Learn more about CCRLS
Reading recommendations from Novelist
Cover image for The wars of the Roosevelts : the ruthless rise of America's greatest political family
Format:
Book
Title:
The wars of the Roosevelts : the ruthless rise of America's greatest political family
ISBN:
9780062383334
Edition:
First edition.
Publication:
New York, NY : Harper, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, [2016]
Physical Description:
x, 609 pages, 32 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, portraits ; 24 cm
Contents:
Prologue: The larger picture, 1960 -- Cain and Abel, 1890-1891 -- Everything to fear, 1893-1894 -- Popular and powerful, 1903-1905 -- A shot, 1912 -- Believing more than ever before, 1918-1920 -- Rough stunts, 1924-1925 -- The future and the past, 1932 -- Changing the world, 1936-1938 -- Terrific responsibility, 1943-1945 -- Epilogue: The last sortie, 1962.
Summary:
Drawing on historical documents and interviews with the long-silent 'illegitimate' branch of the family, celebrity biographer William J. Mann paints a group portrait of this legendary family. Mann argues that the Roosevelts' rise to power and prestige was driven by a series of intense personal contests that at times devolved into blood sport. Eleanor Roosevelt experienced this brutality firsthand, witnessing her uncle Theodore cruelly destroy her father, Elliott -- Theodore's brother and bitter rival -- for political expediency. This 'worshipful niece, ' Mann contends, in fact bore a grudge against TR for the rest of her life. A new understanding of Eleanor, as well as of her relationship with Franklin, emerges. Mann also brings into focus Eleanor's cousins, TR's children -- Alice, Ted, and Kermit -- whose stories propelled the family rivalry. We also learn the story of Eleanor's illegitimate half-brother, Elliott Roosevelt Mann, who inherited his family's ambition and skills without their name and privilege, and whom TR did his best to exile. Illustrated with never-before-seen photographs from Elliott's archives, The Wars of the Roosevelts is a deeply psychological history, illuminating not only the enviable strengths but also the profound shame of this remarkable and influential family.
Geographic Term:
Holds: