Book Description

“Working With Roosevelt is not only one of the most readable and perceptive of the wide array of New Deal memoirs; it is also the finest account and analysis of the way in which Franklin D. Roosevelt’s speeches took shape. Indeed it is the indispensable book on presidential speech writing.” — Foreword by Frank Freidel, Harvard University, to Counsel and Advise: A Political Biography of Samuel I. Rosenman “A close associate of Roosevelt from 1928 to 1945, Judge Rosenman’s principal job was to prepare and assist in the drafting of the President’s speeches. The memoirs of those years of collaboration are a valuable addition to the history of the New Deal and F.D.R.’s rôle in the Second World War.” — Henry L. Roberts, Foreign Affairs “[A] detailed and authoritative account of how the public utterances of a President of the United States are put together... The particular value of the Rosenman account is that it deals with a President who was conspicuously successful in his employment of the method. It is all the better because it carefully describes the errors, as well as the triumphs. The book admits that Roosevelt made mistakes, and points them out. Indeed, it goes further — it admits that Samuel Rosenman made mistakes, and points them out, too. This makes it admirable as a textbook for aspiring politicians.” — G.W. Johnson, New York Herald Tribune Book Review “An engrossing study of the late President in one of his less familiar roles — that of man of letters... Judge Rosenman — an admiring but by no means purblind biographer — conveys an excellent idea of the development of both the content of and the philosophy behind most of Roosevelt’s major addresses, and analyzes, as far as possible, the literary contributions made by the President’s collaborators.” — The New Yorker “Mr. Rosenman gives an honest and revealing appraisal of the man with whom he worked for so many years, and, in his presentation of the background of the major speeches, offers a fascinating account of the years and events so decisive in America’s recent history.” — The American Scholar “[A] unique contribution to our knowledge of F.D.R. and the modern American presidency... An outstanding virtue of this book is the well-rounded picture it presents of F.D.R.” — Thomas H. Greer, The Mississippi Valley Historical Review