Saturday, January 2, 2010

57 Books from the University Book Sale: Book 33 and 34

Title: Roosevelt and Hopkins (in two volumes!) (Bantam nn, October 1950)
Author: Robert E. Sherwood
Cover artist: photos

Yours for: $8 (for the two)


  • "Oh, Hopkins, how I think of you when you're away ..."
  • I bought these because a. I don't have much non-fiction / history / biography in my collection, and b. I had noooooooooo idea how a two-volume biography of a president of the U.S. could be (half-) dedicated to a Man I Had Never Heard Of. Hopkins!? Gerard Manley is the only Hopkins I know. Oh, and Johns.
  • Harry Hopkins was an important adviser to FDR — one of the architects of the New Deal (acc. to Wikipedia).


Vol 2:


  • What the hell has FDR got on his shoulder? His wife's hat?



  • Major props to FDR for being the only one of the three world leaders in this photo who doesn't look like a total asshole.

Page 123~

After he became Secretary of State, Marshall told me that he believed that his appointment as Chief of Staff in 1939 had been primarily due to Harry Hopkins.

In return, Marshall had to give Hopkins his first-born child.

~RP

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter]

8 comments:

Alix said...

I think that's a cape on FDR's shoulder. Hopkins appears to have been the president's own Jiminy Cricket.

Of the three world leaders, FDR certainly had the best tailor...

Tulse said...

"Roosevelt and Hopkins" sounds like a blackface vaudeville act.

JRSM said...

FDR's suit is nice! If everyone around me was wearing self-appointed uniforms, even I might be tempted to put on a suit instead.

JamiSings said...

See, you know more Hopkins then me, Rex. Only Hopkins I know is Anthony.

Anyone care for some fava beans? Seasoned with wolfsbane....

Random White Guy said...

I think the only reason I ever heard of Hopkins is because they did a story on him for History Detectives. Something about a short snort or snorter. Whatever. But, yeah, he was rubbing elbows with powerful people.

Deb said...

Well, yeah, I can see how Hopkins "shaped our lives," but who the hell is this Roosevelt guy?

Elaine said...

If you ever saw the long "Eleanor and Franklin" series, you got a lotta Hopkins face-time.... smoked himself to death during FDR's last few years.

FDR wore capes with hoods because they worked better with wh/chr for keeping him warm and well-covered.

Hard to come up with any snappy comments on this set of books, but why was Sherwood living in the WHouse?

Surabaya Johnny said...

I think the weirdest part of this entry is that the book is written by playwright Robert E Sherwood. I know he was an FDR speechwriter, but I tend to more associate him with the Algonquin round table and "Idiot's Delight."