The Roosevelts

Starred review from June 23, 2014
In this impressively thorough history, and companion piece to a forthcoming PBS series, historian/screenwriter Ward and producer/director Burns (Baseball: An Illustrated History) examine the lives and careers of one of America’s most memorable political dynasties, the Roosevelts, as represented by Theodore, Eleanor, and Franklin. Starting with Teddy’s asthma-plagued youth and ending with Eleanor’s death in 1962, every aspect of their lives and legacies is touched upon. Hundreds of photos, newspaper clippings, and accompanying captions flesh out the story, which expands to cover their friends and family, enemies, and (alleged) lovers. While none of the brief, chronological entries are incredibly deep, each offers a solid background to the relevant material, providing an engaging look at America during the first half of the 20th century. Part history, part biography, Ward and Burns strike the perfect balance between information and entertainment, keeping the tone casual yet authoritative. It would be a monumental task to cover any one of the three in full detail; this, then, is the perfect coffee table book treatment for such a trio. Agent: Brandt & Hochman Literary Agents, Inc.

Starred review from June 15, 2014
The very definition of "lavishly illustrated"-an oversized volume containing nearly 800 photographs documenting the lives of Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt and (to a much lesser extent) their wives and families.Prolific historian Ward (A Disposition to Be Rich: Ferdinand Ward, the Greatest Swindler of the Gilded Age, 2013, etc.) opens with the promising assertion that "the similarities and not the differences" between Teddy and FDR are the more interesting avenue of study. Those similarities are qualified but very real. Both bucked the reins of their parties, though the one remained a Republican for most of his political career (said Teddy, "The man is not everything; the party is most of all"), and the other redefined Democratic Party politics; both were children of privilege whose sense of noblesse oblige included a fundamental sense of fairness that seems not to characterize the 1 percent of today. Ward chronicles the modest ironies that propelled both to the heights of political power-Franklin, for instance, was first picked to balance a ticket as "an easterner with an independent reputation [who] had a good record in wartime Washington and...bore a last name the party hoped would appeal to independent voters." Both Teddy and Franklin, as Ward ably demonstrates in a lucid text, surpassed all that was expected of them and transcended class to embrace an American-ness for which many readers will be nostalgic. Ward's text is top-flight, as always, but it would be much less so without the superbly curated photographs that accompany it, documenting such things as bracing hunts in the Rockies, anti-lynching demonstrations in Washington and boats full of teenage soldiers powering toward the beaches of Normandy.Excellent, as we have come to expect from the team of Ward and Burns-an eye-opening look at a political dynasty worthy of the name and at a state of politics far better than our own.

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Starred review from June 1, 2014
The name Ken Burns will be familiar to many readers and television viewers. He is an award-winning producer and director of documentary films. Not surprisingly, then, this oversize, completely engaging book, of which he is coauthor, is a tie-in volume to a PBS documentary to air in fall 2014. (The other author, Geoffrey C. Ward, doesn't take a backseat here; he is the author of the award-winning A First-Class Temperament: The Emergence of Franklin Roosevelt, 1989.) Tacking a course that supports the adage that in adversity comes strength, the authors profile, in a well-woven narrative, the lives and careers of Teddy Roosevelt, his cousin Franklin, and Franklin's wife, Eleanor (who was also Teddy's niece). Without having to overstate any fact or situation, the authors establish that these three distinguished individuals made significant differences in the political and social fabric of the country, such that their footprints remain indelible in U.S. history. Teddy's early ill-health, FDR's polio, and Eleanor's lack of confidence, especially in the face of her husband's infidelity, resulted in their individual drives to succeed as well as in the compelling nature of their life stories.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)

April 1, 2014

The author of 16 books, including the National Book Critics Circle Award winner A First-Class Temperament: The Emergence of Franklin Roosevelt, Ward again collaborates with filmmaker Burns to vivify American history. By giving us intimate portraits of Theodore, Eleanor, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the coauthors offer a larger picture of the entire family, uniting the Republican Roosevelts of Oyster Bay with the Democrat Roosevelts of Hyde Park to show a family with the strong sense of public service that's lacking today. Itself highly illustrated, the book serves as the basis of a seven-part PBS series that will take over prime time for an entire week, starting on September 14. With a 250,000-copy first printing.

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2014

This companion to Burns's forthcoming documentary chronicles the lives of three of America's most influential people: Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919), his distant cousin Franklin Delano (1882-1945), and Franklin's wife, Eleanor (1884-1962). The large (11" 10") book is laden with images and divided into short one- to two-page sections, each relaying an anecdote or event. Its focus gravitates toward finding the common threads running throughout each of the subject's lives, particularly Theodore's influence on Franklin despite the small amount of time they actually spent together. On its own, this is a cross between an extremely well-researched biography and a coffee-table book with rare, incredible images. Its emphasis on revealing the connections among the three individuals and the incredible energy and strength that they shared is distinct and welcome, and the story is wonderfully told through intimate anecdotes that make the three political titans very human. This work does not possess the depth of the hefty individual biographies written about its subjects but explores a mostly unexamined dynamic with great care. VERDICT Recommended for those interested in presidential history, women's studies, and Burns's documentary work.--Benjamin Brudner, Curry Coll. Lib., Milton, MA

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.