D. W. BROCAN. Politics in America. Pp. 467. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1955. $5.00
| Author | E. Allen Helms |
| Published date | 01 July 1955 |
| Date | 01 July 1955 |
| DOI | 10.1177/000271625530000127 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
138
contains
a
map
and
sixty
tables
of
quanti-
tative
data.
CORTEZ
A.
M.
EWING
University
of
Oklahoma
D.
W.
BROCAN.
Politics
in
America.
Pp.
467.
New
York:
Harper
and
Brothers,
1955.
$5.00.
Commentaries
on
our
political
institu-
tions
and
processes
by
competent
observers
from
abroad
have
contributed
much
to
the
better
understanding
of
ourselves.
Such
observers
are
less
likely
to
get
lost
in
de-
tails.
Consequently,
they
may
have
clearer
perspectives
of
the
whole.
The
monumen-
tal
works
of
DeTocqueville
and
Bryce
are
not
alone
in
this
respect.
Harold
Laski
and
others
have
also
made
significant
con-
tributions.
It
is
always
good
to
have
Pro-
fessor
Brogan’s
analyses.
He
is
professor
of
political
science
at
the
University
of
Cambridge;
moreover,
he
is
no
casual
ob-
server
of
American
politics.
He
comes
here
often
and
gets
about
extensively.
There
is
a
standing
joke
around
Cambridge
that
he
should
apply
for
a
Fulbright
as-
signment
and
spend
a
year
at
Cambridge.
From
previous
publications
in
newspa-
pers
and
periodicals,
it
is
apparent
that
Brogan
knows
every
nook
and
cranny
of
our
nation;
it is
also
apparent
that
he
knows
American
politics.
However,
this
study
is
not
intended
to
be
anything
par-
ticularly
comprehensive.
On
the
contrary,
as
the
title
indicates,
he
has
undertaken
mainly
to
decipher
politics
rather
than
to
describe
institutions
and
processes.
More-
over,
he
has
limited
himself
pretty
largely
to
the
national
level
and
has
not
under-
taken
to
do
much
with
the
state
and
local
levels.
Professor
Brogan
does
have
a
chapter,
it
is
true,
on
&dquo;Machines
and
Bosses&dquo;
but
it
is
decidedly
not
the
best
chapter
in
the
book.
It
is
largely
historical
and
seems
to
be
a
bit
out
of
date.
An
up-to-date
chapter
on
pressure
politics
would
have
been
better.
There
are
also
chapters
on
the
&dquo;Party
Sys-
tem,&dquo;
&dquo;Morality
and
Politics,&dquo;
&dquo;The
Na-
tional
Conventions
and
the
Campaign.&dquo;
These
are
often
entertaining
and
some-
times
enlightening.
His
best
chapter
is
one
on
&dquo;Congress
and
the
President.&dquo;
Here
is
where
the
competent
student
of
both
the
British_
and
American
systems
is
able
to
make
some
really
intelligent
and
informative
observations.
A
chapter
on
&dquo;Politics
and
the
Courts&dquo;
is
also
well
done.
To
American
readers
the
factual
material
in
Professor
Brogan’s
work
will
seem
to
be
largely
common
knowledge.
Nevertheless,
Americans
will
find
the
book
well
worth
reading
and
exceptionally
readable.
The
style
is
lively
and
Professor
Brogan
has
an
unusual
flair
for
facetious
remarks,
amus-
ing
anecdotes,
and
interesting
incidents.
The
pages
of
his
book
are
filled
with
these.
There
are
a
few
minor
errors.
Warren
G.
Harding in
1920
was
scarcely
a
dark
horse
at
all,
much
less
&dquo;the
only
really
dark
horse&dquo;
(p.
212).
What
about
Garfield?
Harding
was
an
active
candidate
for
the
nomination
and
had
substantial
support
from
the
first
ballot.
Garfield
was
not
a
candidate
at
all
and
had
almost
no
sup-
port
until
the
thirty-fourth
ballot.
Some-
one
should
also
explain
to
Professor
Brogan
that
the
&dquo;open
primary&dquo;
and
&dquo;cross-filing&dquo;
are
not
the
same
thing
(p.
89).
Moreover
his
statement
that
the
delegates
to
the
na-
tional
nominating
conventions
are
&dquo;largely
poor
men
and
women&dquo;
(p.
210)
is
not
en-
tirely
accurate.
At
least
it is
not
sup-
ported
by
our
study
of
the
delegates
from
Ohio
in
1952.
On
the
whole,
the
errors
of
fact
or
judg-
ment
are
indeed
minor
ones
and
relatively
insignificant.
One
is
more
impressed
by
the
accuracy
of
his
information,
by
the
keenness
of
his
wit,
and
by
the
brilliance
of
his
observations.
E.
ALLEN
HELMS
Ohio
State
University
LEROY
C.
FERGUSON
and
RALPH
H.
SMUCKLER.
Politics
in
the
Press.
Pp.
100.
East
Lansing,
Mich.:
Michigan
State
College,
1954.
No
price.
This
is
not
a
general
discussion
of
how
the
American
newspaper
reflects
the
po-
litical
scene.
It
is,
rather,
a
meticulous
re-
search
analysis
of
the
contents
of
a
se-
lected
sample
of
Connecticut
and
wits-
consin
newspapers
in
a
six-week
period
preceding
the
elections
of
1952.
Further
refinement
limits
the
study
to
the
sena-
To continue reading
Request your trial