Examines the policies and programs developed by Franklin Roosevelt to lead the country out of the Depression.

A biography on Eleanor Roosevelt, describing how she changed the role of the first lady through her active and outspoken participation in American politics.

"In 1932 in the midst of the Great Depression, Franklin Delano Roosevelt won the presidency with the help of key African American defectors from the Republican Party. At the time, most African Americans lived in poverty in the South, denied citizenship rights and terrorized by white violence. But Roosevelt's victory created the opportunity for a group of African American intellectuals and activists to join his administration as racial affairs experts....

"All her life, Eleanor Roosevelt hoped to "leave some mark upon the world." She was a shy child who found joy in helping others. A passionate young adult who longed for adventure. An independent young woman who formed her own opinions. A trustworthy partner who worked tirelessly for change. So when her husband became president and she became first lady, Eleanor was ready to make her mark. With characteristic candor, compassion, and courage, she traversed...

In twentieth century America, no threat loomed larger than the communist superpower of the Soviet Union. The Communist Party of the United States attempted to use deep economic and racial disparities in American culture to win over members and sympathizers. Marrin shows how the miscarriage of justice in the Scottsboro Boys case, the tragedy of the Rosenbergs, and the menace of the Joseph McCarthy and his war hearings lured many Americans to the ideals...

"The first biography of arguably the most influential member of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's administration, Marguerite 'Missy' LeHand, FDR's de facto chief of staff, who has been misrepresented, mischaracterized, and overlooked throughout history...until now"-- "Journalist Smith (A Necessary War) grants readers an unusual insider's view of F.D.R.'s political career by profiling his longtime private secretary. Marguerite 'Missy' LeHand, a young woman...

"In 1933, as her husband assumed the presidency, Eleanor Roosevelt embarked on the claustrophobic, duty-bound existence of the First Lady with dread. By that time, she had put her deep disappointment in her marriage behind her and developed an independent life--now threatened by the public role she would be forced to play. A lifeline came to her in the form of a feisty campaign reporter for the Associated Press: Lorena Hickok. Over the next thirty...

Introduces the lives of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor, distant cousins who married in 1905 and helped guide the country during the Depression and the second World War.