You have not been recognized as a subscriber to Indiana Magazine of History online. About 188 words from this article are provided below; about 497 words remain.
 		 
If you are a individual subscriber to Indiana Magazine of History, you may:
• login here if you have already registered for online access.
• Or if you're already logged in register your subscription.
• Set up your online account for the first time.

If you are not a subscriber to Indiana Magazine of History, you can:
• subscribe here.
• Purchase a research pass to gain two hour access to the entire History Cooperative web site. You will have full access to current issues of Indiana Magazine of History.

Instititutions can:
• Subscribe to this journal and receive print and electronic issues.
• Activate your existing subscription so that we recognize your IP number ranges.
Reviewed by Paul Musgrave | Book Review | The Indiana Magazine of History, 105.1 | The History Cooperative
105.1  
Journals link Search link Partners link Information link
March, 2009
Previous
Next
The Indiana Magazine of History

Table of Contents
List journal issues
Home
Get a printer-friendly version of this page
 

Reviews

Politician Extraordinaire
The Tempestuous Life and Times of Martin L. Davey

By Frank P. Vazzano
(Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 2008, Pp. xi, 322. Illustrations, notes, bibliography, index. $45.00.)

Frank Vazzano argues in this straightforward, accessible, and competent biography that Martin L. Davey, Ohio congressman (1919–1921 and 1923–1929) and governor (1935–1939), gave "friend and foe alike the political ride of their lives" (p. 274). But the portrait Vazzano draws of the conservative politician suggests that the ride was mostly downhill. 1
      Vazzano begins his survey of Davey's life with a look at his troubled boyhood. His father, English immigrant John Davey, was a distant and stern figure who invented the art of tree surgery, but the resulting family fortune came too late to spare Martin from the typical trials of an impoverished turn-of-the-century American household. Indeed, much about Davey's life was typical. Later, as mayor of Kent, Ohio, he was a booster of the usual sort; as a congressman, his combination of strong partisanship, populist instincts, and pro-business views relegated him to the sidelines; and as governor, he cared more about reelection than governing. . . .
There are about 497 more words in this article. Please log in (or, if you are not yet an authorized user, please go to the User Setup page) to gain full access rights. Or if you're already logged in register your subscription.