Herbert Hoover
A Life
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Narrated by:
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Mark Deakins
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By:
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Glen Jeansonne
About this listen
“At last, a biography of Herbert Hoover that captures the man in full.... [Jeansonne] has splendidly illuminated the arc of one of the most extraordinary lives of the twentieth century.” (David M. Kennedy, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Freedom from Fear)
Prize-winning historian Glen Jeansonne delves into the life of our most misunderstood president, offering up a surprising new portrait of Herbert Hoover - dismissing previous assumptions and revealing a political Progressive in the mold of Theodore Roosevelt and the most resourceful American since Benjamin Franklin.
Orphaned at an early age and raised with strict Quaker values, Hoover earned his way through Stanford University. His hardworking ethic drove him to a successful career as an engineer and multinational businessman. After the Great War, he led a humanitarian effort that fed millions of Europeans left destitute, arguably saving more lives than any man in history. As commerce secretary under President Coolidge, Hoover helped modernize and galvanize American industry and orchestrated the rehabilitation of the Mississippi Valley after the Great Flood of 1927.
As president, Herbert Hoover became the first chief executive to harness federal power to combat a crippling global recession. Though Hoover is often remembered as a "do-nothing" president, Jeansonne convincingly portrays a steadfast leader who challenged Congress on an array of legislation that laid the groundwork for the New Deal. In addition Hoover reformed America's prisons, improved worker safety, and fought for better health and welfare for children. Unfairly attacked by Franklin D. Roosevelt and blamed for the Depression, Hoover was swept out of office in a landslide. Yet as FDR's government grew into a bureaucratic behemoth, Hoover became the moral voice of the GOP and a champion of Republican principles - a legacy reignited by Ronald Reagan and that still endures today.
A compelling and rich examination of his character, accomplishments, and failings, this is the magnificent biography of Herbert Hoover we have long waited for.
©2016 Glen Jeansonne (P)2016 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
“Herbert Hoover is usually ranked near the bottom of American presidents. Glen Jeansonne’s biography of the man who was chief executive from 1929 to 1933 is a cri de coeur over what the author sees as a grievous injustice. True, Hoover did preside over the worst economic catastrophe in our nation’s history. But in Herbert Hoover: A Life, he is a fascinating and accomplished individual - the ‘most versatile American since Benjamin Franklin’ - and an idealistic, dynamic president who deserves a better reputation.” (The New York Times Book Review)
“Jeansonne portrays a president more centrist than extreme, a leader who might have succeeded in a second term.... Strong - well-written and well-researched.” (Amity Shlaes, Wall Street Journal)
“Historian Glen Jeansonne’s fine biography, the first to treat [Herbert Hoover’s] entire life…has given us an exhaustively researched, balanced, and thorough treatment of an American life very much worth knowing about.” (The American Spectator)
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- Length: 23 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Douglas Brinkley takes us on the incredible journey of the United States - a nation formed from a vast countryside on whose fringes 13 small British colonies fought for their freedom, then established a democratic nation that spanned the continent and went on to become a world power. This book will be treasured by anyone interested in the story of America.
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Highly recommended!
- By M. Hu on 08-04-17
By: Douglas Brinkley
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Coolidge: An American Enigma
- By: Robert Sobel
- Narrated by: Charles Bice
- Length: 16 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Sobel instead exposes the real Coolidge, whose legacy as the most Jeffersonian of all twentieth-century presidents still reverberates today. Sobel delves into the record to show how Coolidge cut taxes four times, had a budget surplus every year in office, and cut the national debt by a third in a period of unprecedented economic growth.
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A Book Exciting As It's Subject!!!
- By Ted on 08-28-12
By: Robert Sobel
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New Deal or Raw Deal?
- How FDR's Economic Legacy Has Damaged America
- By: Burton Folsom Jr.
