Reminiscent of the John Adams described in James Grant's biography, it is in the interplay between her values and her life experiences that were forged the idealism that led to Perkins' confrontation with inadequate governmental institutions.Īfter graduating from Mount Holyoke, Perkins had been unable to find work until she received an offer to teach at a woman's college in Lake Forest, Illinois. The formative years of Perkins' young adult life seemed almost destined to result in her achievements as a cabinet official during the transforming era of the Great Depression. In the first six chapters of the book Downey describes Frances Perkins' struggles in life as an independent woman. The author chronicles one of the historic struggles that shaped our nation as she demonstrates what these changes owe the individuals who brought them about. A real life experience, it is not limited by the author's imagination. In a captivating style Kirstin Downey has told a tale of moral complexity that transcends fictional drama. By Kirstin Downey, New York, NY, Doubleday, 2009, 458 pp., $35.00/ hardback. The Woman Behind the New Deal: The Life of Frances Perkins, FDR's Secretary of Labor and His Moral Conscience.
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