The Year That Broke Politics

Collusion and Chaos in the

Presidential Election of 1968

The unknown story of the election that set the tone

for today’s fractured politics

“The Year That Broke Politics is surprising, revelatory, and riveting.”

—Evan Thomas, author of Being Nixon

“A fresh, authoritative analysis of a pivotal election year.”—Kirkus Reviews

“This is one of those rare books that recasts a major turning point and renders a shelf-load of earlier studies obsolete.” —Niall Ferguson, Milbank Family Senior Fellow, the Hoover Institution, and author of Kissinger, 1923–1968: The Idealist

“A masterpiece of political detective work full of fresh anecdotes often anchored with just unearthed archival documents. This is a game-changing book about the politics of 1968 from a first-rate Presidential historian.” —Douglas Brinkley, author of Silent Spring Revolution: John F. Kennedy, Rachel Carson, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, and the Great Environmental Awakening

The 1968 presidential race was a contentious battle between Vice President Hubert Humphrey, Republican Richard Nixon, and former Alabama governor George Wallace. The United States was reeling from the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, and was bitterly divided on the Vietnam War and domestic issues, including civil rights and rising crime.

In The Year That Broke Politics (August 1, 2023 publication date), Luke A. Nichter draws on previously unexamined archives and numerous interviews, and upends conventional understanding of the crucial campaign, showing how it created a new template and tone for election battles, which still resonates into today’s fractured political climate. 

This eye-opening account of the political calculations and maneuvering that decided this fiercely fought election reshapes our understanding of a key moment in twentieth-century American history.