- Narrated by: Alan Sklar
- Length: 11 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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In this shocking and groundbreaking new book, economic historian Burton Folsom, Jr., exposes the idyllic legend of Franklin D. Roosevelt as a myth of epic proportions. With questionable moral character and a vendetta against the business elite, Roosevelt created New Deal programs marked by inconsistent planning, wasteful spending, and opportunity for political gain---ultimately elevating public opinion of his administration but falling flat in achieving the economic revitalization that America needed.
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A must listen!
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The Money Makers
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Shortly after arriving in the White House in early 1933, Franklin Roosevelt took the United States off the gold standard. His opponents thought his decision unwise at best and ruinous at worst. But they could not have been more wrong. With The Money Makers, Eric Rauchway tells the absorbing story of how FDR and his advisors pulled the levers of monetary policy to save the domestic economy and propel the United States to unprecedented prosperity and superpower status.
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Excellent over view and easily understandable
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Franklin Roosevelt
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As the 32nd president of the United States of America, Franklin Delano Roosevelt is a common household name in both his home country and the world. Known as the man who led the United States through the Great Depression and World War II, Roosevelt was a leader and a statesman, a scholar, and a politician. Franklin D. Roosevelt is the only president to have served for three consecutive terms and voted in for a fourth, a fact that allows him to stand out among the long list of American presidents.
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The top book, I love Franklin.
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A Patriot’s History of the United States, Updated Edition
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Over the past decade, A Patriot's History of the United States has become the definitive conservative history of our country, correcting the biases of historians and other intellectuals who downplay the greatness of America's patriots. Professors Schweikart and Allen have now revised, updated, and expanded their book, which covers America's long history with an appreciation for the values that made this nation uniquely successful.
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A Fox News Version of American History
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Upon his election to the presidency, Abraham Lincoln inherited a country in crisis. Even before the Confederacy’s secession, the United States Treasury had run out of money. The government had no authority to raise taxes, no federal bank, no currency. But amid unprecedented troubles Lincoln saw opportunity—the chance to legislate in the centralizing spirit of the “more perfect union” that had first drawn him to politics.
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Perspective that matters - financing the Civil War
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Long before the "culture wars" usually associated with the rise of conservative politics, driven individuals funded think tanks, fought labor unions, and formed organizations to market their views.These nearly unknown, larger-than-life, and sometimes eccentric personalities - such as General Electric's zealous, silver-tongued Lemuel Ricketts Boulware and the self-described "revolutionary" Jasper Crane of DuPont - make for a fascinating, behind-the-scenes view of American history.
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The Conservative battle for taking back the New Deal
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In a sweeping narrative, the author of the mega-bestseller A Beautiful Mind takes us on a journey through modern history with the men and women who changed the lives of every single person on the planet. It’s the epic story of the making of modern economics, and of how it rescued mankind from squalor and deprivation by placing its material fate in its own hands rather than in Fate. Nasar’s account begins with Charles Dickens and Henry Mayhew observing and publishing the condition of the poor majority in mid nineteenth-century London, the richest and most glittering place in the world.
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A Beautiful Grand Pursuit
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Are leaders born or made? Where does ambition come from? How does adversity affect the growth of leadership? Does the man make the times or do the times make the man? In Leadership, Goodwin draws upon four of the presidents she has studied most closely - Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Lyndon B. Johnson (in civil rights) - to show how they first recognized leadership qualities within themselves, and were recognized by others as leaders.
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What makes a president great?
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What listeners say about Herbert Hoover
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- BigWally
- 12-16-16
Superb biography of a vastly under-rated president
Would you consider the audio edition of Herbert Hoover to be better than the print version?
I have not read the print edition so I really can't compare them. However, the audio edition is superbly done. The reader is one of the best to whom I have listened, and I have listened to a lot of audio books.
What did you like best about this story?
I now have a greater appreciation for Herbert Hoover. He was a brilliant man who served all of humanity without thought of enriching himself. He may be the man most responsible for saving more lives from starving to death than any person in history. Unfortunately, he was president when The Great Depression began. It is interesting to speculate how things would have gone if FDR had been elected in 1928 and Hoover in 1932 or if Hoover had never been president. He would probably gone down in the history books as one of America's greatest humanitarians.
