author
1847–1933
Best known for a sharp 1920 critique of American politics, this little-known writer took on big questions about voting, government, and public power. His work has lasted mainly through that one ambitious book, which still gives a vivid sense of the political arguments of its time.

by Alfred Byron Cruikshank
Very little biographical information about Alfred Byron Cruikshank is easy to confirm online, but library and public-domain records identify him as the author of Popular Misgovernment in the United States, published in 1920, and give his lifespan as 1847–1933.
That book is a sustained critique of how the United States was governed in the early 20th century. It focuses especially on suffrage, political reform, and the gap between democratic ideals and political reality, showing that Cruikshank was deeply engaged with the public debates of his day.
Although he does not seem to be widely remembered as a major literary figure, his surviving work offers a direct window into a forceful and opinionated political mind. For listeners interested in historical arguments about democracy and reform, he is an intriguing voice from a turbulent period in American public life.