What do you think?
Rate this book
In the Arena: Stories of Political Life
In the Stories of Political Life is a collection of short stories written by Booth Tarkington, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author. The book explores the world of politics and the people who inhabit it, from the idealistic young candidate to the jaded old-timer. Tarkington's characters are complex and multi-dimensional, each with their own motivations and flaws. The stories are set in various political arenas, from small-town campaigns to national conventions, and offer a glimpse into the inner workings of the political machine. Through his vivid storytelling, Tarkington highlights the challenges and rewards of political life, as well as the ethical dilemmas faced by those who seek to make a difference in the world. Overall, In the Arena is a thought-provoking and engaging read that offers a unique perspective on the world of politics.1913. Illustrated by A.I. Keller, Power O'Malley and J.J. Gould. Although his first book was about English romance, Newton Booth Tarkington, winner of two Pulitzer Prizes, for The Magnificent Ambersons and Alice Adams, came to be known for his comical (and almost cynical) style of the Lost Generation that characterized the 1920's. Boss Gorgett; The Aliens; The Need of Money; Hector. Part Mrs. Protheroe and Great Men's Sons. See other titles by this author available from Kessinger Publishing.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.
292 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1905
10 people are currently reading
42 people want to read
About the author
Booth Tarkington
472 books186 followersNewton Booth Tarkington was an American novelist and dramatist best known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning novels The Magnificent Ambersons and Alice Adams. He is one of only four novelists to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction/Novel more than once, along with William Faulkner, John Updike and Colson Whitehead. Although he is little read now, in the 1910s and 1920s he was considered America's greatest living author.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 3, 2009
A wonderful commentary on politics by means of several short stories. While the stories are obviously early Twentieth Century, but the morals are universal and quite poignant for today. Tarkington is incredibly versatile, and frankly one of the best American authors to date. His works range from very serious dramas to hilarious comedies to, as this book demonstrates, insightful political tales.
Personally, I think most of Tarkington's prolific work goes unfortunately unnoticed by all but a handful of aficionado.
Personally, I think most of Tarkington's prolific work goes unfortunately unnoticed by all but a handful of aficionado.
January 5, 2009
"In The Arena: Stories of Political Life" was originally published in 1905. It is a collection of short stories by Booth Tarkington all of which have something to do with politics. The book is divided into two parts. Part I consists of four short stories, and Part II has two short stories. All these stories had been printed before, but there is also a short introductory section titled "In The First Place" which very generally links the stories together and sets the tone for the book.
"Boss Gorgett" is an amusing twist on an idea. Here we have the political operators being outmaneuvered by an honest man. In this story, the narrator is part of a party which opposes the long-time powerful mayor Boss Gorgett and in their attempt to unseat him they nominate a newspaperman Farwell Knowles, a man who is new to politics and sees it as his job to clean things up. When those who are supporting Knowles are trying to reverse a political dirty-trick of Boss Gorgett, Knowles becomes irate and announces that he will expose them as well as Boss Gorgett's original plan and have them all sent to jail. The political game players unite to defend each other, as Knowles only embarrassing secret is threatened to be exposed to keep him quiet. This story was originally published in December of 1903 in "Everybody's Magazine".
"The Aliens" is next, and it starts off as a light-hearted tail of love between an Italian immigrant man (Pietro Tobigli) and a German immigrant woman (Bertha Grass), with a political operator trying to control the Italian man for his own purposes in the upcoming election. Unfortunately, the idea of voting Republican is so ingrained in the Italian man, that he fails to catch on to the idea that he, and his fellow Italians who follow his lead are to switch parties. Tarkington turns it into a dark story very quickly, when the operator uses a trick to keep the Italians from voting, with tragic consequences. This story was originally published in February of 1904 in "McClure's Magazine".
