Madison Native Lauck Makes Big Splash with Book

Madison native Jon Lauck is making all sorts of news with his second book, Daschle Vs. Thune: Anatomy of a High-Plains Senate Race. As noted this morning on South Dakota Politics (Lauck's old stomping grounds), Lauck's book is currently the most popular item on Amazon.com's "South Dakota" list.

Lauck knows his topic: as a paid Thune staffer in the 2004 election, he participated actively in the campaign as a blogger challenging the Daschle-Kranz political propaganda machine... or so Lauck and his fellow travelers might portray it. He is now described on his Amazon.com author blurb as a Senior Advisor to Senator Thune.

Some may deem this book as mere political hackery. Lauck is a trained historian, however, and has an appreciation for studying history even as it is happening, a challenge he discussed last week on SDPB's Food for Thought. Truth or hackery*, Lauck's book is certainly enjoying more buzz than any other recent literary output by expats from the land of the Unexpected. He'll be in Sioux Falls Saturday (Oct. 27) at 2 p.m. to sign books at Barnes and Noble. That will be a good chance for hometown folks and maybe even his old debate coach to go down, shake his hand, and grill him on what's going on in Washington. We congratulate Mr. Lauck on his literary success and look forward to seeing where he goes next with his intellect and rhetorical skills.

*The Madville Times lit review department is currently on assignment to the DSU Office of Graduate Studies and Research, so a full review will have to wait.