Scates, a longtime political reporter for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, has written what will undoubtedly stand as the definitive political biography of one of this century's key movers and shakers. Magnuson is a curiously overlooked figure -- perhaps because he never ran for president, was never majority leader, etc., and tended to let his record speak for him -- yet he arguably wielded as much power as many presidents ever did, especially late in his career. He was a curious, complex mix of pork-barrel, backroom dealmaker and old-line Democratic idealist. As Scates reports, Walter Mondale once said of Magnuson, "He is scrupulously fair with federal funds; one half for Washington state, one half for the rest of the country." Yet his leadership on pro-consumer legislation is probably the finest of any senator, ever. Scates has done his homework, with the result that the book is girded by research and generously peppered with first-hand comments by those who knew, worked for, and worked against Maggie. He also does a good job connecting Magnuson's activities and accomplishments with the larger political and social scene. And while Scates's prose rarely soars, the book is highly readable and admirably thorough. All in all, a very worthy piece of work.

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For years, Washington was well served in the U.S. Senate by "Scoop and Maggie," that is, Henry "Scoop" Jackson and Warren Magnuson. However, while Jackson twice sought the presidency and has been the subject of at least two biographies, Magnuson has been largely forgotten. In fact, he was never a household word nationwide. Fortunately, journalist Shelby Scates has given Maggie the kind of work his memory deserves and his admirers have wanted. This very well researched and documented biography goes back to Magnuson's roots in North Dakota, to his activism in the leftist Washington Commonwealth Federation in the 30's, to his long and distinguished congressional career, and, finally, to his narrow defeat in the Reagan revoluntion of 1980. The lover of liquor and beautiful women always managed to remain a dedicated senator who was respected, even loved, by his colleagues. Maggie looked like a good ol' boy, but was a diehard liberal who advocated civil rights, consumer rights, and worker rights. America is a better place because of Warren Magnuson. Our knowledge of him would have been remiss, were in not for this book.

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40 used & new  from $7.00

Warren G. Magnuson and the Shaping of Twentieth-Century America (Emil and Kathleen Sick Lecture-Book Series in Western History and Biography)
by  Shelby Scates


Hickok: "You know the sound of thunder. Can you imagine that sound if I ask you to? Ma'am, listen to the thunder."