Product Description

The co-authors of The Kennedys and The Rockefellers reunite for an encompassing portrait of the dreams, triumphs, vanities, and achievements of the Roosevelt family, from Teddy to Eleanor and Franklin. 100,000 first printing. BOMC.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1454582 in Books
• Published on: 1994-06-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 544 pages

From Publishers Weekly
The Roosevelt dynasty that gave the U.S. two presidents was divided into hostile factions, show Collier and Horowitz ( The Kennedys ). Theodore (TR), the Republican president from 1901 to 1909, led the Oyster Bay branch of this New York family, while his cousin Franklin (FDR), a four-term Democratic president (1933-1945), represented the Hyde Park Roosevelts. Relying heavily on quotes from earlier studies, the authors deliver an entertainingly gossipy but unbalanced history of the clan that focuses on TR, FDR and their wives and children. Bestowing a heroic man mantle on TR, they justify his controversial acquisition of Panama while portraying him as a caring family man. FDR, who overcame the crippling effects of polio, is credited with shrewd political instincts but presented as emotionally withdrawn. The most unflattering portrait is of Eleanor, TR's niece and FDR's wife, who is depicted as unattractive and neurotic, a terrible wife and mother who was responsible for the problems of her five adult children. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Portraits of the Oyster Bay and Hyde Park Roosevelts, always hung separately, are now framed together by Collier and Horowitz, family biographers of the Rockefellers, Kennedys, Fords, and, recently (by Collier alone), The Fondas (LJ 1/91). The preface advertises "a family civil war with almost Homeric overtones," yet the misdeeds, squabbles, and triumphs cataloged here more readily call to mind an average TV miniseries than classical epic. Academic libraries can pass because scholars will find nothing new concerning Theodore, Eleanor, or Franklin and little of interest about the lesser-known generations that followed. The book is an optional purchase for public libraries, whose readers will enjoy a more satisfying read in any one of many more finely crafted books about either Roosevelt branch.
Robert F. Nardini, North Chichester, N.H.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
People who love plutocrats love Collier and Horowitz, who have earned a living with glamorous biographies of the Fords, Rockefellers, and Kennedys. With their trademark accent on family domesticity, sibling rivalries, and secret paramours, this duo indeed delivers dirt--in the Rooseveltian cases, foibles known for decades. They also bring balancing insight into the principal figures' psychological motivations. That's their ticket, which readers will eagerly punch as they revel yet again in the courses the relatives of Theodore and Franklin followed in their orbits around those two leading lights. Most widely known are probably the tragedy of TR's dissolute brother Elliot, told previously in McCullough's Mornings on Horseback (1982), and the smartaleckys life led by TR's cynically chatty daughter Alice R. Longworth (Prince Alice by Carol Felsenthal, 1989), but others of the tribe get equal time. Who among them could equal the irrepressible TR, with his "combative brio"? But they, the men at least, all tried, venturing out on death-defying safaris, or getting killed in war, as did TR's son, Quentin, in a WWI dogfight. The script covers Franklin's battle with polio and a bitter political rivalry with TR, Jr.; his unfaithfulness to the unbeautiful Eleanor; and their progeny as they lived under FDR's legacy. Though weightless as history, this well-ordered family lore will exert wide appeal. Gilbert Taylor

Customer Reviews

An Intimate Portriat of an Epic Family
This book is by far one of the best sources on the Roosevelt family. The authour makes much of the family divisions, but weaves together a masterful portriat of the two sided Roosevelt clan. The "Oyster Bay" clan (T.R.) and the "Hyde Park" clan (FDR) You'll read about T.R's early life struggles, his warm relationship with his children, and his bravery. You'll read about Franklin and Eleanor's difficult childhoods and marriage, Franklin's infidelties, Eleanor's possible lesbianism and anti-semitisim and Alice Roosevelt Longworth's famously sharp tounge. This book is hard to put down, a great read!!

Fascinating multi-generational story...
Peter Collier's The Roosevelt's: An American Saga, is a fascinating look at this famous family. Most people have a general knowledge of presidents Theodore Roosevelt (TR) and Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR), but they may not be aware of the extended family history.

The saga of the Roosevelt's in America begins with the arrival of Claes Martenszen van Rosenvelt in the 1600's. But this story really belongs to TR and FDR. The two presidents were 5th cousins, and came from different branches of this prolific family. TR was part of the Oyster Bay clan, while FDR came from the Hyde Park branch. Their families weren't particularly close, although they did move in the same New York social circles. They even pronounced their names differently ("Roos-e-velt" vs. "Rose-e-velt").

TR blazed a political path as he became governor of New York, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, vice president, and then president. TR wanted his son to continue his political trailblazing, but the young Teddy Jr. was unable to do so. Along came FDR and while he belonged to a different political party, he followed TR's example almost to the letter (governor of New York, Assistant Naval Secretary and then president). But instead of bringing the families closer together, it actually drove a wedge between them. FDR was always considered a lightweight by the Oyster Bay side. Now he was looked upon as a traitor and a usurper. Some of the Oyster Bay Roosevelt's even campaigned against FDR. Eleanor Roosevelt (an Oyster Bay Roosevelt who married her Hyde Park cousin) was a bridge between the two groups, but even that wasn't always enough. While everyone tried to remain civil, it wasn't always possible. For a time, Alice Longworth (TR's oldest daughter) was banned from the White House because of her vitriolic tongue, and constant snide remarks and mimicking of Eleanor.

While the Roosevelt's had great personal successes, they also suffered their share of tragedies. Alcoholism ran in the Oyster Bay side, and Elliott Roosevelt (TR's brother and Eleanor's father) died at the age of 34 from the disease. Eleanor's brother, Hall, also met an early death from alcoholism. TR's youngest son, Quentin, was killed in World War II. Another son, Kermit, committed suicide in 1943, and his son Dirck, also killed himself ten years later. A son-in-law and daughter-in-law of FDR also took their own lives. It is often very difficult being the children of strong, dynamic and famous men, and Collier relates how hard it was for the Roosevelt children and grandchildren to live in the shadows of these great men. TR's children always strived to measure up to their Rough Rider father, but without great success. FDR's children were an undisciplined, spoiled and dysfunctional group, and had 19 marriages between the five of them. None of the children or grandchildren in the two groups was able to carry on the political legacy left by their fathers.

I truly enjoyed The Roosevelt's as it provides much little known information about this important family. Collier also shows that the story doesn't end with TR and FDR after all, although the Roosevelt's on the world stage stopped with the death of Eleanor.

THE CHARACTERS ARE LARGER THAN LIFE, AND SO IS THEIR SAGA

Generally thought of as a privileged and political family, one that produced two presidents, the Roosevelts were actually a house divided. The divisions marking this political dynasty are thoughtfully and engrossingly chronicled by the co-authors of "The Rockefellers, The Kennedys, and The Fords."

The Oyster Bay Branch of the family was headed by Theodore, a loving, outgoing husband and father, who described his fourth child, Archibald, as "a cunning little polyp." As adults these children became involved in government and the workings of their communities.

Theodore's younger cousin, Franklin, was viewed by members of the Oyster Bay branch as somewhat of a playboy, whose future was uncertain. He married Theodore's favorite niece, Eleanor, with whom he shared a strained relationship and became a rigid and distant father. Franklin's children's adult lives were marked by numerous marriages and scarred by personal tragedies.

The story of the Roosevelts is a dramatic one, filled with intrigue, machinations, and intense rivalries. The characters are larger than life, but then so is their saga.

- Gail Cooke