Taft 2012

Starred review from October 17, 2011
Heller, a contributor to The A.V. Club, makes a stellar debut with his satirical alternate history. The premise is audacious: President William Howard Taft disappears on the day his successor, Woodrow Wilson, is to be inaugurated in 1913, and he inexplicably shows up on the White House lawn almost a century later. After scientists and scholars confirm his identity, he begins the daunting process of understanding a radically different America, which, for all its technological advances, desperately needs direction. This surprisingly poig-nant novel will find an eager audience in the months leading up to the 2012 presidential election, but it deserves a longer shelf life. Heller’s numerous historical insights and observations regarding Taft as president, husband, American, and human being will have more than a few readers wishing Taft really could be a third-party candidate in 2012, to be a rational voice in the “din of all this twenty-first century madness.”

December 1, 2011

Imagine modern America, with our sluggish economy, turbulent political landscape, and inclination toward grassroots social movements. Now imagine one small change in our history--in 1912, William Howard Taft has just lost his reelection bid, but instead of moving forward with his life and becoming a Supreme Court Justice, he disappears on his way from the Oval Office to the swearing in of Woodrow Wilson. Ninety-nine years later, he reappears on the White House lawn, covered in mud, hungry, and completely unaged. What would that one change mean for an America in the middle of an election cycle? Debut novelist Heller sets up his satire so well that one might doubt one's grasp of presidential history! VERDICT In this strong and thoughtful political exploration, Heller considers two intriguing questions: what it would mean to a man to be thrust forward in time and out of his comfort zone, and what catalyst is needed to unify a disgruntled nation toward grassroots politics. This timely book will attract political junkies and readers who enjoy comic novels.--Jennifer Beach, Cumberland Cty. P.L., VA

Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2011
As if the weirdness of modern presidential campaigns wasn't enough, how about the return of William H. Taft 100 years after the end of his presidency to appeal to common sense and nonpartisanship? Heller offers a paean to the Republican progressivism that ended when Teddy Roosevelt challenged Taft's presidency, formed the Bull Moose Party, split the Republican vote, and helped Woodrow Wilson win the election. Heller offers all kinds of twists. Taft returns, like Rip Van Winkle, and must learn to adjust to American politics and culture, including artificial food, which becomes a metaphor for the corruption of authenticity. His descendant Rachel Taft, an independent in Congress, mounts a challenge to the food-industrial complex. Disgusted with politics as usual, enamored of Taft's image (courtly manner, handlebar mustache, sizable girth), citizens mount a campaign to draft him as a third-party candidate. But politics as usual isn't far off in the background. Heller tells his imaginative story with tweets and TV transcripts as well as conventional expository prose, adding to the amusement of a cross-generational look at politics.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)