Larry Conrad of Indiana

Larry A. Conrad was one of the most popular and influential politicians in the state of Indiana in the 1960s and 1970s. His story is the story of the political life of this key state in two pivotal decades of its and the nation's history. As a member of Senator Birch Bayh's staff, he wrote the twenty-fifth amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Although he lost in his race for Governor, he was nevertheless a major force in Indiana politics for two decades. He was the causal agent in reforming Indiana's Democratic Party, despite vicious and very personal political attacks from his opponents. After leaving public office in 1978, he became one of the leading figures in the movement to rebuild and revitalize Indianapolis. Scheele's biography, based on Conrad's papers and hundreds of interviews with colleagues, friends, and opponents, traces Larry Conrad's life from his humble origins through his education and his political and public careers.