"The Need of Money" is a story about an older man, Uncle Billy Rollinson, who is run by the Democrats because they thought nobody had a chance to win, but due to a political swing of the public he finds himself in office and completely unprepared to serve. He decides to vote along with a younger politician that he admires (Hurlbut). He also gains a reputation for being very honest, something which he is very proud of. However, he is also poor, and when his son gets into trouble, he finds the railroads interested in helping him out, at the cost of voting against one of Hurlbut's bills. Hurlbut gets very irate at "Uncle Billy", who becomes quickly a joke as he likes to tell people how he is "as honest as the day is long"; though they all know he sold his vote. Much later, Hurlbut changes his opinion about Uncle Billy, after he has to compromise his own principles to move up in politics. This story was originally published in 1904 in "McClure's Magazine".
"Hector" is a story about a young man whose oratory gifts are extraordinary, even at a young age. He learns to manipulate those around him with his gift. The story is told from the view of his second cousin, who saw from an early age what Hector was, and over time he came to resent and to oppose Hector's ability. Hector's rise was assured though, as even those who seem to know what he is, are often in a position where they find themselves doing what he wants. Hector becomes a soulless politician, using even those closest to him, in pursuit of his own greatness. This story was originally published in December of 1904 in "Everybody's Magazine".
"Mrs. Protheroe" is the story of Senator Alonzo Rawson, who is new to the senate and believes he is immune to the manipulations of lobbyists. He is completely unaware of the effect that the beautiful Mrs. Protheroe has on him, as she turns him for a bill which he had sworn he would vote against. He is manipulated from one opposed, to one marginally in favor, to finally one who actively speaks out in favor of the legislation. When the bill still fails, he finds himself quite alone, as Mrs. Protheroe moves on to other interests, and he is left with the knowledge of how he was used. This story was originally published in February of 1905 in "McClure's Magazine".
"Great Men's Sons" is the shortest story in the book, and the one in which politics plays the smallest role. It is about the son (Melville Bickner) of a great Governor (Orlando T. Bickner). His father was brought down by his political enemies, and Melville. Melville was always compared, unfavorably, with his father. The story is told from the viewpoint of an old man (Tom Martin) who is relating the story to the narrator whom he knew when the narrator was a young man. Tarkington artfully blends a discussion of L'Aiglon (the play that they had just seen) with the discussion of the supposedly not so great Melville. But Melville's deeds outshine both his father and the play. This story was originally published in 1901 in "Everybody's Magazine".
I enjoyed this book quite a bit, and continue to enjoy the way Tarkington can turn a story from one of light humor to very serious with just a few paragraphs. Overall, I prefer his longer works, in particular "The Two Vanrevels", but this is not far behind.
"Boss Gorgett" is an amusing twist on an idea. Here we have the political operators being outmaneuvered by an honest man. In this story, the narrator is part of a party which opposes the long-time powerful mayor Boss Gorgett and in their attempt to unseat him they nominate a newspaperman Farwell Knowles, a man who is new to politics and sees it as his job to clean things up. When those who are supporting Knowles are trying to reverse a political dirty-trick of Boss Gorgett, Knowles becomes irate and announces that he will expose them as well as Boss Gorgett's original plan and have them all sent to jail. The political game players unite to defend each other, as Knowles only embarrassing secret is threatened to be exposed to keep him quiet. This story was originally published in December of 1903 in "Everybody's Magazine".
"The Aliens" is next, and it starts off as a light-hearted tail of love between an Italian immigrant man (Pietro Tobigli) and a German immigrant woman (Bertha Grass), with a political operator trying to control the Italian man for his own purposes in the upcoming election. Unfortunately, the idea of voting Republican is so ingrained in the Italian man, that he fails to catch on to the idea that he, and his fellow Italians who follow his lead are to switch parties. Tarkington turns it into a dark story very quickly, when the operator uses a trick to keep the Italians from voting, with tragic consequences. This story was originally published in February of 1904 in "McClure's Magazine".
