There are very few books about the recent successes of liberalism. Indeed, there have been very few in the past 30 years. It's no mistake that the list of Democratic heroes ends in 1968. George Bush used those suggestions to win the presidency just 10 years ago against Michael Dukakis. However, anyone who lets George do his thinking for him has bigger problems, especially if that decision is bigger than how to tie one's shoes.
Liberals definitely have an image problem.
While under attack from the right, they have steadfastly refused to defend the principles in which they believe, principles which have brought this country a minimum wage, social security, Medicare and many other things that shape the landscape today. David Barash, in his book The L Word , says it is exactly this tradition they shrink from. Dukakis did not offer anything positive about liberalism to counteract Bush's depiction. He just denied what everyone else knew was true. This view is far too simplistic to be very accurate, but the average liberal does nothing to diffuse it.