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In 1884 Republican James G. Blaine came within 1,047 votes of becoming the President of the United States. This was the margin by which he lost New York State--and thus the election--to Grover Cleveland in what has been called the dirtiest campaign in American history. Yet his career--arguably the most sensational of any American politician of the so-called Gilded Age--did not end there. He was twice U.S. secretary of state, credited with having started our country on the path to acting like a world power, a powerful speaker of the house in Congress, and a United States senator from his adopted State of Maine. He was also, in the eyes of his opponents, "The Continental Liar From the State of Maine" or "Slippery Jim"--a sort of amiable "Tricky Dick Nixon," as he's been later called. He was hated by certain members of his own party, yet loved by millions of others, including some of his enemies in the Democratic Party. The press called him The Magnetic Man, due to his charisma. This is the fascinating biography of a man who dominated the American political stage, starting just before the Civil War and continuing until the twentieth century.
About the author
In addition to his many publications, Neil Rolde (1931-2017) was a long-time public servant, philanthropist, Renaissance man, and gentleman. The renowned Maine historian grew up in Brookline, Massachusetts. He earned a BA at Yale and a master's in journalism at Columbia University. He worked as a film scriptwriter before moving to Maine with his wife, Carlotta Florsheim, to raise their family. In York they brought up four children and enjoyed family visits with their eight grandchildren.The author won book awards from the Maine Historical Society, the Maine Humanities Council, and the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance. Most of Neil Rolde's books involve the history of his beloved Maine and its people. With a wealth of historical knowledge about politics, the author turned his skill and wit to blogging current political incidents in a historical context.Rolde's public service included six years as assistant to Maine's Governor Kenneth M. Curtis and sixteen years as representative in the Maine State Legislature. He was the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in 1990. The author served on many state boards and commissions, including the Maine Health Care Reform Commission, the Maine Historic Preservation Commission, the Maine Humanities Council, and the Maine Arts Commission.
