Product Description
Memoirs of William Jennings Bryan, complete by his wife, illustrated with photographs of Bryan and other dignitaries. ... Read more

Product Description
Politician, evangelist, and reformer William Jennings Bryan was the most popular public speaker of his time. In this acclaimed biography–the first major reconsideration of Bryan’s life in forty years–award-winning historian Michael Kazin illuminates his astonishing career and the richly diverse and volatile landscape of religion and politics in which he rose to fame. Kazin vividly re-creates Bryan’s tremendous appeal, showing how he won a passionate following among both rural and urban Americans, who saw in him not only the practical vision of a reform politician but also the righteousness of a pastor. Bryan did more than anyone to transform the Democratic Party from a bulwark of laissez-faire to the citadel of liberalism we identify with Franklin D. Roosevelt.In 1896, 1900, and 1908, Bryan was nominated for president, and though he fell short each time, his legacy–a subject of great debate after his death–remains monumental. This nuanced and brilliantly crafted portrait restores Bryan to an esteemed place in American history. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (28)

Easily the best book on WJB ever writen
Michael Kazin's book truly captures William Jennings Bryan as never before.Bryan was a remarkable public speaker in the days before microphones and loudspeakers. But his message is what was unique: to quote Thomas Frank in "What's the Matter With Kansas?": "Bryan was an evangelical and a leftist---an almost unimaginable combination today."How true.
In many ways, Bryan was like a "John the Baptist" for the Democratic party, as he led the way for many of his ideas to ultimately become law.Without Bryan, there would have been no Woodrow Wilson, and no FDR, at least in the form we know them. His views were hugely progressive on war and peace, against plutocracy and monopoly, in favor of unions, in favor of women's suffrage, campaign finance reform, bank depositor insurance, initiative and referendum, and popular election of Senators. Bryan's ideas on these items were so powerful that Republican/Bull Moose Teddy Roosevelt adopted many of his ideas (breaking up monopolies).
To me, Bryan was like a five karat diamond with a big flaw--- the flaw being his backwards views on African-Americans. In the 1908 campaign for President, a black lawyer from Kansas wrote to Bryan and begged him to fight publicly against lynching.Likewise, DuBois, one of the two or three most influential blacks in the US was ready to endorse Bryan.But he kept them both at bay.After all, he was a politician first and foremost.And he would have lost the entire "solid south" in the election had he embraced the African-American cause.Politicians who want to win can't do the right thing, because the right thing is rarely popular.Jesus never got to 51%.
To me, his views on prohibition and his poor performance in the Scopes Monkey trial are forgivable, but his deaf ear in regard to African-Americans really stains an otherwise remarkable career.
Are Democrats going to serve God or Mammon?Are they going to serve the corporate elites, or "We the People?"This is the central question of William Jennings Bryan. I admire him a great deal.I only wish the Democratic party would have applied the Jeffersonian principles of "We the People" to African-Americans earlier,instead of waiting for Truman, Kennedy, and LBJ.
But today, the Democratic vision is a vision for all people, and things are exactly as they should be.Bryan did alot to move the nation and his party in the right direction.

A Three Dimensional Look At A Three Dimensional Person
Before reading this book I knew William Jennings Bryan was part of the Scopes trial and that he ran three unsuccessful presidential campaigns.To some people, that is enough to write him off.But is that all of the story?

Kazin does an excellent job of portraying Bryan, though it tends to be a little tedious and detailed and difficult reading.Kazin admits he doesn't agree with Bryan on everything but still puts out a fair picture.He is honest about Bryan's weaknesses, but also shows why he was influential in his day.

I recommend this book highly for any person who is interested in the late 1800's/early 1900's and in political history.

He said what?
Kazin draws up an excellent profile of William Jennings Bryan that helps us see within his family, political, and religious life.His gift as a speaker elevated him to political heights that put him in religious spheres of influence.William Jennings Bryan is regarded as a hero and a prophet by his adorers, and Kazin helps us realize how influential he was in his day, and how he influenced the Democratic party of our day.

William Jennings Bryan
Kazin does a good job at showing William Jennings Bryan's importance throughout history. Although he lost the presidential elections three times, he had a huge effect on the transformation of the Democratic Party. He emphasized the importance of religion and dedicated his life to the protection of the majority of the people. I'm not sure if he deserves the title "A Godly Hero"; however, he did seem to have a positive influence on many of the average Americans during this time. I would have liked to hear more about his personal life in the book. Overall, a good resource for information about that time period and the events occuring then.

