Volume 4, Number 9 · June 3, 1965
Pop President
By Richard Hofstadter
The Available Man: Warren Gamaliel Harding
by Andrew Sinclair
Macmillan, 344 pp., $6.95
About twenty years ago, I was struck by two large framed photographs of Coolidge and Harding in the window of an antique shop in Washington. For a reason I can no longer remember—perhaps because they suggested some important moral to me—I had long wanted photographs of these two presidents for my office, and I naively Imagined that they could be had at some discount. When the proprietor, a beady-eyed man in his sixties, told me that Harding was $35 and Coolidge $20, I was less disappointed than curious. Why, I asked, since the pictures were alike in size and quality, was the Harding so much more expensive? He fixed me with a look of scorn. 'Why? Why?' he repeated—and his voice soared—'Because Harding was more popular—that's why!'
Review, 1372 words
To read the full text of this piece, please choose one of the following options:
|
If you are already a subscriber to the Review's electronic edition, please sign in: |
To subscribe to the electronic edition, please press the button below. |
To purchase access to this article for $3, please press the button below. |