In 1800, the American people did something no people had done before. They carried out a peaceful transfer of contested political power with a democratic election. John Zvesper’s From Bullets to Ballots: The Election of 1800 and the First Peaceful Transfer of Political Power explains how this unprecedented event happened. To do this, Zvesper recounts the political history of the 1790s with admirable clarity and concision. Behind his striking command of the historical materials, however, is a firm grasp of the profound significance of the election of 1800, and what it means for the possibility of self-government today. All in all, Zvesper has written the best short—perhaps simply the best—account we have of the politics of the 1790s and the election of 1800.