Vazzano Book Signing & Reception

April 3, 2008

Walsh University Professor Dr. Frank P. Vazzano Schedules Book Signing & Reception Tuesday, April 15

Politician Extraordinaire: The Tempestuous Life and Times of Martin L. Davey

North Canton, Ohio – Walsh University is proud to announce that Walsh Professor of History Dr. Frank P. Vazzano will sign copies of his new book Politician Extraordinaire: The Tempestuous Life and Times of Martin L. Davey on Tuesday, April 15 at 7 p.m. in the Barrette Business and Community Center on the Walsh University Campus. The program will include commentary by Dr. Vazzano followed by a reception. Copies of the book will be available for purchase at the book signing and also in the Walsh University bookstore. This event is free and open to the public.

Politician Extraordinaire: The Tempestuous Life and Times of Martin L. Davey, which is Dr. Vazzano’s first book, was published by The Kent State University Press.

This carefully researched and engagingly written political biography marks the first full treatment of Ohio native and politician Martin L. Davey. An important figure on the local, state, and national political scene in the early decades of the twentieth century, Davey served as mayor of Kent, Ohio, was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, and completed two terms as Ohio governor.

As Frank Vazzano shows, Davey, a maverick Democrat, did things his way no matter the consequences, often alienating his own party as well as his Republican foes. His independence, feistiness, and hot temper exasperated even President Franklin Roosevelt, who worried that Davey’s machinations in Ohio might hurt the national ticket in 1936. Davey was a New Deal–era politician and a key depression-era governor known for his keen business sense, political savvy, and self-promotion and he was remembered for his controversial and scandal-ridden governorship.

Rich with Ohio history and politics, this biography of an influential businessman and politician will be important reading for both scholars and the general public.

About the Author

Dr. Frank P. Vazzano joined Walsh University in 1971 and currently serves as professor of history. He has contributed to the Historical Dictionary of the Gilded Age (2003) and The Vice Presidents: A Biographical Dictionary (1998). Additionally, he has published articles in Ohio History, Congress and the Presidency: A Journal of Capital Studies, The Historian, and Louisiana History.