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The Farther Shores of Politics: The American Political Fringe Today
Book by George Thayer
610 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1967
About the author
George Thayer
13 books1 followerMr. Thayer was born in Philadelphia. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1955 and in 1958 received a diploma in international business administration from the University of Geneva.
He spent a year in residence at the London School of Economics in 1963‐64 and the following year was a research assistant to Randolph S. Churchill working on the biography of Sir Winston Churchill.
Mr. Thayer served as a speechwriter for Gov. Nelson A. Rockefeller of New York in 1968, for Senator Claiborne Pell, Democrat of Rhode Island, in 1969, and for Representative Lawrence R. Coughlin, Republican of Pennsylvania, from 1969 until last year.
His book reviews and ar ticles appeared in Harpers magazine, The Washington Post, The Washington Monthly and The London Observer.
Excerpt from the obituary George C. Thayer, Political Writer published in The New York Times 14. August 1973.
He spent a year in residence at the London School of Economics in 1963‐64 and the following year was a research assistant to Randolph S. Churchill working on the biography of Sir Winston Churchill.
Mr. Thayer served as a speechwriter for Gov. Nelson A. Rockefeller of New York in 1968, for Senator Claiborne Pell, Democrat of Rhode Island, in 1969, and for Representative Lawrence R. Coughlin, Republican of Pennsylvania, from 1969 until last year.
His book reviews and ar ticles appeared in Harpers magazine, The Washington Post, The Washington Monthly and The London Observer.
Excerpt from the obituary George C. Thayer, Political Writer published in The New York Times 14. August 1973.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 16, 2012
This was one of my favorite books when I first read it in junior high school in 1980. Written in 1967, it was then 13 years old. On re-reading it today (I have just purchased a used copy), it is interesting to see how much the default ideological assumptions have changed in the past 45 years. One quick example, the Socialist Party is in the section labelled "Moderate Left", while National Review is in the section labelled "Far Right". (National Review is today one of the most influential political publications out there, when the book was written it was described as being on the fringes of the political scene and of absolutely no influence in Washington, DC.)
The book is an entertaining look at the fringe political scene in the late 1960s, it has some interesting descriptions of the revolutionary left, racist organizations, black and Guamanian nationalists, and the paleo-conservative right, as well as amusing descriptions of such oddballs as the Prohibition Party, the American Vegetarian Party and the Poor Man's Party.
The book is an entertaining look at the fringe political scene in the late 1960s, it has some interesting descriptions of the revolutionary left, racist organizations, black and Guamanian nationalists, and the paleo-conservative right, as well as amusing descriptions of such oddballs as the Prohibition Party, the American Vegetarian Party and the Poor Man's Party.
January 20, 2015
I found this interesting although it was slightly unnerving to find myself, my family, my colleagues, my friends and most of our neighbors apparently included in such a book.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews