A masterwork of mature scholarship—beautifully written, carefully researched, and finely argued. Calhoun evocatively locates the fascinating campaign of 1888 in both the context of Gilded Age society and the disappointing reality of our contemporary politics.—Michael McGerr, author of A Fierce Discontent: The Rise and Fall of the Progressive Movement in America, 1870-1920"This contest and its stunning outcome have awaited a historian of Charles W. Calhoun's stature to do it justice. This election did indeed matter greatly, and in the capable hands of Calhoun, its significance is now made clear."—John M. McCardell Jr., author of The Idea of a Southern Nation