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(More customer reviews)Larry Flynt gets his name in bigger type than his co-author (I wonder why?), but I suspect most of this was written by Eisenbach, who is a serious and well-respected historian. The emphasis is not so much on the titillation of revealing sex scandals over the centuries (actually, not much new is revealed anyhow), but in showing how these antics made a difference in the course of American history, from the Founding Fathers (and Mothers), up to Bill Clinton and beyond (to Vitter, Craig, and whoever the next rascal will be). Benjamin Franklin (still randy in his seventies) made a major contribution to the Revolution through his escapades in Paris. And the relationship between Buchanan and former vice-president William Rufus King almost certainly contributed to Buchanan's bungling of the secession crisis. Like most people, I knew about Harding's naughtiness, but not about Woodrow Wilson's, which actually had more important consequences.
The book also gives a good account of the changes in journalistic ethics over the decades. It explains how the notoriously gay Buchanan could, amazingly, get elected. And gives an excellent account of the switch from "access journalism," which allowed Roosevelt and Kennedy to get away with things that got politicians in trouble in the post-Watergate era of "gotcha journalism." The book isn't perfect: it perhaps lingers a bit too long in the Kennedy era, though I confess that I found the description of Jackie Kennedy's love affairs to be a fascinating subject that we had no idea of at the time! And the authors sometimes aren't quite as clear as they might be when they present material that is second and third (and sometimes fourth) hand. But I enjoyed reading this a lot, and recommend it to anyone with an interest in the seamier side of our country's history.
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Ben Franklin saved the American Revolution by seducing French Women. A gay love affair between President James Buchanan and Senator William King aided the secession movement. Woodrow Wilson's girlfriend dictated his letters to the German Kaiser. And lesbian relationships inspired Eleanor Roosevelt to become a revolutionary crusader for equal rights. The colorful sex lives of America's most powerful leaders have influenced social movements, government policies, elections and even wars, yet they are so whitewashed by historians that people think Thomas Jefferson and Abe Lincoln were made of marble, not flesh and blood.But the truth is about to come out. In One Nation Under Sex, free speech activist and notorious Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt teams up with Columbia University history professor David Eisenbach to peek behind the White House bedroom curtains and document how hidden passions have shaped public life. They unpack salacious rumors and outright scandals, showing how private affairs have driven pivotal decisions—often with horrific consequences. Along the way, they explore the origins of America's fascination with sex scandals and explain how we can put aside out political moralism and begin focusing on the real problems that threaten our nation.
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