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."Will Davidson. "An Author Rates Presidents and Their Opponents," Chicago Tribune, 30 May 1943. The New York Times praised it as "a brilliant idea ... brilliantly executed".Maxwell Gesimar, "Review: 'They Also Ran'", The New York Times, 30 May 1943

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:

BookChapterSubjectNotesBook One: "The Press Pass"IHorace Greeley IIJames Middleton Cox Book Two: "Three Time Losers!"IHenry Clay IIWilliam Jennings Bryan Book Three: "Judge Not!"IAlton B. ParkerIICharles Evans Hughes Book Four: "Generals Die in the Army"IWinfield Scott IIJohn Charles Fremont IIIGeorge B. McClellan IVWinfield Scott Hancock Book Five: "Heroes Stand Alone"ISamuel J. Tilden Book Six: "Main Chance Politicos"IStephen A. Douglas IIJames G. Blaine Book Seven: "Governors, Pardon!"ILewis Cass IIHoratio Seymour IIIAlfred E. Smith IVAlfred M. Landon Book Eight: "Honest Wall Street Lawyers"IJohn W. Davis IIWendell L. Willkie Book Nine: "The Prosecutions Rest!"IThomas E. Dewey Book Ten: "Transition"IAdlai E. Stevenson IIRichard M. Nixon The 1968 U.S. presidential election had not yet occurred at the time of the writing.IIIBarry M. Goldwater

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

They Also Ran

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