“Compelling…[Glasser] has written a rigorously reported, unbiased and readable narrative, with incisive lessons for current and future would-be presidents."—Fred Barnes, The Wall Street Journal
~Fred Barnes, Wall Street Journal
"Timely and impeccably researched . . . Glasser brings out the full human drama and political intrigue of this historic episode, which forever changed the way presidential candidates pick their running mates."—Adam Kirsch, Christian Science Monitor
~Adam Kirsch, Christian Science Monitor
“A gripping account of the political earthquake that ensued when Missouri Sen. Thomas Eagleton, the hastily picked and poorly vetted vice-presidential candidate, was forced to disclose a history of hospitalizations for depression and treatments that included electroshock therapy.”—Publishers Weekly
~Publishers Weekly
“An engaging new book.”—Jon Meacham, Time Magazine and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House
“Crisply written, meticulously researched, and insightful, this fascinating book underscores the similarities of our country as it was 40 summers ago and as it is today. Both then and now, we are involved in an unpopular war, we are anxious about the economy and many are distrustful of our government and ambivalent about civil rights. This is political reporting at its very best. Glasser makes this event in history not just interesting but relevant.”—Larry Cox, Kings Features Syndicate
"Engrossing account of the doomed McGovern-Eagleton partnership... [Glasser] imparts lessons for both then and now.... Glasser's tick-tock chronicle of July 13, the day McGovern settled on Eagleton, is both a fasinating piece of political history and a devastating portrayal of executive irresolution." —John J. Miller, National Review
~John J. Miller, National Review
“If you think V.P. picks aren't interesting, just read ‘The 18-Day Running Mate: McGovern, Eagleton and a Campaign in Crisis. ‘ This is the story of an epic political fail, and it is fascinating.”—Melissa Harris-Perry, Melissa Harris-Perry Show
“A gripping examination of how McGovern chose Thomas F. Eagleton of Missouri as his running mate without knowing the senator had undergone electroshock therapy.”—David Shribman, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
~David Shribman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
“Josh Glasser has recovered the McGovern-Eagleton crisis in all its messy grandeur. More impressively, he uses the episode as a lightening flash that illuminates the way we were in the summer of 1972: trapped in an unpopular and unnecessary war; on the cusp of a new presidential primary system that transferred control from the back room politicians to the media; slouching towards Watergate; losing our way.”—Joseph J. Ellis, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Founding Brothers: the Revolutionary Generation
"There are no heroes in this exhaustively reported, beautifully written tale of one of the great political disasters of modern times. But there are plenty of lessons, not just about the undoing of the 1972 Democratic Presidential nominee and the hopes he carried, but of what can happen when hapless naivete smacks into unbridled ambition. As a bystander to these events, I thought I knew everything worth knowing about the pairing of decent George McGovern and tortured Tom Eagleton. Then I read this book. Boy, was I wrong."
—Robert Sam Anson, author of McGovern: A Biography
“The Eighteen-Day Running Mate is a riveting page-turner of a book about a forgotten episode in American political history. The moral? Politics is personal, for better and worse. And politicians—struggling to balance an appetite for public life with a penchant for family privacy—are simply humans like the rest of us, trying to find the best path forward.”—Martha A. Sandweiss, author of Passing Strange: A Gilded Age Tale of Love and Deception Across the Color Line
“A good read.”—Ken Rudin, NPR.ORG's Political Junkie Blog
“A gripping examination of how McGovern chose Thomas F. Eagleton of Missouri as his running mate without knowing the senator had undergone electroshock therapy.”—David Shribman, The Salem News
