The Stevensons: A Biography of an American Family

Jean Baker chronicles the history of the Stevenson family from its roots in Scotland to its transplantation in America. Its members would become farmers, businesspeople, and politicians--the most famous being Adlai Stevenson, the perennial also-ran in several presidential elections. Although he is widely regarded as something of an intellectual saint (Dwight Eisenhower famously derided him as an "egghead"), in Baker's view Adlai Stevenson's career was less than spotless. As governor of Illinois, he illegally paid political aides from a private slush fund. He conducted several extramarital affairs. He often behaved foolishly and arrogantly. For all that, writes Baker, he was unfairly abused as a supposed Communist fellow traveler and ultraliberal, when in fact his politics were resolutely centrist. Baker gives due attention to this important figure in recent political history.