Review of "Corn Poll: A Novel of the Iowa Caucuses," by Zachary Michael Jack
Review of
Corn Poll: A Novel of the Iowa Caucuses,
by Zachary Michael Jack, ISBN 9781888160895
Five out of five stars
Humorous, engaging story about grass roots politics
Iowa has been
the first state in the nation where citizens vote their presidential
preferences for decades. The caucuses first rose to national prominence when Democratic
candidate Jimmy Carter was the leader in the 1976 caucuses. In 2008, Democratic
candidate Barack Obama won, demonstrating that he could get substantial support
in an overwhelmingly white state.
The record for
the Republican party is more mixed. George H. W. Bush won in 1980, and evangelist
Pat Robertson finished second in 1988. Some very forgettable people have made a
respectable showing on the Republican side, but only once has the caucus winner
on the Republican side won the presidency. It is a time of grass roots politics
at the basic level, a current candidate recently bragged about visiting all 99
Iowa counties.
This book is
about the Republican side of the Iowa caucuses. As a lifelong Iowan and a caucus-going
political junkie, I recognized much of the mechanics of the process. Including some
of the rather unusual acts that the candidate and their supporters engage in. Followers
of the caucuses will recognize past candidates, even though their names have
been scrambled.
There is a collection
of very quirky characters, from the editor/owner of a small town paper to local
officials of the Republican party, townspeople with an agenda, grizzled
political reporters, a longtime political science professor and two out-of-town
reporters that clash and mesh, often both in the same 10 seconds. The dialog is
very snappy and witty, often funny, although it sometimes takes a few seconds
to get the joke. The author even manages to include references to the trophy
that goes to the winner of the annual Iowa – Iowa State football game.
This is a great book about a state that has for
decades been the first step in the process of selecting the next president of
the United States. The author captures the controlled chaos that takes place
every four years in Iowa.
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