by James H. Madison (Editor)

"The 12 assessments of Wendell Willkie in this book are exceptionally well done. They are interesting reading about a most interesting man." --The Coffeyville (KS) Journal

" . . . a remarkable and useful compilation of essays . . . " --Indiana Magazine of History

Indiana's Wendell Willkie burst upon the national political scene in 1940 when, apparently out of nowhere, he won the Republican nomination for the presidency and ran against Franklin Roosevelt. After his defeat, he traveled widely and returned to write One World, which had a tremendous impact on the then-isolationist United States. "There was about him," the New York Times editorialized, "a warm and winning sincerity . . . a natural straightforwardness which left untouched no one who knew him." These essays by a distinguished group of historians recognize one of the state's most famous native sons and reassess his impact on history one hundred years after his birth.

Back Jacket

Professor James H. Madison has brought together a distinguished group of historians; four of them look at Willkie's role in Indiana and in American politics and business, and three others discuss Willkie's role in Indiana and in American politics and business, and three others discuss Willkie in a world perspective. The portrait of Willkie that emerges is far from that of the barefoot farm boy. He was a sophisticated, intelligent, exuberant American who somehow seemed to express the postwar optimism that suffused our culture as well as our hope for a new democratic world order. This is an important book for anyone interested in Willkie and American history.

Author Biography

JAMES H. MADISON, Professor of History at Indiana University and editor of the Indiana Magazine of History, is author of several books and articles dealing with rural history and state history. His most recent books are The Indiana Way: A State History, Eli Lilly: A Life, 1885-1977 and Heartland: Comparative Histories of the Midwestern States.

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