Levine, Lawrence W. and Levine, Cornelia R

Berkeley. 2010. University of California Press. 1st American Edition. Very Good in Wrappers. 9780520265547. Foreword by Michael Kazin. 268 pages. paperback. . keywords: History America FDR Fireside Chats. FROM THE PUBLISHER - Beginning with FDR's closing of all of America's banks two days after his inauguration The Fireside Conversations cover the dark days of the 1930s and culminate with FDR's 'Economic Bill of Rights' just before he died. With a preface by bestselling historian Michael Kazin, who highlights the economic situation and populist politics both then and now, and an introduction by leading historian Lawrence Levine which reveals how the new media of radio brought the White House to Americans (echoing the Internet now), the bulk of the book presents a fascinating and previously unexplored range of letters from Americans to FDR. Prompted by the Fireside Chat where FDR invited Americans to 'tell me your troubles,'letter-writers range from the young to the old, men to women, from the President of Wells Fargo to homeless black sharecroppers, from the crippled and destitute to oil executives, from staunch Republicans to ardent Socialists (with many Democrats inbetween). Along with the short and readable introductions to each of FDR's addresses by the Levines, The Fireside Conversations offers not only a survey of the Great Depression and the New Deal but an insight on popular opinion and political will in America's last disastrous economic times. inventory #12195 ISBN: 9780520265547.