William Howard Taft served as the twenty-seventh president of the United States, from 1909-1913. Although he only served a single term, his time in the Oval Office marked an unusually quiet period in American history. Although Taft would later go on to serve as a Supreme Court justice, the only man in history to hold both titles, modern history primarily remembers him for two major accomplishments. First, Taft was the last US president to rock a sweet mustache. Second, and I should note this one is subject to some debate, Taft was also so fat that he (allegedly) got himself stuck in the White House bathtub.
In Jason Heller’s debut novel, Taft 2012, President William Howard Taft disappears on the eve of Woodrow Wilson’s inauguration. The missing politician is presumed dead, but in reality Taft has just gone into a state of hibernation on the grounds of the Ellipse. In the style of Rip Van Winkle, President Taft sleeps for nearly a hundred years, only to wake up in 2011 and discover an entirely different world. This time-traveling wonder quickly becomes a media sensation, and unwillingly finds himself playing a major role in the 2012 presidential elections!
I’m not about to give away any spoilers, but this short novel is hilarious from start to finish. Politicos on both sides of the aisle will get a kick out of the story, as will anyone with even a passing interest in American history. And let’s face it, folks, with the midterm elections only a few months away, all of us could probably use a good laugh right about now…