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Here are two books on American history I’ve read recently and enjoyed. One is about the Kennedy assassination and the other covers the 2012 presidential campaign.

End of Days

END OF DAYS:
ASSASSINATION OF JOHN F. KENNEDY

James Swanson

I’m a fan of James Swanson’s work. He’s one of few writers who can recount history in a way that is so fast-paced and narrative-focused that you feel like you are in the scene. Manhunt, his book on Lincoln’s assassination and the chase for the killer (see my review), is a favorite.

Swanson’s take on Kennedy is just as good. He doesn’t delve into conspiracy theories or various opinions that have come and gone in the past fifty years. There’s no need to add that kind of drama to this story. The account is a nail biter as it stands.

Swanson slows down the scene in all the right places, so that the reader sees the event from various angles, hears from the witnesses, and enters the minds of the victims and Kennedy’s killer. Even though you know the outcome, you can’t help but hope against hope as Swanson navigates you through the events in Dallas half a century ago.

double down

DOUBLE DOWN:
GAME CHANGE 2012

Mark Halperin & John Heilemann

The authors of Game Change are back with their take on the 2012 election. I confess I had low expectations for this book, since the 2012 campaign wasn’t nearly as interesting as 2008. In ’08, you had Sarah Palin, the Clinton/Obama dynamic, and the drama of an African-American running for president.

In ’12, the story is about a millionaire Mormon challenging a weak field of Republican candidates and then stumbling in his race for the White House. I worried the authors wouldn’t be able to overcome an uninteresting campaign cycle.

I was wrong. Double Down is just as good as Game Change, if not better, since the authors had to work harder to tell this story in a way that would hold the reader’s attention. They succeeded masterfully, shifting the scene back and forth from the Romney campaign to the Obama incumbency.

Their run-through of each major candidate in the Republican primary was worth the price of the book for me. Some may not want to relive that campaign season, but I found it helpful to walk back through those months and see the fatal moves each Republican contender made on their way to the Convention. (Warning: Language)

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