Libertines

Libertines seeks to understand why public figures sometimes take extraordinary risks, sullying their good names, humiliating their families, placing themselves in legal jeopardy, and potentially destroying their political careers as they seek to gratify their sexual desires. From Hamilton to Trump and the many in between, each case of sexual misconduct in this book shows the seamy side of political lives, with calculations about covering discretions or portraying them favorably occurring only after the fact.

“Historian Martinez asks why American politicians keep getting caught with their pants down in this brisk roundup of sexual imbroglios. Covering more than 200 years of U.S. history, from Alexander Hamilton's affair with Maria Reynolds to Donald Trump's tryst with Stormy Daniels, Martinez sketches the origins, unmasking, and ramifications of each scandal.... This sober-minded survey shows that political sex scandals are as old as the U.S.”

-- "Publishers Weekly"

In Libertines: American Political Sex Scandals from Alexander Hamilton to Donald Trump, J. Michael Martinez combines riveting writing with concise detail on many sex scandals you are familiar with and many you are not. Libertines is both a perfect companion to texts that lay out theories about scandals or as a stand-alone read for history or politics buffs. I enjoyed every page and added to my knowledge at the same time.

--Jim Twombly

Michael Martinez provides a highly readable, entertaining, and raucous romp through the history of our political leaders' sexual peccadilloes. Yet, beneath the riveting stories of scandals are important insights into character and interesting questions about both the extent to which the public has the right to know about politicians' private lives and how voters or historians factor such affairs into their assessments of our leaders.

--Robert Watson, distinguished professor of American History at Lynn University and author of Affairs of State

The book's 14 accounts of American sex scandals raise two related questions: Why do some private indiscretions become public affairs? And what makes one scandal fatal to a politician's career while another isn't?... the book is, on the whole, more narrative than comparative. But they are interesting questions, and the chronicle of historical figures with their pants down is full of striking details.

-- "Inside Higher Ed"

There have been political sex scandals for as long as there has been sex and politicians--that is, from the dawn of civilization. Martinez takes a more manageable focus in his book Libertines, examining American political sex scandals from the Founding Fathers to the present day. And there are many episodes to look at: Alexander Hamilton's torrid affair with a married woman; Thomas Jefferson's extended relationship with his slave Sally Hemings; Grover Cleveland's illegitimate son; Gary Hart daring the press to follow him. Martinez doesn't shy away from contemporary scandals, either, like Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky and the infamous stained dress; Anthony Weiner's raunchy selfies; and lest readers forget: Donald Trump. The major takeaway from all these episodes is that successful, powerful men tend to have monstrously large egos that make them susceptible to horridly stupid lapses in judgment. With every scandal recounted, one wants to shake one's head at the idiocy and weakness of these otherwise (mostly) admirable men. As history, Libertines makes for saucy reading.

-- "Booklist"

With Libertines, J. Michael Martinez takes us on an enjoyable walk through American history by bringing notorious public figures to life. The author sets his subjects in historical and political context in a way that leads to new insights about their choices and the strands that connect them over time. Martinez seeks to understand why famous men take extraordinary risks with their sex lives. With trustworthy research and appealing prose, Libertines advances democracy's quest to choose leaders who will serve the public without philandering in the process.

--Anne Michaud, journalist and author of Why They Stay

J. Michael Martinez is the author or editor of 15 books on American history and law including the Rowman & Littlefield titles A Long Dark Night: Race in America from Jim Crow to World War II (2016), Terrorist Attacks on American Soil: From the Civil War Era to the Present (2012), Coming for to Carry Me Home: Race in America from Abolitionism to Jim Crow (2011), and Carpetbaggers, Cavalry, and the Ku Klux, Klan: Exposing the Invisible Empire during Reconstruction (2007). He is a practicing attorney in Atlanta, Georgia.

Historian Michael Martinez surveys political sex scandals in American history, from the earliest years of the Republic to today, to explore how these events impacted the politics of the day and the legacy they left for future generations of American leaders.

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