Quest for the Presidency: The Storied and Surprising History of Presidential Campaigns in America

by Bob Riel

Quest for the Presidency gathers in a single volume the compelling stories behind every presidential campaign in American history, from 1789 through 2020. Bob Riel takes us inside the 1800 clash between Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, the 1860 election that launched a Civil War, the 1948 whistle-stop comeback of Harry Truman, the Kennedy-Nixon drama of 1960, the 1980 Reagan Revolution, the historic 2008 election of Barack Obama, the turbulent 2020 battle between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, and everything in between.

This engaging and insightful book includes a trove of entertaining stories about campaigns and candidates, and it goes beyond the campaign tales to also consider the threads that link elections across time. It sheds light on the continually evolving story of American democracy in a way that helps us to better understand present-day politics.

Genres: Politics, History, American History, Nonfiction

416 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2022

About the author

Bob Riel writes about history, politics, and travel. He is the author of "Quest for the Presidency: The Storied and Surprising History of Presidential Campaigns in America." He also publishes "The Riel World" newsletter on Substack.

Reviews

[Vali Benson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great highlight of the most interesting campaigns for the most important job in the world. Author Bob Riel does a fine job at presenting history in an enjoyable way. As always, Riel's depth of detail and research is second to none. Highly recommended for fans of the U.S. Presidency and the evolution of the office.

[Shelby Hutchinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not your typical US history book. Instead of feeling like you’re in a high school US History 101 class, reading this book feels like you’re sitting in a cafe chatting with the author. He has done incredible research to paint a realistic picture of each presidential candidate, making them feel truly human instead of simply names in a text book. The author uses humor and current events throughout the story to show us that history does repeat itself, and there is so much we missed in US History 101. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants a better understanding of why US politics is the way that it is!

[Alonso · Rating 5 out of 5]

AMAZING book! The author smoothly goes through the elections in a way that you feel Washington’s presidency is connected to Biden’s. He does this without pushing an agenda, being engaging and entertaining, and extremely educational. I look forward to updated versions in the future.

It’s a must read, and should be included in every high school and college classroom.

I’ll be picking up more books from this author.

[Maegan Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just an absolutely amazing book. You can tell how much time and research the author put into this book. This book is an unbiased and incredibly informative snapshot of every presidential campaign. I highly recommend this book and look forward to the updates in years to come.

[Chris Carson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrific read. Provides a very good overview of our Presidential elections - some very controversial - all of them filled with fun stories and battles for the hearts and minds of U.S.

[Kennedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Somehow I’d forgotten some things from the 2016 and 2020 elections and reading those sections got me upset again.

[Cameron Kuhn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I. Love. This. Book! I love studying elections and this is a treasure trove of every presidential election we've had up to 2020. It's shocking how much history repeats itself.