{"product_id":"party-games-mark-wahlgren-summers-9780807855379","title":"Party Games: Getting, Keeping, and Using Power in Gilded Age Politics","description":"Much of late-nineteenth-century American politics was parade and pageant. Voters crowded the polls, and their votes made a real difference on policy. In \u003ci\u003eParty Games\u003c\/i\u003e, Mark Wahlgren Summers tells the full story and admires much of the political carnival, but he adds a cautionary note about the dark recesses: vote-buying, election-rigging, blackguarding, news suppression, and violence.\u003cbr\u003e Summers also points out that hardball politics and third-party challenges helped make the parties more responsive. Ballyhoo did not replace government action. In order to maintain power, major parties not only rigged the system but also gave dissidents part of what they wanted. The persistence of a two-party system, Summers concludes, resulted from its adaptability, as well as its ruthlessness. Even the reform of political abuses was shaped to fit the needs of the real owners of the political system--the politicians themselves. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Mark Wahlgren Summers\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0807855375\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780807855379\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of North Carolina Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 04\/19\/2004\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 368\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.11lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.42h x 6.18w x 0.84d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 12\/01\/2004 pg. 725","brand":"Mark Wahlgren Summers","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":43980573901055,"sku":"9780807855379","price":47.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_8be42e38-dca9-4cc3-8f23-148785f815dc.jpg?v=1683250676","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/party-games-mark-wahlgren-summers-9780807855379","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}