AUDIO FEATURING HISTORY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE PRIMARY
AVAILABLE FREE FOR DOWNLOADING

N.H. Historical Society
Concord, N.H.
www.nhhistory.org

For all those who would like to learn more about the New Hampshire First-in-the-Nation Primary but for whom finding time to read is a challenge, the New Hampshire Historical Society is releasing First Stop: The New Hampshire Primary, its first ever publication in an audio version. This offering reflects a growing tendency, reported in the Wall Street Journal in September 2006: "More people, from all walks of life, are downloading and listening to spoken versions of information normally found in print, including books, language courses, magazines and newspapers."

First Stop: The New Hampshire Primary provides new insight into the origins of, as well as long-term trends associated with, New Hampshire's First-in-the-Nation Presidential Primary. Appearing originally as a special issue of Historical New Hampshire, the only statewide history journal, First Stop was produced by the New Hampshire Historical Society in collaboration with the New Hampshire Political Library. It is dedicated to the late Governor Hugh Gregg, one of the leading advocates for the New Hampshire Primary and founder of the New Hampshire Political Library.

The audio version of First Stop, narrated by John Walters and produced by Jody Petersen of Cliff House Audio for the New Hampshire Historical Society, is made possible with generous support from the Hugh Gregg Foundation. Anyone who wishes to listen may download the audio files without charge from the New Hampshire Historical Society's website or purchase the entire publication as a three-CD set from the museum store for $15.00. For either option please visit www.nhhistory.org.

Together the three articles narrated here provide an overview of New Hampshire's significance in the election of the nation's president. Taken in chronological order, the first article, by Gettysburg College history professor and former Concord Monitor journalist Michael Birkner, explores the role of the first nationally significant New Hampshire presidential primary - and of Sherman Adams in particular - in the recruiting of Dwight D. Eisenhower as the Republican candidate in 1952. Next, Associate Professor of Politics Danta Scala, who has recently moved from Saint Anselm College to the University of New Hampshire, traces the growing influence of reform-minded Democrats of the state's industrial cities. Finally, Peter Haskell Burr, an independent political researcher and analyst, presents informed advice for would-be presidential candidates, based on historical facts and statistics but presented in an entertaining way. Two books on the primary are also reviewed.

First Stop is available as well in printed form from the museum store for $3.50 (plus $7.95 postage and handling) and as a .pdf without charge at www.nhhistory.org.

The New Hampshire Historical Society has published the journal Historical New Hampshire since 1944. Each issue contains a variety of articles about a past that enriches and informs our lives today, as well as reviews of recent books of state and local interest. Historical New Hampshire is a benefit of membership and is sent twice each year to members of the New Hampshire Historical Society.

To become a member or to order back issues, call (603) 856-0625, e-mail store@nhhistory.org, or visit online at www.nhhistory.org.

The New Hampshire Historical Society is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and sharing New Hampshire history.