I think the despicable treatment of Hoover by FDR was unconscionable. Between his election in November of 1932 and taking office in March of 1933, FDR did absolutely nothing to help the country by assisting Hoover. FDR wanted the country to suffer as much and as long as possible so that he could 'ride in on a white horse" and rescue the country. Ironically, FDR pursued many of the same policies Hoover used. FDR did not end the Great Depression, WWII helped the nation back to recovery along with other factors.
The Democrats used Hoover and The Great Depression for the next 30-40 years as a reason why the country should never elect another Republican. Harry Truman, among others, realized the greatness of Hoover and treated him with respect.
What about Mark Deakins’s performance did you like?
He read the story beautifully.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
FDR's incredibly nasty treatment of Hoover from FDR's election until FDR died.
Any additional comments?
The book really opened my eyes to what a kind and generous man Herbert Hoover was. He has suffered too long at the hands of the worshipers of FDR, in particular the liberal historians.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Brian Lockman
- 08-25-21
Herbert Hoover: A Love Letter
"A Love Letter" is the appropriate subtitle for this book. It is clear that the author's intention was to define Hoover as one of the greatest humans to ever grace the planet. Apparently the author thought he never made a mistake and was correct in all of his beliefs. And of course, FDR was wrong in everything he did. That being said, Hoover had a remarkable life and deserves a thorough biography, but maybe not one as slanted as this.
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- Anonymous User
- 04-14-18
Outstanding new look at a great American!
Hoover was the greatest humanitarian in history. He was a stalwart conservative in the dark years of the New Deal and its later bureaucratic entrenchment. This book really portrays this practical, thoughtful, industrious, caring and patriotic man.
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- jason leclerc
- 03-29-19
great book to listen to
great book to listen to. little redundant in some areas but lot of facts and entertaining throughout listening
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1 person found this helpful
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- Greg
- 07-23-17
Herbert Hoover - good story
This audio book entertains from beginning to end. It tells a most fascinating story of one of our most under-appreciated presidents. As a student of U.S. History I appreciate this man's accomplishments before, during, and after his term in office. I wish more people would learn about Mr. Hoover.
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- Brian
- 04-13-17
A surprisingly influential figure
Would you listen to Herbert Hoover again? Why?
Yes. I always had a less than impressive regard for Hoover. That was because his presidency is linked with the Great Depression. Now I know much more about him; how and why he was able to become president. Regardless of political persuasion, one must admit that he accomplished much to be admired.
What was one of the most memorable moments of Herbert Hoover?
His struggle to meet the demands of Stanford.
Which scene was your favorite?
In general, his time in China.
If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?
Accomplishing the American Dream
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- Travis Block
- 12-01-20
Well-written, well-researched, surprising
I’m working my way through presidential biographies and had no idea how fascinating Hoover would be. As with most biographies, the author seems to see events through the eyes of his subject. However, this provided a point of view not often found. This has been the most surprising biography I have ever read.
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- Jeffrey Papen
- 05-20-19
Pretty biased with Hoover never doing anything wrong
I’m sure the truth is somewhere out there. This book is so biased you would think Hoover never did anything wrong. Ever.
Hard to get through since there was little to no objectivity calling out failings. The author tiptoes toward sycophancy and is painfully partisan.
Interesting as hell. Just not objective so another book is needed to find the truth somewhere in between.
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- Donny
- 06-11-23
informative & interesting book.
never going to be a highly rated president (and rightfully so), but the author details well Hoover's many positive attributes and contributions though with a bit of rose-colored tint. Great book to learn about Hoover.
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- Amazon Customer
- 10-17-16
Amazing story.
I'm a history teacher and will add the Herbert Hoover story to the lies we have been told by liberal, elitist historians. This book will be one of my favorites of all time. Well written and thoroughly documented.
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3 people found this helpful