In this persuasive reappraisal of Truman 's 1948 victory, Harold Gullan argues that it was neither the greatest upset in American political history nor merely a successful extension of the coalition built by Franklin Roosevelt. Despite the near unanimous opinion of polls, pundits, and publications favoring Thomas E. Dewey, a win by Dewey would have been the authentic upset. Mr. Gullan shows why, in retrospect, the results of 1948 make it along with 1932 and 1968 one of the three most important elections in the twentieth century. A lucid, enlightening historical survey, as well as a nostalgic look at a bygone era. Kirkus Reviews.