The Fall of the House of Roosevelt: Brokers of Ideas and Power from FDR to LBJ

Janeway presents a very personal account of the role of his father Elliot and all of the New Deal and post-New Deal personalities who dominated American poltitical life from 1938-68 and entered his household. He saw up close how power was used for both the benefit of the country and for personal advancement; the good, the bad and a little bit of the ugly. Such New Dealers as Tommy "the Cork", Bill Douglas and Lyndon Johnson come to life.

In the middle of the disorganization of liberal politics (the word itself is under attack), the portrait of the New Deal and the history of its major players makes this a book for the times, and a refresher on both the fate of Roosevelt's legacy and the neo-conservative reaction that flooded into the vacuum. The direct line of descent all the way into the period of Lyndon Johnson is a useful reminder of the exact point of chaotification.

This is very unique book in that it intersperses a discussion of some New Deal figures and their subsequent careers with the author's discussion of his own father, Eliot Janeway, and his mother. Author Janeway has been criticized for this, and to a certain extent this criticism is merited. The use of gossip or information from the Janeway parents, who were after all involved with most of the cast of characters including Justice Douglas, Abe Fortas, LBJ, Thomas Corcoran, Benjamin V. Cohen, Harry Truman, is fine when intergrated into the narrative. However, to devote three entire chapters to "In My Father's House" does seem excessive and is distracting. Also, Janeway seems to ascribe a greater degree of collective mindedness to these New Deal veterans than probably was the case. These folks were all potent and highly ambitious individuals who were interested primarily in their own careers, not in passing on the legacy of the New Deal to a new FDR. Nonetheless, the discussion of these individuals can be addictive--particularly Janeway's analysis of LBJ and his frequent injections of William O. Douglas. Particularly of value is Janeway's chapter on the selection of Truman over Douglas as FDR's VP in 1944. So the book has much of interest for the reader who is interested in these folks--though sometimes it is hard to separate fact from gossip. But after all that is what makes a great Washington insider book.

This book could only have been written by someone with an encyclopedic knowledge of the Roosefelt years and people. Janeway displays an awesome understanding of why FDR was the kind of president he was and how he kept his extraordinary power, up to the end. This is THE indispensible book on Roosevelt. I am sorry it did not come out sooner.