Van Loon: Popular Historian, Journalist, And Fdr Confidant (the World Of The Roosevelts)

Upon His Death, Hendrik Van Loon Was Described In The Times Obituary As 'one Of The Most Engaging Products Of The Marriage Between Holland And The United States'. One Of Fdr's True And Closest Friends, Van Loon Emigrated From The Netherlands To The United States At Age 20, In 1902. Working As A Historian, Journalist, Illustrator, And Radio Commentator, Van Loon Immersed Himself In American Cultural Life From The 1920s Through The '40s, Until His Death Three Months Before D-day. Van Loon's Professional Relationships And Friendships With Such Distinguished Persons As Sinclair Lewis, Van Wyck Brooks, H. L. Mencken, Albert Einstein, Herbert Hoover, And Fiorello La Guardia Bolster His Place As A Celebrity Of His Times. This Biography Is An Exciting And Nuanced Portrait Of A Man Deeply Involved In American Cultural Life In The First Half Of The Twentieth Century. By Cornelis A. Van Minnen. Front Matter....Pages i-xvi Prologue....Pages 1-3 Front Matter....Pages 5-5 A Troubled Youth In Holland (1882–1902)....Pages 7-16 Cornell-Harvard Cornell (1902–1905)....Pages 17-23 Associated Press Journalist In Russia and Poland (1905–1907)....Pages 25-32 Historical Training In Munich (1907–1911)....Pages 33-38 Front Matter....Pages 39-39 Washington Years of Trial and Error (1912–1914)....Pages 41-46 The Great War (1914–1918)....Pages 47-58 Life in the Village (1918–1920)....Pages 59-70 Front Matter....Pages 71-71 The Breakthrough (1921–1922)....Pages 73-82 The Prince of Popularizers (1922–1928)....Pages 83-107 The Veere Paradise (1928–1931)....Pages 109-135 Front Matter....Pages 137-137 The Educator (1931–1935)....Pages 139-159 For Roosevelt and the Arts (1936–1937)....Pages 161-174 The Prophet of the Coming Wrath (1938–1940)....Pages 175-195 Front Matter....Pages 197-197 The One-Man Army Division (1940–1941)....Pages 199-218 The Reincarnation of Erasmus (1942)....Pages 219-242 Living on Borrowed Time (1943–1944)....Pages 243-260 Epilogue....Pages 261-267 Back Matter....Pages 269-352 This biography is an exciting and nuanced portrait of one of FDR's true and closest friends, a man deeply involved in American cultural life in the first half of the twentieth century