1948: Harry Truman's Improbable Victory and the Year That Transformed America

by David Pietrusza, Jeff Cummings (narrator)

The wild, combative inside story of the most stunning upset in the history of presidential Harry Truman's 1948 victory over Tom Dewey.

"Outstanding....by far the best yet about the fateful [1948] election." -Minneapolis Star-Tribune

"Coherent, compelling.... A skillful, authoritative investigation." -Kirkus Reviews

Award-winning historian David Pietrusza unpacks the most ingloriously iconic headline in the history of presidential elections - DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN - to reveal the 1948 campaign's backstage events and recount the down-to-the-wire brawl fought against the background of an erupting Cold War, the Berlin Airlift, the birth of Israel, and a post-war America facing exploding storms over civil rights and domestic communism.

"A terrific book.... a must-read." -Ron Faucheux, former editor-in-chief, Campaigns & Elections magazine

"David Pietrusza brilliantly portrays President Harry Truman's successful efforts to stave off the challenge of New York Gov. Tom Dewey, who was making a repeat bid as the Republican nominee." -David Mark, journalist, political analyst, and author of Going The Art of Negative Campaigning

"Sweeping... compelling." -Library Journal

Audible Audio

Published November 13, 2018

About the author

David Pietrusza has produced a number of critically-acclaimed works concerning 20th century American history.

His book "1960: LBJ vs JFK vs Nixon: The Epic Campaign that Forged Three Presidencies" was named by ForeWord Magazine as among the best political biographies.

Pietrusza's "1920: The Year of the Six Presidents" received a Kirkus starred review, was honored as a Kirkus "Best Books of 2007" title, and was named an alternate selection of the History Book Club. Historian Richard Norton Smith has listed "1920: The Year of the Six Presidents" as being among the best studies of presidential campaigns.

Pietrusza's biography of Arnold Rothstein entitled "Rothstein: The Life, Times & Murder of the Criminal Genius Who Fixed the 1919 World Series" was a finalist for the 2003 Edgar Award. Rothstein's audio version won an AUDIOFILE Earphones Award.

Pietrusza's "Judge and Jury, his biography of baseball's first commissioner, Kenesaw Mountain Landis," received the 1998 CASEY Award and was also a Finalist for the 1998 Seymour Medal and nominated for the NASSH Book Award.

Pietrusza collaborated with baseball legend Ted Williams on an autobiography called "Ted Williams: My Life in Pictures."

Pietrusza served as president (1993-97) of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR), and as editor-in-chief of the publishing company Total Sports. He has been interviewed on NPR, MSNBC, C-SPAN, ESPN, the Fox News Channel, EBRU-TV, and the Fox Sports Channel. He has produced and written the PBS-affiliate documentary, "Local Heroes."

Pietrusza holds a master's degrees in history from the University at Albany and has served on the City Council in Amsterdam, New York. He has served as public information officer for the NYS Governor's Office of Regulatory Reform and the NYS Office of the Medicaid Inspector General."