Magnificent Catastrophe

"They could write like angels and scheme like demons..."

Thus are John Adams and Thomas Jefferson characterized in Edward Larson's account of the election of 1800, in which these Founders stood for the Presidency while around them party ideologies emerged for the first time in the young USA, and (courtesy of Aaron Burr) machine politics and political fundraising were first perfected. High-mindedness clashed with mudslinging, opening a gap we continue to mind to this day.

Edward J. Larson is the author of seven books and the recipient of the 1998 Pulitzer Prize in History for his book Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America's Continuing Debate Over Science and Religion. His other books include Evolution: The Remarkable History of a Scientific Theory; Evolution's Workshop; God and Science on the Galapagos Islands; and Trial and Error: The American Controversy Over Creation and Evolution. Larson has also written over one hundred articles, most of which address topics of law, science, or politics from an historical perspective, which have appeared in such varied journals as The Atlantic, Nature, Scientific American, The Nation, The Wilson Quarterly, and Virginia Law Review. He is a professor of history and law at Pepperdine University and lives in Georgia and California.

Publisher: Free Press
Distributor: Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: 09-18-2007
Pages: 352
Measurements: 9in X 6.25in X 21.42oz