The Life of Herbert Hoover : Imperfect Visionary, 1918–1928

This latest volume in the definitive six-volume biography of Herbert Hoover tracks Hoover's life and career from 1918 to 1928 - a period defined largely by his role as United States Secretary of Commerce and leading directly to his election as the thirty-first President of the United States. "Herbert Hoover is one of the few figures in American history who truly requires a multivolume biography, and in the installment at hand, Clements helps us understand why. This is a richly informative and illuminating study of an oft-neglected (and too often caricatured) leader as he neared the pinnacle of a remarkable career. Professor Clements has written a discerning and necessary book."--George H. Nash, author of the first three volumes of The Life of Herbert Hoover "Clements' compendious, deeply researched, and highly sophisticated study of Herbert Hoover during the Paris Peace Conference and the Commerce years will serve as an important building block for a new understanding of the 1920s." - Stephen A. Schuker, William W Corcoran Professor of History, University of Virginia "In this thoughtfully crafted volume, Clements details and analyzes both a crucial decade in Hoover's life and the ongoing whirlwinds of political and associational activity generated by his initiatives. Solidly grounded in primary evidence, it stands as the best account yet of the era's 'great administrator' and the complex set of successes and frustrations that eventually helped to make him president." - Ellis W. Hawley, University of Iowa Praise for previous volumes: "Able to bring a dimension to Hoover's private life that is missing in previous accounts." - The New York Times "A good story in fast-moving, felicitous prose ... makes all other books on Hoover during this period obsolete." - The Washington Post "A wonderfully detailed history." - Los Angeles Times "A milestone in Hoover scholarship ... Throughout, the quality of the scholarship, the sifting and use of evidence, the imaginative reconstruction of relevant historical contexts, and the ability to communicate all deserve high marks." - The American Historical Review "The breadth and depth of coverage here is startlingly new. The care, precision, attention to detail, and thoroughness in tracking down even the most obscure references makes this first volume of the definitive biography of Hoover an excellent reference work as well as a mine of information for those wishing to become familiar with the details of his life." - Susan Estabrook Kennedy, The Journal of American History Front Matter....Pages i-xv Feeding Europe, 1918–1919....Pages 1-26 Family Affairs, 1918–1920....Pages 27-34 An Economic Program for the Consumer Society....Pages 35-47 The Election of 1920....Pages 49-69 The European Relief Program, September 1919–1921....Pages 71-86 Family and Business, 1921....Pages 87-99 The Commerce Department, 1921....Pages 101-129 The 1921 Unemployment Conference....Pages 131-147 The Russian Famine, 1921–1923....Pages 149-160 Hoover and the American Child Health Association....Pages 161-179 Family, 1922–1923....Pages 181-194 Hoover’s Economic Idealism....Pages 195-207 The Commerce Department, 1922....Pages 209-238 The Commerce Department, 1923....Pages 239-264 Alaska and Washington, 1923–1924....Pages 265-279 The Commerce Department, 1924....Pages 281-302 The Commerce Department, 1925....Pages 303-324 Family and Public Service, 1925–1928....Pages 325-339 The Commerce Department, 1926–1928....Pages 341-369 The Mississippi River and New England Floods of 1927....Pages 371-394 The Election of 1928....Pages 395-426 Imperfect Visionary....Pages 427-432 Back Matter....Pages 433-607