Adlai Stevenson; A Study In Values
New York: Harper & Row, 1967. Presumed First Edition, First Printing. Hardcover. xiii, [1], 338 pages. Footnotes. Index. Signed and dated by previous owner on the fep. Some pencil marks noted. DJ has slight wear, tears and soiling. Dedicated to Cass Canfield. Herbert J. Muller’s Adlai Stevenson: A Study in Values explores Adlai Stevenson II’s political life as a symbol of twentieth-century democratic idealism, focusing on the tension between his personal integrity and the demands of Cold War politics. The biography analyzes his unsuccessful 1952 and 1956 presidential campaigns and his later tenure as U.N. Ambassador, presenting him as the intellectual conscience of his generation. Herbert J. Muller (1905–1980) was a prominent American historian, author, and academic who famously synthesized history, philosophy, and political science. He spent a significant portion of his career at Indiana University, serving as a professor of both English and Government. Muller was widely acclaimed for his sweeping, broad-lens historical narratives that sought to extract meaningful, humanist lessons from past civilizations to apply to contemporary societal dilemmas. He achieved major literary recognition as a National Book Award finalist for his celebrated 1952 work, The Uses of the Past: Profiles of Former Societies. Over his lifetime, Muller penned numerous highly regarded texts exploring the evolution of democracy and the ethical dilemmas of progress, including The Loom of History (1958), Freedom in the Ancient World (1961), and The Children of Frankenstein: A Primer on Modern Technology and Human Values (1970). Derived from a Kirkus review: Making judicious use of public speeches and private remarks, Muller chronicles Stevenson's career, from his New Deal service and governorship of Illinois to the U.N. The Presidential campaigns of '52 and '56 are discussed at length. Despite his great admiration for Stevenson, Muller acknowledges that the Egg of Head (as the public and Macbird saw him) was a political thinker who never grasped a number of important domestic and foreign policy issues. His high brow was more a matter of style, wit, revulsion against the static complacencies of the Eisenhower administration, and a belief that rational discourse is possible--and necessary--in politics. And his famous indecisiveness reflected a forceful character and a wobbly mind, not weak-tempered intellect. What Muller shows about Stevenson qualifies what he says about his status as the embodiment of mature liberalism. He does not compare Stevenson to other liberals like Kefauver and Fulbright. This is a solid, outspoken book by an author well known for his series of works on freedom. Condition: Good / Good.
Keywords: Adlai Stevenson, Governor, Illinois, Statesman, United Nations, Ambassador, Presidential Elections, Presidential Campaigns, Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Foreign Policy, Liberalism, Truman, Politics
[Book #91889]
Price: $45.00