me hooked? :) Would have been a great read around an election time. Inspiring. Young people who actually put effort in to care about an election, get to know the candidates, and get involved in the election proceedings- sigh. What a time.
—Katharine Grubb
