Coup by Keel Hunt
The behind-the-scenes story of an abrupt political transition, unprecedented in U.S. history. Based on 160 interviews, Hunt describes how collaborators came together from opposite sides of the political aisle and, in an extraordinary few hours, reached agreement that the corruption and madness of the sitting Governor of Tennessee, Ray Blanton, must be stopped. The sudden transfer of power that caught Blanton unawares was deemed necessary because of what one FBI agent called ""the state's most heinous political crime in half a century"" - a scheme of selling pardons for cash. On January 17, 1979, driven by new information that some of the worst criminals in the state's penitentiaries were about to be released (and fears that James Earl Ray might be one of them), a small bipartisan group chose to take charge. Senior Democratic leaders, friends of the sitting governor, together with the Republican governor-elect Lamar Alexander (now U.S. Senator from Tennessee), agreed to oust Blanton from office before another night fell. It was a manoeuver unique in American political history.
Hunt, Keel: - Keel Hunt is a columnist for the USA Today Network in Tennessee. He has been a reporter, editor, Washington correspondent, and editorial writer. From 1979 to 1986 he was Special Assistant to Governor Lamar Alexander.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780826519320 |
| ISBN 10 | 0826519326 |
| Title | Coup |
| Author | Keel Hunt |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Vanderbilt University Press |
| Year published | 2013-08-30 |
| Number of pages | 296 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |