In this engrossing narrative that brings to life key people and events during a calamitous time in American history, this book documents how Stephen Early remade what had been just a routine White House briefing function into the modern high-visibility role of the presidential press secretary. The book chronicles the lifelong loyalty of Early to President Roosevelt including their close but often tumultuous professional and personal relationship.
Linda Lotridge Levin (Kingston, RI), professor of journalism and chair of the Department of Journalism at the University of Rhode Island, is the author of Mass Communication Law in Rhode Island; To Understand: The History of a 10-Year Dialogue Between New England and Soviet Editors; and Rhode Island: The Independent State; as well as numerous articles in The Providence Journal and other publications.
Preface; The Journalist Meets the Politician; Mr Early Goes to War; The 1920 Campaign; Back to the Associated Press; Preparing for the White House; Launching the Juggernaut; The Honeymoon; Hobgoblins; On Behalf of the President; The 1936 Campaign: To Stay or Leave; Court Packing and Other Problems; Good Friends and Job Offers; Moving Toward World Chaos; Fatal Days in Europe, Decisions at Home; The Sloan Affair; "Just Between Us Girls"; Pearl Harbor; "Serve in Silence"; "The Travefingest President"; Morningside Drive; Extracting News from Oysters; "The Great White Jail"; To Yalta and Back Again; Then There Was One; The Last Ride; Endnotes.
"Although brimming with facts, The Making of FDR nevertheless manages to maintain the reader's interest through its well written style and frequent anecdotes. It should be particularly valued by journalism, politcal, and public relations historians, but it also contributes to public affairs and military history." -- Journalism History, Volume 34, Issue 4, Winter 2009 "For her detailed research, Levin should be commended. The reader will learn a lot about the inside of the Roosevelt Administration and Stephen T. Early (Levin's biography) should be a part of the library of any presidential or political communication scholar." -- American Journalism, Winter 2009 "Students of media history, especially those who study the relationship between public officials and the media, will find Levin's book a fascinating study of the man who, in her estimation, was 'America's first modern press secretary.'" -- Political Communication, July 1, 2009
