Vote First or Die: The New Hampshire Primary: America’s Discerning, Magnificent, and Absurd Road to the White House

New Hampshire is the first step towards the presidency of the United States. Many candidates have transformed themselves into major players with a strong performance there, while others have crashed and burned before they could even get going. And in the increasingly insane world of politics, New Hampshire stands proudly as a curious mix of testing ground and get-to-know-you meet-up for those with grand ambitions.

Vote First or Die explores the importance of New Hampshire’s role in the presidential process. But Conroy’s look at the primary offers much more than a history lesson, delving into key moments from primary history as well as presenting a firsthand account of the early days of the 2016 election.

And those interactions really paint a picture of modern politics, both of how candidates present themselves and of how they really act. Conroy’s anecdotes humanize figures like John McCain and Lindsay Graham by stripping away the TV lens facades. (Other figures don’t fare nearly so well. In the case of Trump, for instance, Conroy IDs him perfectly as a bad magician conning people.)

Conroy’s humor, intelligence, and narrative skill craft an engaging and enlightening look at something many recognize as important without knowing why. This is great stuff.