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The Woman Behind the New Deal: The Life of Frances Perkins, FDR'S Secretary of Labor and His Moral Conscience
The Woman Behind the New Deal: The Life of Frances Perkins, FDR'S Secretary of Labor and His Moral Conscience
The Woman Behind the New Deal: The Life of Frances Perkins, FDR'S Secretary of Labor and His Moral Conscience
Audiobook19 hours

The Woman Behind the New Deal: The Life of Frances Perkins, FDR'S Secretary of Labor and His Moral Conscience

Written by Kirstin Downey

Narrated by Susan Ericksen

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

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About this audiobook



Frances Perkins is no longer a household name, yet she was one of the most influential women of the twentieth century. Based on extensive archival materials, new documents, and exclusive access to Perkins's family members and friends, this biography is the first complete portrait of a devoted public servant with a passionate personal life, a mother who changed the landscape of American business and society.

Frances Perkins was named Secretary of Labor by Franklin Roosevelt in 1933. As the first female cabinet secretary, she spearheaded the fight to improve the lives of America's working people while juggling her own complex family responsibilities. Perkins's ideas became the cornerstones of the most important social welfare and legislation in the nation's history, including unemployment compensation, child labor laws, and the forty-hour work week. Her greatest triumph was creating Social Security.
Written with a wit that echoes Frances Perkins's own, award-winning journalist Kirstin Downey gives us a riveting exploration of how and why Perkins slipped into historical oblivion, and restores Perkins to her proper place in history.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateApr 12, 2016
ISBN9781515975472
The Woman Behind the New Deal: The Life of Frances Perkins, FDR'S Secretary of Labor and His Moral Conscience

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Reviews for The Woman Behind the New Deal

Rating: 4.178081835616439 out of 5 stars
4/5

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  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Nice to learn about this important woman who is virtually forgotten these days. The time and events were interesting to read about, especially from a political-insider point of view. My complaint is with the writing - not boring or tedious, but definitely poor quality grammar, which I found annoying. Where was her editor?
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I thought I knew about Frances Perkins, but this superb biography has made me realize that she was much more significant than I realized. Much of Roosevelt's New Deal was in fact the brainchild of Perkins, and laid out at least in outline form by her before she accepted the cabinet post. I respect her enormous achievements all the more for realizing that they were in the face of personal problems that would have overwhelmed me in her place. Perkins was deeply religious, and one hopes that her concern for the poor and the powerless will be a model for contemporary Christians as they are currently wrestling with the issue of social action. Recommended for all Americans who want to understand the society in which they live, and the situation from which it arose. This is extremely relevant in the current financial and social crises that we are facing.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Downey really did her research! Very thorough and smart read
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    This is a rather gossipy book. Seriously lacking in detail of the policies brought forward by an extraordinary woman. Really, does it matter what she wore while doing any of the good work she did. This is missed opportunity to explore the policies, what brought them to a political place where it was possible to consider and pass the necessary legislation, over what time period? What was the focus of each law and how was it implemented and when? How many people did these changes impact, how many lost in the process? Sadly, there is far more about Perkins' social relationships, whether she was or was not gay, her financial issues. Should have been more on work she had done and what she had seen and experienced that gave her the empathy and understanding of the issues she was dedicated to in her various positions. Documentation and sourcing is unprofessional, at least for anything to be considered a scholarly or historical. Many citations are newspaper references or what someone said---secondhand at best. The reader will get an overview of the period, some facts and a lot of fluff.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Giving background into Miss Perkins' character and the issues she battled and held dear, Downey gives the reader insight into a woman that bent to tasks she believed were right, regardless of the accolades or condemnations she would receive for the results. Miss Perkins' wasn't always right, and she didn't always get her way, but she had the character to face the tasks that didn't score her any points and weren't the shiny thing to be pursuing. Frances Perkins was a labor advocate, in ever sense of the word. She went from working with unions and politicians in New York to being the first woman United States cabinet member - as the Secretary of Labor. She didn't let tradition, political entropy, or detractors steer her away from what she thought was right - passing the 40 hour work-week, Social Security, Medicare, and many things that workers in this country now take for granted. She tackled immigration reform, created a formidable and reliable Bureau of Labor Statistics, which we use to know what's going on with our workers and economy to this day. And watched her department be split, duties taken out from under her, and handed out as her popularity waxed and waned, as her work was appreciated or not over time.Ms. Downey admires Miss Perkins greatly, and that comes through very clearly in this work. Miss Perkins reads as very worth admiring.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Eleanor Roosevelt gets a lot of credit for being a powerful woman but Frances Perkins was unbelievable. She was the first ever female cabinet secretary. She spent her whole life fighting for laborers, advancing the 40 hour workweek, the end of child labor, and the beginning of unemployment insurance and Social Security. You've probably seen bumper stickers that say "The 40 Hour Work Week: Brought to you by Unions". Well they should say brought to you by Frances Perkins! As for the book itself, I really enjoyed it. There were a few chapters in the middle that got dragged down in policy and lost focus on Frances in particular but overall it was a great look at an incredible woman.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Frances Perkins was an amazing woman who had a major impact upon modern America. Her role in instigating and then pushing to reality most parts of the New Deal is awe inspiring. This was done when women in such roles were viewed very skeptically. As a public woman she was a success. Her private life, while never as important to her as her public one, was difficult and painful. The author has done a good job in presenting the whole person, even the private parts which Frances kept as hidden as possible. Along the way, personality profiles of other figures of the 30's to 60's are exposed including FDR, Truman, Al Smith, etc.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I thought I knew about Frances Perkins, but this superb biography has made me realize that she was much more significant than I realized. Much of Roosevelt's New Deal was in fact the brainchild of Perkins, and laid out at least in outline form by her before she accepted the cabinet post. I respect her enormous achievements all the more for realizing that they were in the face of personal problems that would have overwhelmed me in her place. Perkins was deeply religious, and one hopes that her concern for the poor and the powerless will be a model for contemporary Christians as they are currently wrestling with the issue of social action. Recommended for all Americans who want to understand the society in which they live, and the situation from which it arose. This is extremely relevant in the current financial and social crises that we are facing.