Stormy Weather - by D Scala (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

New Hampshire: First in the presidential primaries, it sets the stage and affects candidates' odds of success or failure. Every four years, this small, proudly distinctive state is the center of America's political universe. Candidates' performances, especially in comparison to expectations, influence the competition for the country's highest office. Scala explains the importance and peculiarities of New Hampshire, providing both historical context and insights, based on extensive interviews, into the tensions between local politics and the national agendas of candidates. New Hampshire's sympathy for reformist candidates has the paradoxical effect of jumpstarting the campaigns of those candidates least representative of voters nationally, and Scala explores the tremendous implications for presidential politics. Scala explains what it takes for candidates to make the Granite State a launching pad rather than a crash landing.

Review Quotes

"Over the years, the New Hampshire primary has produced some of the most dramatic, most surprising moments in American politics. Dante Scala takes you back through that history in this most readable and entertaining volume. It's a political junkie's dream." - David S. Broder, The Washington Post

"[Stormy Weather] is the first political science book I've ever read that qualifies as a page-turner." - Jon Greenberg, Executive Editor of New Hampshire Public Radio

"Many an electoral storm has billowed up in New Hampshire, blowing away some candidacies and causing power outages for front-runners. This informative book tells on how Democratic activists manufacture such gusts, or, as the case may be, struggle against the wind." - Emmett H. Buell, Jr., Denison University

"For anyone interested in America's presidential nominating process, this book is well worth reading." - Rhodes Cook, author of America Votes and publisher of The Rhodes Cook Letter

"This book will prove indispensable for journalists, students, and anyone interested in US Presidential politics." - Andrew Smith, Director, The Survey Center, University of New Hampshire

If anyone needs another reminder that the next presidential election cycle is upon us, this book serves that purpose well. The New Hampshire primary will be held January 27, following quickly on the Iowa caucuses of the preceding week. Scala (political science, St. Anselm Coll.) makes his debut with thisvolume, bridging the academic world with practical politics. It is a balanced mix, offering historical context, extensive interviews, and academic research on the electoral process. Scala argues that candidates skilled at building coalitions in the Granite State, rather than those who only mobilize a particular faction, are most likely to have success in subsequent primaries-even if they don't win first place in New Hampshire. A readable blend of narrative and data will make this necessary reading for political junkies and a popular text in political science courses. Though focusing almost exclusively on the Democratic party, this work is likely to go through future expanded editions and deserves a paperback edition. Highly recommended.-William D. Pederson, Louisiana State Univ., Shreveport Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

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"Stormy Weather is a savvy and informed inside look at one the nation's greatest political institutions - The New Hampshire Primary....Dante Scala has written a non-fiction political thriller that offers the reader a cram course in what happens here every four years." - Thomas Rath, political analyst and strategist

About the Author

DANTE J. SCALA is Associate Professor of Politics, St. Anselm College, Manchester, New Hampshire, USA and Fellow, The New Hampshire Institute of Politics. He lives in Manchester, New Hampshire, USA.