Granny D's American Century

With her walk across America at the age of 90, New Hampshire native Doris Haddock entered the national consciousness as “Granny D,” a candid and feisty champion of commonsense populist politics. Four years later she ran for the U.S. Senate against the usual entrenched big-party interests—and lost. In the meantime, she became a cause célèbre, and an example of the kind of politics that puts people first. Granny D’s American Century is the story of Doris Haddock both before and after these events: as a young woman whose bedrock New England values were tested during the Great Depression, and as a no-nonsense nonagenarian putting those values to work in the causes of voters’ rights, women’s rights, and campaign finance reform.

Written in a clear, unsparing prose, Granny D’s American Century is a warm reflection on a life well lived, and a clear and spirited call for virtue in American civic life.