Blink Book Review: “Countdown 1960: The Behind-the-Scenes Story of the 312 Days that Changed America's Politics Forever” by Chris Wallace

Summer means the return of my Blink Book Review series. In the summer of 2022, I vowed to get off my screens and back to books. My accountability was writing short book reviews that can be read in a blink (thus the name Blink Book Reviews). I’m back at it again this year with the added impetus of participating in a friend’s family summer reading challenge.

“Countdown 1960: The Behind-the-Scenes Story of the 312 Days that Changed America's Politics Forever” by Chris Wallace caught my eye on the sale table at one of my favorite local bookstores because of the year in the title.

I was born in 1960 the day after this presidential election. I never really thought much about that fact until I picked up this book and read the dust cover description.

That short snippet pulled me in to learn more about the countdown to the Nixon/Kennedy election. As a self-avowed political nerd, I was intrigued to learn more about the face-off between the surly policy wonk that Nixon was perceived to be and the larger-than-life Kennedy persona.

The book is written in short chapters presented in chronological order starting in January 1960. Back then the presidential election cycle really didn’t even start until the January of election year. Each chapter describes the machinations of both the Kennedy and Nixon camps to get them from their campaign announcements in January through the primary process and conventions and on to election day.

Everything about presidential politics was different in 1960 – the VP selection process, the conventions, the roles of candidates’ wives and families, travel, news media, crowd sizes, communication with voters, security, etc.

This easy-to-read chronology was the perfect combination of historical facts, personal stories and backroom insights that met me at the intersection of a good story and an accurate historic accounting.

Countdown 1960 was a quick read that I supplemented with the audio version so I could keep "reading" while driving. It was just that good!

 

In 2022, I set out to get off the screens and back to books for the summer. My accountability was writing short Blink Book Reviews (so short you can read them in a blink). The series is back for the fourth summer. Join my Blink Book Review Facebook group to follow along for the 2025 summer series.

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