They Also Ran

''They Also Ran: The Story of the Men Who Were Defeated for the Presidency'' (1943) is a non-fiction book about United States presidential candidates by American writer Irving Stone, known for his popular biographical novels of artists and intellectuals. An updated edition was published in 1966, with brief analyses of the 1944 through 1964 elections.

Summary

Stone evaluates several unsuccessful candidates for President of the United States, from the elections of 1824 through 1940. He explores their places in history (and those of their victorious opponents), and tries to assess whether or not the American people made the "right" choice in choosing another candidate for that office.

Structure

Stone groups the also-rans by profession, rather than listing them in chronological order. For example, the first section assesses newspapermen Horace Greeley and James M. Cox. Coincidentally Stone happens to rate them favorably compared to the candidates who were elected: Grant and Harding.

Reception

The ''Chicago Tribune'' described ''They Also Ran'' as "a fascinating and challenging book." The ''New York Times'' praised it as "a brilliant idea ... brilliantly executed".

Boyd Lee Spahr, in ''The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography'', criticized the "lack of historical continuity" in the organization of the book, complaining that the grouping of candidates by profession did little to increase understanding. He particularly criticized the text for numerous errors related to several different candidates, and said that Stone did not reflect the consensus of historians on many candidates. He said:

Mr. Stone wields a trenchant pen but his penchant for striking sentences, and perhaps his prejudices, lead him into exaggerations and inaccuracies, with the result that some of the sketches seem like campaign propaganda, post-mortem pro or con, rather than impartial biography. In addition, factual errors are fairly numerous.Boyd Lee Spahr, "Review: ''They Also Ran'' by Irving Stone"
''The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography,'' Vol. 69, issue 1, January 1945; pp. 82-83

Spahr concluded that while Stone was entitled to his opinions, the inaccuracies decreased the book's value as a reference.

1966 edition

The book was published in an updated edition in 1966, incorporating material on elections from 1944 to 1964. It included the sections noted below:

Influence

*The book inspired the Also-Ran Gallery, founded in Norton, Kansas in 1965, a collection of black-and-white portraits of unsuccessful presidential candidates that is displayed within the First State Bank building.Teresa Mendez. "Kerry joins the also-ran club"
''The Christian Science Monitor''. 8 November 2004, accessed 7 October 2014

Notes

See also

*'' The Contenders''

{{Irving Stone

1943 non-fiction books
Presidential elections in the United States
Books about politics of the United States
Non-fiction books about elections
Doubleday (publisher) books
Novels by Irving Stone