Few political events capture the world's attention quite like American presidential elections. As Donald Trump's second term begins to draw to a close and politics grows ever more polarised, many are asking what comes next. But the American experiment has often been tested over the course of its history, and there are lessons to be learned from what has come before.

America has gone to the polls to elect a President on sixty separate occasions, from the young republic's first experiment in democracy in 1789 to Trump's 2024 victory over Kamala Harris. This comprehensive anthology features a chapter on every election, each written by a different contributor from politics, academia or journalism, including Karl Rove, Emily Maitlis, Jon Sopel, Sarah Smith, Justin Webb, Tim Shipman and Lord Blackwater.

From Reconstruction to realignment, from pamphlets to polling, from overwhelming victories to one-vote margins, this timely, insightful and well-researched collection vividly brings to life the drama, debates and characters of each campaign, alongside an accessible introduction that sheds light on how the American system really works. Appealing to the general reader and political obsessive alike, this is the essential guide to US presidential election campaigns.