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Overview
A portrait of a century's greatest political mastermind
Our tw ent y-eighth president was, says Louis Auchincloss, 'the greatest idealist who ever occupied the White House.' Now, in Woodrow Wilson, Auchincloss sheds new light on Wilson's upbringing and career, from the grim determination that enabled him to overcome dyslexia to the skillful dance of isolationism and intervention in World War I to the intransigence that-despite his most cherished vision-caused the Senate's rejection of the League of Nations. From the dynamic figure whose ringing speeches hypnotized vast crowds, to the gentle voice reading poetry to his children, Auchincloss presents all the triumphs and the final tragic irony of this flawed apostle of world peace.
Synopsis
A portrait of a century's greatest political mastermind
Our tw ent y-eighth president was, says Louis Auchincloss, "the greatest idealist who ever occupied the White House." Now, in Woodrow Wilson, Auchincloss sheds new light on Wilson's upbringing and career, from the grim determination that enabled him to overcome dyslexia to the skillful dance of isolationism and intervention in World War I to the intransigence that-despite his most cherished vision-caused the Senate's rejection of the League of Nations. From the dynamic figure whose ringing speeches hypnotized vast crowds, to the gentle voice reading poetry to his children, Auchincloss presents all the triumphs and the final tragic irony of this flawed apostle of world peace.
Dallas Morning News
..offer[s] a concise look at the contradictions that were the man.
Editorials
Dallas Morning News
..offer[s] a concise look at the contradictions that were the man.Library Journal
The "Penguin Lives" series matches its subjects with eminent writers whose short biographies are meant to be read in a sitting or two. Larry McMurtry's Crazy Horse (LJ 11/15/98) opened the series, and in two future volumes, Bobbie Ann Mason will address Elvis Presley and Mary Gordon, Joan of Arc. In this book, Auchincloss, the novelist and historian best known for his many works about New York's turn-of-the-century upper class, portrays President Woodrow Wilson. His book is really an extended character sketch, often based upon the interpretations of prior biographers, especially August Hecksher (Woodrow Wilson). Auchincloss visits Wilson's relationships with his two wives, his adviser Colonel House, and his archenemy, Henry Cabot Lodge, while analyzing Wilson's successes and failures at Princeton, as governor of New Jersey, as president, and as world leader. Auchincloss sees Wilson as admirable but flawed, displaying a dual nature that manifested itself in various (usually harmful) ways in his public and private lives. A useful though optional purchase for public libraries and undergraduate collections. [BOMC and History Book Club selections.--Ed.]--Robert F. Nardini, North Chichester, NH Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.\Michael Lind
The story of Thomas Woodrow Wilson is material for a tragedian, an American Shakespeare. Auchincloss, an American novelist and man of letters, is the next best thing. The esprit de finesse, the mastery of motive, that informs Auchincloss's more than 50 books of fiction and nonfiction complements Wilson's esprit de geometrie, his devotion to abstract principle. The match of subject, writer and genre in Woodrow Wilson is perfect.—The New York Times Book Review