The Great Commoner?
So.. While this book does have a great deal of very important and useful information, it is boring, and dry! The book is about the life of Wiliam Jennings Bryan, a 3 time presidential loser, who lectured on social reform, and free silver across the nation. He is said to be most known for helping the "the little people" but i'm still questioning what, if anything, of significant importance did he ACTUALLY ACCOMPLISH for these "commoners"? He may have planted the seed of some great ideas but i don't see much evidence of his helping their growth. ... Read more

Product Description
At the time of his death in 1925, William Jennings Bryan was, as Henry Steele Commager wrote, _the most representative American of his time._ In this engaging narrative, Leinwand takes a fresh look at William Jennings Bryan, his character, and his mental, spiritual, and intellectual development. The variety of views about Bryan and the uncertainty of Bryan's own accomplishments as a politician are, as Leinwand demonstrates, reflected in the larger tumult that was American society of the era. Leinwand also includes, in an epilogue, a discussion that has engaged the attention of scholars as to whether the Wizard of Oz was in effect an allegory for Bryan's failure in his campaign for silver. ... Read more

Product Description
This title has fewer than 24 printed text pages. The Price of a Soul is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This popular classic work by William Jennings Bryan is in the English language. If you enjoy the works of William Jennings Bryan then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection. ... Read more

Product Description
The 1896 Democratic National Convention simultaneously proposed a radically new trajectory for American industrial expansion, harshly repudiated its own incumbent president, and rudely overturned the party's traditional regional and social hierarchy. The passion that attended these decisions was deeply embedded in the traditional alliances and understandings of the past, in the careers and futures of the party's most prominent leaders and most insignificant ward heelers, and in the personal relations of men who had long served together in the halls of Congress. This passion was continuously on display in theChicago Coliseum, shaped by the rhythm of parliamentary ritual and the physical architecture of the convention hall. William Jennings Bryan anticipated the moment when pathos would be at its height and chose that moment to give his "Cross of Gold" address, thus harnessing passion to his personal ambition and winning the presidential nomination. ... Read more

Product Description
Religion is the relation between man and his Maker¿the most important relationship into which man enters. Most of the relationships of life are voluntary; we enter into them or not as we please. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

FOR THOSE WANTING TO GO BEYOND THE SCOPES TRIAL
These days, William Jennings Bryan is usually remembered as a Populist orator (e.g., his famous "Cross of Gold" speech) and perennial Presidential candidate, or as Clarence Darrow's unsuccessful antagonist in the 1925 Scopes "Monkey Trial."However, he was also a committed Christian, and this book gives a statement of his criticisms of evolution, and his own defense of Christianity.

It is finally becoming well-known that Bryan was NOT (contrary to the impression in the play Inherit the Wind, and its movie adaptations Inherit the Wind) "forced to admit" the antiquity of the earth under Darrow's ruthless cross-examination; in fact, he conceded this point in the trial itself (to the chagrin of many of his followers).Bryan's perspective in this book, however, is that "It requires more than millions of years to account for the varieties of life that inhabit the earth; it requries a Creator..."Evolution is actually given a rather brief treatment in this book (a single chapter), which primarily focuses on the Bible, "What Think Ye of Christ?", "The value of the Soul," etc.

Bryan's orientation is shown by his statement, "I would rather begin with God and reason down, than begin with a piece of dirt and reason up."He notes that "If there are mysteries in the Bible that we cannot unravel, they are not greater than the mysteries in nature with which we must deal, whether we understand them or not."There are many such nuggets of phrase, which reflect his popularity as a speaker.

This book is certainly not a "must read," but for those of us interested in the creation/evolution matter, reading Bryan's book is very helpful to "filling out" the mental portrait most of us have about him.

... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
1925. In giving the public the story of his life, William J. Bryan trusts he may be credited with something more than a desire to acquaint the public with himself. It is his purpose to show that in his own case good fortune has had more to do with such success as he may have achieved than any efforts of his own. His second purpose is to show the goodness of the American people, their patriotism, their moral courage, their high ideals, their willingness to sacrifice for their convictions - the virtues that not only make popular government possible but insure its success. Illustrated throughout. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review
William Jennings Bryan is one of the most influential"failures" of American politics: a three-time Democratic nominee forpresident who, although he never won the office, transformed his partyinto an institution "pledged," in biographer Robert W. Cherny's words,"to use the power of government on behalf of those displaced anddisadvantaged by the advance of industrialization and the emergence ofcorporate behemoths." Although he is best remembered for twoevents--his electrifying "cross of gold" speech at the 1896 Democraticconvention and his work for the prosecution in the Scopes trial of1925--his career was extremely rich in incident. Cherny draws amplyupon Bryan's own writings and correspondence to produce a portrait ofthe lifelong political crusader that, while comparatively short inlength, offers a substantial evaluation of his legacy. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

