Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • The Atlantic

    When Presidents Were People

    Richard Ben Cramer captured George H. W. Bush’s humanity in his classic book about the 1988 presidential campaign, <em>What It Takes. </em>
    by Elaina Plott Dec 07, 2018 5 minutes
    Source: Ron Heflin / AP

    Richard Ben Cramer begins What it Takes, his masterful account of the 1988 presidential race, with the story of then–Vice President George H. W. Bush botching the first pitch of Game One of the 1986 National League Championship Series.

    Cramer writes of Bush readying his windup as more than 40,000 fans in Houston’s Astrodome look on. But the vice president can’t quite get his arms up—the bulletproof vest under his shirt hampering his movement—and then he can’t quite get his left arm back, and the result is a throw that looks more like a toss. It’s short. Very short.

    And as he skitters off the mound toward the first base line, and the ball on the downcurve of its bounce settles, soundless, into Ashby’s glove, then George Bush does what any old

    You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

    More from The Atlantic

    The Atlantic5 min read
    The Strangest Job in the World
    This is an edition of the Books Briefing, our editors’ weekly guide to the best in books. Sign up for it here. The role of first lady couldn’t be stranger. You attain the position almost by accident, simply by virtue of being married to the president
    The Atlantic6 min read
    The Happy Way to Drop Your Grievances
    Want to stay current with Arthur’s writing? Sign up to get an email every time a new column comes out. In 15th-century Germany, there was an expression for a chronic complainer: Greiner, Zanner, which can be translated as “whiner-grumbler.” It was no
    The Atlantic6 min read
    There’s Only One Way to Fix Air Pollution Now
    It feels like a sin against the sanctitude of being alive to put a dollar value on one year of a human life. A year spent living instead of dead is obviously priceless, beyond the measure of something so unprofound as money. But it gets a price tag i

    Related Books & Audiobooks