Member Discussion for “1920: The Year of the Six Presidents” — March 2023

We want to hear from you while you’re reading “1920: The Year of the Six Presidents.”

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We want to hear from you while you’re reading this month’s book. To ask questions, share thoughts, and interact with other members use the comment section on this page.

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Comments (19)
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    Jon C.

    Thanks to a long road trip, I'm half way through the audiobook and am saving the podcast until after I finish. I have to admit - I'm getting a little lost with all of the names, especially in the chapters about the party conventions. I enjoy hearing about the various candidates and their policies, but the details about the conventions themselves were hard to follow, at least while also paying attention to the road. Nonetheless, I like learning about the parties in another era when the dividing lines and various factions were not so clear (or at least quite different from today). Thank you for the book club and recommendations!

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  2. Meg E

    I am loving this book. I love all the insights into the time period and the presidents’ personal lives. I just need an explainer on the nominating process during this time period. It seems to be a transition between the institution of the direct primary and the nominating convention. But maybe I’m wrong?

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    1. Indianajames10

      No, that’s exactly right. Primaries first entered the scene in the 1900s and were a major source of conflict in the Taft-Roosevelt split in 1912. But they weren’t binding in any sense and really functioned more as “beauty contests.” Conventions didn’t have to abide by, or even consider the results, and they often didn’t. Primaries wouldn’t be binding until much later, the 1970s.

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    Ljgiblin

    I'm listening to the epilogue right now so have finished the majority of the book. My favorite chapter was that of the women's suffrage part especially the part that Tennessee played in the right to vote amendment and the member of the TN legislature that changed his vote from no to yes because of the letter he got from his mom! I live in Nashville so I've seen the monument and read about the history but that was such a great peek into the small things that can change the history of a country. I'm from Vermont as well so loved the insight into Calvin Coolidge and how he found out about the death of Harding and had his dad swear him in. Can't wait to listen to the podcast!

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  4. Nancye320

    I’m about 200 pages in and agree that it was a bit of a slog at the beginning but definitely picks up along the way. I’m not very familiar with this period in American history—a period when my grandparents were growing up so I’m imagining their lives in the context of the news and events of the day. I too am impressed with some of the eerie parallels to today. Perhaps what stands out most (so far) in reading the introductions to each of the six presidents is how human they were with strengths along w/ significant weaknesses, even cringe-worthy traits/behaviors. I believe I like Hoover and Coolidge at this stage in the book. Look forward to seeing how everything unfolds. Thanks for reading my two cents!

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  5. Indianajames10

    Read this book about a dozen years ago, and really enjoyed it. Glad to have an occasion to reacquaint myself with it. While the "hook" is the political scene of the day and how many current/former presidents were involved, the book does a great job explaining other issues of the day: Prohibition, women's suffrage, and the rise of radio. I've read a number of other works by David Pietrusza; he's a great author.

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  6. Arbcin

    Enjoying this read - eerie how so much is the same 100 years later. I appreciate the inclusion of the peripheral folks (shout out to Wallace McCamant!)

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    J Bryant

    There are some details in this one that I don't recall from the last one -- Debbs's joyous ode to the Bolsheviks and their thus far having slaughtered only priests, officers, and the occasional Romanov child, for instance -- that make me see better where some of the criticisms people had of the last book were coming from.

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    1. Fred H

      Agree. This book is better than American Midnight.

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  8. App_esq

    I've started this book about 5 times. Can't get past the first 10 pages.

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    1. MLE

      I agree that the early Woodrow Wilson stuff is slow reading. But (maybe I'm biased) the Calvin Coolidge chapters are a joy! Keep pushing!

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    2. App_esq

      But I will try again!

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    CJ Klein

    Probably my favorite book of all time. Excited to dust it off and re-read in March.

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    1. Mark Anderson

      That's encouraging. I was stormly disappointed by American Midnight.

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