THE BOY ORATOR OF THE PLATTE
William Jennings Bryan is a rather interesting and paradoxical figure in American political history. In this man one can observe an apparently sincere political fighter who supported many progressive issues vital to the rural and urban working classes of the day, a vanishing type of politician, then as now. Although he was the Democratic Party candidate for President in 1896 I do not believe that party would be his home today, nor would his progressive politics resonant with the substance of Democratic politics today. It is odd that over a century later Bryan's politics would far to the left of what passes for the Democratic center today. At the same time we see the limits that even a sincerely religious man can bring to political discourse. His Christian fundamentalism never let him really fight to the end for the program of agrarian relief and industrial reform that he articulated so well.

Mr. Cherny's mainly admiring biography does much to reintroduce the events surrounding this important figure who today, if remembered at all, is mainly known for being on the wrong side of evolution question in the Scopes trial. That is part of his late history and although that controversy has heated up again today Bryan is still on the wrong side of the evolution question. However, that issue does not define what he represented in American history. Rather, one must look at the populist, agrarian forces in revolt and the program Bryan tried to implement in his bid for power.

Bryan political career represented the last dying gasp of the agrarian revolt that flared up in the America Midwest and West in the last third of the 19th century. That such a revolt, left to its own devices, was doomed in the face of the rise of industrial production; the increased mechanization of agriculture and the dominance of finance capital do not make that revolt any less poignant. The question faced by Bryan and any other potential leader was the manner in which the revolt would be harnessed to win power and what allies would be sought to fight against the ravages of capitalist expansion.

Mr. Bryan took an essentially parliamentary, traditional road by trying to use the Democratic Party as a vehicle for social change. Many later politicians have also broken their teeth trying that same strategy for progressive social change. In 1896, and perhaps earlier, such a road was futile. In short, Mr. Bryan could have led an independent third party revolt, based on the already existing People's Party (which in his early career Bryan had been closely allied with) linked with the industrial working classes of the Northeast and Midwest.

This strategy was left to other forces that later formed of the Socialist party in 1901. Mr. Bryan's political trajectory, however, was not to join that fight but basically moved to the right culminating in support for the suppression of radicals in World War I.We have that seen that political phenomena before, as well. That said, this is an important book that details one type of parliamentary strategy still followed today by many progressives about the way to bring social change. That today it has produced meager returns does not lessen the interest it for this writer as applied in an earlier time. At that time it at least made some rational political sense.

Solid
I agree with the gentleman from Missouri that no writer yet has fully evoked Bryan. This particular book covers his life well but without digging heavily into psychology and I'm fine with that. The film "Inherit the Wind" made far too much of the fictionalized Bryan's endless talking and eating in some ham-headed attempt to conjure up an oral fixation or something. In the late Fifties to mid-Sixties every socially conscious filmmaker was a psychologist. Today, the same can be said about biographers.

The problem with Bryan, at least in terms of making him into something sensational, was that he was a paragon of virtues from an earlier time, a time when when, well, humility, modesty, temperance, focus, honesty, forgiveness, and a lot of other now-unfamilar and boring concepts were considered virtues. Oh, Bryan was ambitious, and he enjoyed being adored by crowds but it wasn't the ambition of Cheney or the craving for adoration of Clinton, at least not in any dreary sense we'd understand. Bryan made his impact by being Bryan, by speaking to people, by articulating their dreams, by often being an effective politician. He did that so well that up till fairly recently he still had mythic status, a great orator who was still spoken of with some reverance as late as the 1960's (I doubt nowadays 1 in 10,000 would even know the name).

I think ultimately historians have the same problem with Bryan as music biographers have with Franz Joseph Haydn--one of the greatest of all composers but a fairly normal and healthy man whose life lacked wild stories and titilating anecdotes. Personally, I find biographies of people like Haydn and Bryan enjoyable (this book at hand was very refreshing and I've found over the years that virtually everything from the University of Oklahoma Press usually is). It's nice reading about accomplished folks who are fairly normal. It's interesting that Bryan and Roosevelt, two of the giants of that era, both had steady and rewarding marriages with highly intelligent and accomplished women, both had families, both had lives and interests outside of politics. There's a rough definition of "healthy" lurking in there somewhere.

