Name: Playing with Fire
ISBN: 9780399563140

Lawrence O'Donnell

The celebrated host of MSNBC's The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell presents an account of the 1968 presidential election to evaluate its lasting influence on American politics and the Democratic party, exploring the pivotal roles of RFK and McCarthy, two high-profile assassinations and the Chicago riots.

The 1968 Election and the Transformation of American Politics

Playing with Fire

E J Doble

A well-researched, accessible recount of the events leading up to and including the 1968 election. It produced a detailed account of every key figure in both primaries, including the lesser known campaign managers, governors and directors who had an influence. It shed new light for me personally on the life of Robert Kennedy and Eugene McCarthy for the Democrats, Rockefeller for the Republicans and George Wallace as an independent. A lot of interesting insights and anecdotes as well.

I was quite disappointed by the end, however, which seemed to breeze past the actual election itself and treated the description of the aftermath as if O'Donnell had a page limit he was coming very close to going over. I would've wanted to know more about the immediate aftermath and the inauguration of President Nixon to make the book feel complete, but that may be because the rest of the book was so superbly detailed.

4/5 stars.

Elda Mengisto

"The presidential election was a matter of life and death for real people we all knew. That meant that this time running for president didn't have to be about ego. It meant that running for president couldn't be simple be a matter of political calculation...it was about life and death" (11).

Ever since this book was released, I wanted to read it so badly. I was fascinated with the year 1968 (one of my favorite books is about it my Mark Kurlansky) and wanted to read it up for the fifty-year anniversary of the election. However, due to a bunch of other things, including other books, I only managed to read this just recently.

What O'Donnell does is take the reader into the worlds of each of the candidates involved--starting with their individual backgrounds and knotting them together into a cohesive narrative about the events of this tumultuous election. The writing style compacts a bunch of information about each of the candidates and tells them well. I especially learned a lot about Eugene McCarthy--the one who O'Donnell argues lit the spark for the anti-war movement and played a major role up into the conventions. 

Most notably, the balance of the book goes from the early 1960s-67 in the first act, the (mostly Democratic) primaries in early 1968, the two conventions, and the general election. As seen through how much time is dedicated towards them, the latter takes up less screentime. I wonder why in this regard, because it seems that it was the most important part of the event. But O'Donnell gives a good job in what was going on at the time.

Another interesting point which stood out was how he notes important trends which arose as a result of the 1968 elections. One which caught me was how the primary system was organized--once, party delegates would go down to the convention floors to make their case. While it was still seen in 1968, it was reduced over time. Another one was put through in this quote:

"John Lindsay was the last liberal standing at the Republican convention of 1968. He was literally the last liberal to stand at a Republican convention podium. When John Lindsay finished speaking that night, liberalism in the Republican party died" (314).

I felt like this was an interesting observation for him to make in the whole scheme of things. That said, I felt like it could be expanded into another book entirely, as this subject was so interesting. He also does bring in modern examples of how the 1968 influenced today, specifically with Donald Trump. While I didn't mind these observations, for somebody who wants to defend him/have a more objective view of him, then these would be more of a problem. 

I enjoyed reading "Playing with Fire": I got to learn about an election I only heard of on the surface, and got to know the characters and events well. I thought it was a well-written and organized book, albeit with moments which seem to drag on for a while, making me lose interest. Overall, it's important to read this especially with the 2020 elections coming up, on how chaotic things could become. Now I can hope that this will become a miniseries sometime...(8/10)

Playing with Fire The 1968 Election and the Transformation of American Politics

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