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The Presidential Fringe: Questing and Jesting for the Oval Office Audiobook
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This offbeat slice of American history places the story of our great republic beneath an unexpected lens: that of fringe candidates for president of the United States. Mark Stein explores how their quest for our nation’s highest office helped to amplify voices otherwise quashed during their day. His careening tour through elections past includes the efforts of true pioneers in the quest for social equality in our country: the first woman to run for president, Victoria Woodhull in 1872; the first African American to run for president, George E. Taylor, in 1904; and the first openly gay cross-dressing candidate for president, Joan Jett Blakk in 1992.
But The Presidential Fringe also takes a look at those who would jest their way into the Oval Office, from comedians such as Will Rogers and Gracie Allen to Pat Paulsen and Stephen Colbert. Along the way, Stein shows how even seemingly zany candidates, such as “Live Forever” Jones, Vegetarian Party candidate John Maxwell, Flying Saucer Party candidate Gabriel Green, or most recently, Vermin Supreme, provide extraordinary insights of clarity into who we were when they ran for president and how we became who we are today. Ultimately, Stein’s examination reveals that it was often precisely these fringe candidates who planted the seeds from which mainstream candidates later harvested genuine, positive change.
Written in Stein’s direct and witty style, The Presidential Fringe surveys and portrays an American landscape rife with the unlikely, unassuming, unexpected, and (in a few cases) unbalanced presidential hopefuls who, in their own way, have contributed to this nation’s founding quest to form a more perfect Union.
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“Informative and entertaining, forcing American readers to take some glances into what at times is an unflattering mirror.”
— Kirkus Reviews
Quotes
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“Stein once again holds a brilliant mirror up to American society and history…Humorous, incisive, and telling narratives.”
— Mark Olshaker, coauthor of Mindhunter -
“If ever there was a time to seriously consider the value of candidates who lampoon our electoral system, it is now.”
— Gabriel Gomez, professor of education at Chicago State University
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About Mark Stein
Mark Stein is the author of How the States Got Their Shapes, a New York Times bestseller that became the basis of the History Channel series of the same name, in which Stein frequently appears. He is also the author of How the States Got Their Shapes Too: The People behind the Borderlines. Stein lives in Washington, DC, where he has taught at the Catholic University of America and American University.
About Keith Sellon-Wright
Keith Sellon-Wright is an audiobook narrator and an actor with more than thirty years of experience in Hollywood. His television roles have included Frasier, Seinfeld, The West Wing, Mad Men, Parks and Recreation, Grey’s Anatomy, and Scandal. He also serves as a “voice of the New York Times,” narrating selected articles for their daily audio edition.