''The Making of the President 1960'', written by journalist Theodore H. White and published by

Atheneum Publishers Atheneum Books was a New York City publishing house established in 1959 by Alfred A. Knopf, Jr., Simon Michael Bessie and Hiram Haydn. Simon & Schuster has owned Atheneum properties since its acquisition of Macmillan in 1994 and it created Athen ...

in 1961, is a book that recounts and analyzes the 1960 election in which

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

was elected

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

. The book won the 1962

Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction The Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are awarded annually for the "Letters, Drama, and Music" category. The award is given to a nonfiction book written by an American author and published duri ...

and was the first in a series of books by White about

American presidential elections The election of the president and the vice president of the United States is an indirect election in which Citizenship of the United States, citizens of the United States who are Voter registration in the United States, registered to vote in o ...

. (The others are '' The Making of the President 1964'' (1965), '' The Making of the President 1968'' (1969), and '' The Making of the President 1972'' (1973).) The book traces the 1960 campaign from the

primaries Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the c ...

(in which

faced

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

Senator

Hubert Humphrey Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr. (May 27, 1911 – January 13, 1978) was an American pharmacist and politician who served as the 38th vice president of the United States from 1965 to 1969. He twice served in the United States Senate, representing Mi ...

and

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

Senator

Stuart Symington William Stuart Symington III (; June 26, 1901 – December 14, 1988) was an American businessman and Democratic politician from Missouri. He served as the first Secretary of the Air Force from 1947 to 1950 and was a United States Senator from ...

) to the conclusion of the general election contest against

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

. Much of the narrative is written in an almost novelistic style, describing politicians' looks, voices and personalities. But it also contains thought-provoking discussions of various trends in American life and politics. ''The Making of the President 1960'' was a huge success, staying on the best-seller list for more than 40 weeks. Critics and journalists hailed it as a new way of looking at its subject. It had a huge impact on political reporting and even on American politics itself. As White noted, it was an up-close look at a leader under the pressure of circumstances. Its literary-journalistic book brought a dramatic point of view on the world of politics and its strategies, victories and defeats. One chapter was devoted to detailing the reasons behind Americans' ways of voting and ways of life. White's book, and its successor volumes, inspired a trend toward campaign books and toward a more personality-driven approach to political reporting. White in later years would bemoan the changes he had helped create.

David L. Wolper David Lloyd Wolper (January 11, 1928 – August 10, 2010) was an American television and film producer, responsible for shows such as ''Roots'', '' The Thorn Birds'', and ''North and South'', and the theatrically-released films ''L.A. Confiden ...

produced a film version of ''The Making of the President 1960'' which was finished shortly before

President Kennedy's November 1963 assassination John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated on Friday, November 22, 1963, at 12:30 p.m. CST in Dallas, Texas, while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza. Kennedy was in the vehicle with ...

. It was released without revision.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Making Of The President 1961 non-fiction books American political books Books about John F. Kennedy Non-fiction books about elections Documentary films about John F. Kennedy 1963 documentary films 1963 films Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction-winning works Primetime Emmy Award-winning television series 1960s American films