Herbert Hoover: Forgotten Progressive

This interesting and insightful book examines the life of one of America’s least favored presidents with a sensitive and objective eye. Herbert Hoover’s career followed a pattern familiar in the history of the United States: humble beginnings surmounted by hard work and tremendous ambition, wealth, public service and, eventually, the presidency. From his Quaker youth he acquired morals and values that he would preserve throughout his entire life. These values ultimately created an unbridgeable gulf between him and U.S. citizens as he confronted the Great Depression soon after taking office. There would always be little comprehension between the president and the people who looked to him for leadership. He died unpopular and isolated, disowned by his own party, embittered by the lack of understanding, and convinced that the burden of blame for the depression had been thrust on him unfairly. This volume seeks to shed light not only on the man and his career, but also on the evolving nation that rejected him.