Book Reviews : Presidential Timber: The Story of How Presidential Candidates Are Nominated. By HERBERT A. EATON. (New York: Free Press of Glencoe, 1964. Pp. 506, $6.95.)

• Date: 01 December 1964
• Author: George C.S. Benson
• Published date: 01 December 1964
• DOI: 10.1177/106591296401700430
• Subject Matter: Articles

817

nomic

factors

and

avoids

altogether

the

ideological

and

racial

complexities

of

his

topic.

Useful

perhaps

as

a

textbook

(it

is

available

in

paperback)

or

as

a

single-

volume

reference,

the

work

is

fairly

and

modestly

characterized

by

the

author

in

his

preface

as

simply

an

&dquo;extented

outline

to

be

filled

in

by

teachers,

students

and

the

general

reader.&dquo;

The

volume

on

Puerto

Rico

is

quite

another

matter;

in

scope,

approach,

tone,

and

ultimate

significance

it

is

a

far

more

impressive

piece

of

work.

Lewis

is

a

Welsh-

man,

a

product

of

both

Oxford

and

Harvard,

and

is

on

the

faculty

of

the

University

of

Puerto

Rico.

His

book

is

an

ambitious

and

sympathetic

socio-cultural

study

of

Puerto

Rico

and,

at

the

same

time,

a

spirited

polemic

against

American

politics

and

culture

generally.

Lewis’s

dogmatic

socialist

persuasion

is

a

constant,

sometimes

intrusive

and

occasionally

exasperating

backdrop

to

his

study

of

Puerto

Rican

life

and

thought;

but

at

its

best

the

book

is

a

serious,

original,

and

significant

synthesis.

In

its

bias,

its

broadly

cultural

approach

and

its

imposing

bulk,

the

book

is

reminis-

cent

of

Harold

Laski’s

The

American

Democracy.

Like

the

Laski

volume,

this

is

no

monograph

but

rather

an

extended

and

subjective

essay,

the

product

of

a

sophisti-

cated

scholar

writing

from

firsthand

observation

and

a

thorough

knowledge

of

the

literature

of

his

subject.

Lewis

treats

Puerto

Rican

history

and

institutions

in

depth

and

at

length;

especially

illuminating

and

perceptive

are

his

sections

on

the

family,

religion

on

the

island,

politics

and

political

leadership,

the

machinery

of

government,

the

color

problem

and

education.

As

a

case

history

in

American

colonialism,

his

subject

sets

Lewis

in

full

cry

against

American

culture

in

most

of

its

aspects,

especially

as

an

item

of

official

and

unofficial

export.

This

theme

has

engaged

European

critics

for

a

long

time

and

Lewis

adds

little

that

is

new,

but

his

critique

is

still

pungent,

worth

reading.

This

is

true

also

of

his

eloquent

brief

for

complete

Puerto

Rican

independence

and

of

his

contention

that

the

nationalism

of

Castro’s

Cuba

will,

in

fact,

be

Latin

America’s

guiding

beacon

in

the

years

ahead.

H.

R.

DIETERICH

University

of

Wyoming

Presidential

Timber:

The

Story

of

How

Presidential

Candidates

Are

Nominated.

By

HERBERT

A.

EATON.

(New

York:

Free

Press

of

Glencoe,

1964.

Pp.

506,

$6.95.)

The

book

is

an

account

of

each

nominating

convention

of

the

major

parties

from

1868

to

1960

inclusive.

It

is

well

written,

brief,

and

includes

a

number

of

well-

selected

quotations.

I

read

it

with

considerable

interest.

It

would

make

an

excellent

assignment

to

students

writing

papers

on

nominating

conventions,

and

would

give

good

notes

for

students

writing

papers

on

recent

American

political

history.

Mr.

Eaton

has

probably

dug

into

newspaper

accounts

of

earlier

conventions,

has

used

many

secondary

accounts,

and

perhaps

has

some

personal

background

on

later

ones,

especially

the

Democratic

ones.

From

the

scholarly

political

science

standpoint,

there

is

little

to

be

said

for

the

book.

It

contains

no

comparisons

of

convention

organization

or

management,

and

almost

no

comment

about

the

changes

of

convention

techniques.

Very

brief

refer-