A Short and Concise review of Bryan's Life
This brief, concise review of the life of William Jennings Bryan is a quick and easy way to familiarize yourself with this important American politician.While Bryan's only official politrical positions was as a two-term congressman and secretary of state for a little over two years, he was one of the most influential politicians for the thirty years he was active in Democratic politics.The three-time losing presidential candidate popularized (thought did not originate) many of the progressive issues of the period, championing many causes that eventually became law.Examples of this include the direct election of senators, the right to vote for women, and regulation of business and industry.

Through his powerful belief in Christian virtue, Bryan constantly championed the rights of the least among him.While his strict fundamentalist views eventually humiliated him at the end of his life by way of the "Scopes Monkey Trial," it was this belief in the decency of human life that drove him for so long.This book gives a brief and succinct discussion of the great politician's life.

A Solid Work
"A Righteous Cause" is a very solid study of the life of "The Great Commoner". Prof. Cherny presents a very fair and balanced view of his life and the events that he played a role in. I recommend this to anyone with a desire to know more about the extremely important figure from the turn of the 20th Century. Sadly there is not a good rendering on Bryan's life. Nothing that I've found lifts this obviously charismatic person off the page. I've found good brief bios in various books, but no master work yet.

A very good biography of Bryan.
The Democratic party William Jennings Bryan took control of in 1896 is a far cry from that same party today. The person most responsible for this change is Bryan. As the book points out Bryan was no intellectual giant; but how many of America's leaders have been? To quote Mr. Cherny, to Bryan "Expertise counted for less than a good heart and a principled outlook." The "Great Commoner" saw things in black and white, good vs. evil and when he had decided what was right he took up cause after cause with a zeal not often found among politicans.

It is often said that the proof is in the pudding, and the proof of Bryan's sweeping influence can be found during the New Deal as one after another his ideas were passed into law. He could of course be wrong as one of his pet projects prohibition and his unfortunate trip to Dayton show. On the other hand one has to wonder how much less the depression would have hurt the common people if more of Bryan's ideas had been made into law before 1929. Like him or not William Jennings Bryan has had more influence on American public policy than at least half of the men who won presidential elections.

As for this particular book. It is very well written and keeps the reader's interest. It is on the short side but provides a very good overview of Bryan's life and carear. The only reason I took away one star was because it is not well documented. No footnotes are to be found and in places they are badly needed. Otherwise this is a very good work dealing with one of America's greats. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
Originally published in 1922. This volume from the Cornell University Library's print collections was scanned on an APT BookScan and converted to JPG 2000 format by Kirtas Technologies.All titles scanned cover to cover and pages may include marks notations and other marginalia present in the original volume. ... Read more

Product Description
Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free.This is an OCR edition with typos.Excerpt from book:IV IMPERIALISM Delivered in Indianapolis, Ind., on Aug. 8, 1900, in accepting the Democratic nomination for the Presidency.MR. CHAIRMAN and Members of the Notification Committee: I shall, at an early day, and in a more formal manner, accept the nomination which you tender, and shall at that time discuss the various questions covered by the Democratic platform. It may not be out of place, however, to submit a few observations at this time upon the general character of the contest before us and upon the question which is declared to be of paramount importance in this campaign.When I say that the contest of 1900 is a contest between Democracy on the one hand and plutocracy on the other I do not mean to say that all our opponents have deliberately chosen to give to organized wealth a predominating influence in the affairs of the Government, but I do assert that on the important issues of the day the Republican party is dominated by those influences which constantly tend to substitute the worship of mammon for the protection of the rights of man.In 1859 Lincoln said that the Republican partybelieved in the man and the dollar, but that inrase of conflict it believed in the man before thedollar. This is the proper relation which shouldexist between the two. Man, the handiwork of God, comes first; money, the handiwork of man, is of inferior importance. Man is the master, money the servant, but upon all important questions to-day Republican legislation tends to make money the master and man the servant.The maxim of Jefferson, "Equal rights to all and special privileges to none," and the doctrine of Lincoln, that this should be a government "of the people, by the people and for the people," are being disregarded and the instrumentalities of government are bei... ... Read more

Product Description
This Is The Story Of Bryan's Undelivered Address At The Scopes Trial Regarding Christianity Vs. Evolution. The Sudden Ending Of The Trial Prevented Bryan From Delivering His Closing Arguments, He Died A Few Days Later. ... Read more

Product Description
Mr. Bryan's unfinished memoirs, which close with an account of the Baltimore convention of 1912, make up less than half the volume.Mrs. Bryan then takes up the tale.She traces some of the steps in his career, going back to his student days, and fills out the unfinished record with an account of his life in Washington and his later years. ... Read more

Product Description
Religion is the relation between man and his Maker—the most important relationship into which man enters. Most of the relationships of life are voluntary; we enter into them or not as we please. ... Read more