Rise, Decline and Renewal: The Democratic Party in Maine
Rise, Decline and Renewal tells the remarkable story of the Maine Democratic Party – how it rose from irrelevance in 1954 with the election of Governor Ed Muskie, challenged the ruling Republican Party over the next two decades, and passed wide-ranging reform that produced a model government for a state long perceived as a cultural and economic backwater. Now, Maine’s largest political party can again seize the initiative, energize a new generation of young people, and govern in the public interest once more.
Statesman: George Mitchell and the Art of the Possible
George Mitchell is much more than a Senator from Maine. From a time when opposing parties worked together to accomplish things for the good of the nation, rather than the good of the party, Mitchell was an attorney and then a judge in Maine before his Senate run. Known for his work on the environment, the brokering of the peace in Ireland, and efforts in the Middle East, Mitchell is one of Maine’s most famous political figures.
First Franco: Albert Beliveau in Law, Politics, and Love
This richly detailed book adds to our understanding of the migration experience in the United States, particularly about the integration of French speakers into U. S. society. In its portrayal of Albert Beliveau as a first-generation Franco-American, this biography teaches us a great deal about such themes as acculturation, the rise from the working class, and the development of political consciousness among Maine’s largest ethnic group.
Calm Command: U.S. Chief Justice Melville Fuller in His Times, 1888-1910
Melville Fuller, among the most prominent Maine natives of his day, is little known today. This groundbreaking biography, the first in 70 years, restores him to his rightful place amid one of the most turbulent, dynamic eras of American history, not stinting his flaws, but highlighting his considerable accomplishments in uniting a fractious Supreme Court behind his patient and steady leadership.
Transformational: Ken Curtis, Maine’s Reform Governor
Ken Curtis was Maine’s Governor (1967-75) at a time of war and upheaval, disrupting longstanding social and partisan arrangements in state and national politics. Rather than create a stalemate, these conflicts ushered in a creative, large-scale revisioning of state government with strong bipartisan support, though Curtis never commanded a legislative majority. The breadth and durability of his achievements during a critical time of change in our country offer profound lessons from his time for our own.