Andrew’s Reviews > Theodore Roosevelt, the Progressive Party, and the Transformation of American Democracy > Status Update

His section on the legacy of the Progressive Party only extended to 1916. I was expecting to be a little more far-reaching than just the next Presidential election. This book is a bit of a mess.

It'd be great if the author would explain what he means by "rule of the bosses" and "reform and recall" instead of just repeated them continuously and hoping the reader will understand. He also compared the Progressive party to the Dems, GOP, and socialists of the time without actually saying what the other parties stand for. The detail he gives to Progs is too heavy and the rest is all too vague.

I swear, if he repeats himself one more time that TR was trying to change elections to be candidate-centered rather than party-centered, I might throw this damn repetitive book out the fucking window, my thesis be damned.

Just made it through the Primaries of 1912 and are moving on to the formation of the Progressive Party. I'm starting to wonder how much forward influence this book can actually discuss at the rate it's going. I'm worried the profound impact it promises to explore will be jammed in to the conclusion of the book. This dragging pace is not doing it any favors.

Still not through the primaries and we're 1/3 of the way through the book (notes begin on p.299 so do not count as part of the content)

Chapter 3 has not gotten beyond the Presidential Primaries of 1912, the same subject as chapter 1. I also just read this sentence-- "Even the British press, which frequently lampooned the whirligig of American politics, conceded the importance of the campaign." This book desperately needs an editor.

While this book is very thorough in making its point, I think it's a little TOO thorough. It would be much less repetitive and more engaging if some of this padding had been cut out.