Hard Right: The Rise of Jesse Helms

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Summary: A guide to how Jesse did it...
Review: This book goes into deep detail about Jesse's life, his politics and his rise to power. I have been a Helms supporter for many years and know personally several of the people mentioned. (Especially the, "Fanatic with Power...") It provides a detailed and mostly accurate account of how Jesse worked with Tom Ellis to create a movement that was sight unseen in American politics. The book gives Helms an overall fair shake, the writer editorializes a bit too much on Jesse's motivations to warrant five stars. But this is more then made up for in the amount of sheer detail he provides in describing how the National Congressional Club worked, how the money was raised and spent, and how it was shaped into a powerful weapon that any politician should fear. (The NCC was perhaps the greatest PAC of it's time, turning over millions of dollars a year in a time when that was a lot of money.)The book provides a great framework to understand many things, especially how the political dynamic in NC works. It gives the reader enough of a springboard to go searching for more in-depth information. (usually by searching the Raleigh News-Observer online archives. Try looking for the "National Congressional Club")Overall, I recommend the bok for people who really want to get their feet wet in Tar Heel Politics. It starts you in the right direction and is a great deal if you can find it.

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Summary: Not a fair and balanced book on Helms
Review: Unfortunately, this was not a fair and balanced book. Throughout the book, the author attempts to lead the reader into drawing conclusions about Senator Helms and his dealings with minorities by quoting individuals who have never met him. The parts that I found most interesting was the the sections detailing the formation of the congressional club, an organization that started in North Carolina but soon became a powerhouse around the country. It's most notable achievement was helping Reagan win the North Carolina GOP primary in 1976....