This first thoroughly researched appraisal of Hoover's tenure as first lady (1929-1933) argues that she was the first modern presidential wife because of her use of radio, adoption of social causes, and public activism outside White House traditions.

The first ever biography of Herbert Hoover's First Lady.

Herbert Hoover's "magnum opus"—at last published nearly fifty years after its completion—offers a revisionist reexamination of World War II and its cold war aftermath and a sweeping indictment of the "lost statesmanship" of Franklin Roosevelt. Hoover offers his frank evaluation of Roosevelt's foreign policies before Pearl Harbor and policies during the war, as well as an examination of the war's consequences, including the expansion of the Soviet empire at war's end and the eruption of the cold war against the Communists.

An intensely private and shy man, Hoover the person was largely unknown to the American public. In this extensively researched biography devoted to the angling side of Hoover, author Hal Elliott Wert examines the often overlooked life of our thirty-first president. In a presidency plagued by the Depression, in a time when the country was poised between the agrarian society of the past and the advent of a modern professional class, Herbert Hoover faced numerous challenges. A thinker and a doer who shaped the way we live today, Hoover found relief from the stresses of his professional life in his pastime, fishing. Herbert Hoover fished near his hometown of West Branch, Iowa, as a boy and then moved to Oregon, where he fished the Rogue, Willamette, McKenzie, and Columbia rivers. As a young man, he attended Stanford and fished and camped throughout the West during breaks. He fished and spent time in the outdoors throughout his life and especially in his years as president. He founded Cave Man Camp at Bohemian Grove north of San Francisco, a yearly getaway for powerful Republicans, and Camp Rapidan in Virginia while he was in the White House. In addition to freshwater fishing, Hoover enjoyed fishing the salt. On trips to Florida later in his life, he stalked bonefish and fished for permit and the larger species, such as sailfish.

In this book, Hoover expounds and vigorously defends what has come to be called American exceptionalism: the set of beliefs and values that still makes America unique. He argues that America can make steady, sure progress if we preserve our individualism, preserve and stimulate the initiative of our people, insist on and maintain the safeguards to equality of opportunity, and honor service as a part of our national character.

A riveting account of a gruesome triple-homicide at Beekman Place in Depression Era New York, with an intriguing cast of characters including the brilliant but mentally-disturbed sculptor, Robert Irwin.

“At last, a biography of Herbert Hoover that captures the man in full… [Jeansonne] has splendidly illuminated the arc of one of the most extraordinary lives of the twentieth century.”—David M. Kennedy, Pulitzer Prize-winning Author of Freedom from Fear Prizewinning historian Glen Jeansonne delves into the life of our most misunderstood president, offering up a surprising new portrait of Herbert Hoover—dismissing previous assumptions and revealing a political Progressive in the mold of Theodore Roosevelt, and the most resourceful American since Benjamin Franklin. Orphaned at an early age and raised with strict Quaker values, Hoover earned his way through Stanford University. His hardworking ethic drove him to a successful career as an engineer and multinational businessman. After the Great War, he led a humanitarian effort that fed millions of Europeans left destitute, arguably saving more lives than any man in history. As commerce secretary under President Coolidge, Hoover helped modernize and galvanize American industry, and orchestrated the rehabilitation of the Mississippi Valley after the Great Flood of 1927. As president, Herbert Hoover became the first chief executive to harness federal power to combat a crippling global recession. Though Hoover is often remembered as a “do-nothing” president, Jeansonne convincingly portrays a steadfast leader who challenged congress on an array of legislation that laid the groundwork for the New Deal. In addition, Hoover reformed America’s prisons, improved worker safety, and fought for better health and welfare for children. Unfairly attacked by Franklin D. Roosevelt and blamed for the Depression, Hoover was swept out of office in a landslide. Yet as FDR’s government grew into a bureaucratic behemoth, Hoover became the moral voice of the GOP and a champion of Republican principles—a legacy re-ignited by Ronald Reagan and which still endures today. A compelling and rich examination of his character, accomplishments and failings, this is the magnificent biography of Herbert Hoover we have long waited for. INCLUDES PHOTOS