"The Need of Money" is a story about an older man, Uncle Billy Rollinson, who is run by the Democrats because they thought nobody had a chance to win, but due to a political swing of the public he finds himself in office and completely unprepared to serve. He decides to vote along with a younger politician that he admires (Hurlbut). He also gains a reputation for being very honest, something which he is very proud of. However, he is also poor, and when his son gets into trouble, he finds the railroads interested in helping him out, at the cost of voting against one of Hurlbut's bills. Hurlbut gets very irate at "Uncle Billy", who becomes quickly a joke as he likes to tell people how he is "as honest as the day is long"; though they all know he sold his vote. Much later, Hurlbut changes his opinion about Uncle Billy, after he has to compromise his own principles to move up in politics. This story was originally published in 1904 in "McClure's Magazine".
"Hector" is a story about a young man whose oratory gifts are extraordinary, even at a young age. He learns to manipulate those around him with his gift. The story is told from the view of his second cousin, who saw from an early age what Hector was, and over time he came to resent and to oppose Hector's ability. Hector's rise was assured though, as even those who seem to know what he is, are often in a position where they find themselves doing what he wants. Hector becomes a soulless politician, using even those closest to him, in pursuit of his own greatness. This story was originally published in December of 1904 in "Everybody's Magazine".
"Mrs. Protheroe" is the story of Senator Alonzo Rawson, who is new to the senate and believes he is immune to the manipulations of lobbyists. He is completely unaware of the effect that the beautiful Mrs. Protheroe has on him, as she turns him for a bill which he had sworn he would vote against. He is manipulated from one opposed, to one marginally in favor, to finally one who actively speaks out in favor of the legislation. When the bill still fails, he finds himself quite alone, as Mrs. Protheroe moves on to other interests, and he is left with the knowledge of how he was used. This story was originally published in February of 1905 in "McClure's Magazine".
"Great Men's Sons" is the shortest story in the book, and the one in which politics plays the smallest role. It is about the son (Melville Bickner) of a great Governor (Orlando T. Bickner). His father was brought down by his political enemies, and Melville. Melville was always compared, unfavorably, with his father. The story is told from the viewpoint of an old man (Tom Martin) who is relating the story to the narrator whom he knew when the narrator was a young man. Tarkington artfully blends a discussion of L'Aiglon (the play that they had just seen) with the discussion of the supposedly not so great Melville. But Melville's deeds outshine both his father and the play. This story was originally published in 1901 in "Everybody's Magazine".
I enjoyed this book quite a bit, and continue to enjoy the way Tarkington can turn a story from one of light humor to very serious with just a few paragraphs. Overall, I prefer his longer works, in particular "The Two Vanrevels", but this is not far behind.
October 8, 2016
This collection of short stories is a short book from early in Booth Tarkington's writing career, when he was less verbose than he became in some later works. These stories are of special interest because Tarkington tapped into his own brief career in politics for material; his experiences seem to have left him with a sober but still optimistic view of democracy. If you're going to read half a dozen Tarkington books, this is one to include.
These stories don't resemble short stories by Updike or Munro. They're in the old-fashioned O. Henry/de Maupassant vein, with unsubtle plots, clever ironic twists, homely humor, and pathos. If you know Alice Adams, which is one of Tarkington's great novels, written later, one of these stories may seem familiar: it's the tragic tale of a good man, innocent and without guile, who commits a single dishonest act and loses everything.
My hardcover copy of this 1905 book seems to be a reprint from the 1920s.
These stories don't resemble short stories by Updike or Munro. They're in the old-fashioned O. Henry/de Maupassant vein, with unsubtle plots, clever ironic twists, homely humor, and pathos. If you know Alice Adams, which is one of Tarkington's great novels, written later, one of these stories may seem familiar: it's the tragic tale of a good man, innocent and without guile, who commits a single dishonest act and loses everything.
My hardcover copy of this 1905 book seems to be a reprint from the 1920s.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews