American Dreamer: The Life and Times of Henry A. Wallace [Hardcover]

John C. Culver (Author), John Hyde (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 20, 2000

The first full biography of Henry A. Wallace, a visionary intellectual and one of this century's most important and controversial figures. Henry Agard Wallace was a geneticist of international renown, a prolific author, a groundbreaking economist, and a businessman whose company paved the way for a worldwide agricultural revolution. He also held two cabinet posts, served four tumultuous years as America's wartime vice president under FDR, and waged a quixotic campaign for president in 1948. Wallace was a figure of Sphinx-like paradox: a shy man, uncomfortable in the world of politics, who only narrowly missed becoming president of the United States; the scion of prominent Midwestern Republicans and the philosophical voice of New Deal liberalism; loved by millions as the Prophet of the Common Man, and reviled by millions more as a dangerous, misguided radical.John C. Culver and John Hyde have combed through thousands of document pages and family papers, from Wallace's letters and diaries to previously unavailable files sealed within the archives of the Soviet Union. Here is the remarkable story of an authentic American dreamer.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

An outstanding economist and geneticist, Henry Wallace (1888-1965) was also the personification of New Deal liberalism. In this splendid biography, former senator Culver and journalist Hyde brilliantly illuminate Wallace's complex life and struggles. As FDR's agriculture secretary and later vice president, Wallace always stood to the president's left politically (Hamilton Fish called him "Stalin's ambassador to the court of Roosevelt"). Recognizing that national unity would be threatened in the event of Wallace becoming president, the ailing FDR shrewdly saw to it that his old friend was dropped from the ticket in 1944 in favor of Harry Truman. By this time Wallace, the pragmatic engineer of the New Deal, had, in Culver and Hyde's portrayal, degenerated into an extreme leftist ideologue who--as Churchill emphatically reminded Roosevelt--demonstrated no fundamental understanding of the threat posed by Soviet communism. Running for president as an independent in 1948, Wallace wore his na?vet? on his sleeve, insisting U.S. diplomacy should be governed not by the tenets of Machiavelli, but by those of Christ. Culver and Hyde reveal both Wallaces--the confident architect of successful domestic reform and the idealist who, in Hubert H. Humphrey's words, was "devoted and dedicated to peace." Photos not seen by PW. (Apr.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Although not as widely studied now as some of his political contemporaries, Henry Wallace was an important leader in American politics in the 1930s and 1940s: he served as vice president during Franklin Roosevelt's third term in the White House and held the cabinet positions of Secretary of Agriculture and Secretary of Commerce during parts of the Roosevelt and Harry Truman administrations. He also ran unsuccessfully for the presidency as the candidate of the Progressive Party in 1948. He probably had more influence on the development and administration of New Deal agricultural policy than did anyone else. This biography of Wallace by former U.S. senator Culver and journalist Hyde is well researched and generally well written. But it would have been strengthened if the authors had muted their obvious admiration for their subject and provided a more dispassionate analysis of Wallace's accomplishments and failures. For history collections of academic and larger public libraries.
-Thomas H. Ferrell, Univ. of Louisiana, Lafayette
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 544 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; 1st edition (March 20, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393046451
• ISBN-13: 978-0393046458
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.2 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #273,994 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars American Dreamer The Life and Times of Henry A. Wallace, May 27, 2000

By 

Jane Doe "a reader" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: American Dreamer: The Life and Times of Henry A. Wallace (Hardcover)

John C. Culver and John Hyde have written a fascinating biography of Henry A. Wallace, who profoundly influenced the presidencies of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman. Wallace's influence on FDR was personal, close and positive throughout FDR's presidency. His influence on HST was indirect, which, until Culver and Hyde, has not been revealed to the public so dramatically, clearly and in such detail before.

For too many, their memory of Wallace is limited to one year, 1948, when Wallace was defeated as the Progressive Party candidate for president. Culver and Hyde write how Wallace was a genuine renaissance man, a scientist, businessman, writer, philosopher, and prophet. Throughout his 13 and a half year career as a cabinet member and Vice President, he was extraordinarily successful, innovative, effective and dynamic. In keeping the long view, he was guardian of the heart and soul of our democracy. He forsaw much of what has come to pass and is still yet to be done. Culver and Hyde give us the unvarnished story, which, in sum, leaves the reader with the feeling of being blessed that such a courageous man lived and fought for us. Readers owe a huge debt of gratitude to Culver and Hyde for condensing into one volume such a multi-faceted life. The times alone would have drowned most writers. Synthesizing many sources, some not known before, the authors give us a full portrait of a great and courageous man whose life defined the best of what is a liberal.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautifully written biography of a complex man, May 8, 2000

By 

Steve Silver - See all my reviews

This review is from: American Dreamer: The Life and Times of Henry A. Wallace (Hardcover)

Culver and Hyde have produced a beautifully written account of the life and times of Henry A. Wallace. Their fresh account of this brilliant, enigmatic man rescues Wallace from the smears that so tarnished his reputation during the 1948 campaign.

Had I been alive in the 1940s, I would most likely not have voted for Wallace because of his views on foreign policy, but I hope I would have had the sense to admire him for the man of principle and courage he was. He was a rare character in American politics, a figure who was interested in ideas more than power. Sadly, it is usually those with the opposite priorities who prevail in electoral contests, as is amply demonstrated in the book's discussions of the 1944 vice presidential campaign.

I finished "American Dreamer" a fan of Henry Wallace. As was the case when I began the book, I still do not agree with many of his positions. However, I now have a profound respect for this decent, honorable American. This is a very inspirational book, one to be enjoyed during what is shaping up to be a disappointing election year.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An engrossing political biography of an understudied leader, August 1, 2000

By 

Richard E. Hegner (Columbia, MD USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: American Dreamer: The Life and Times of Henry A. Wallace (Hardcover)

Rarely have I read such a well-written political biography of a major figure. AMERICAN DREAMER very ably traces the trajectory of Henry Wallace's career from relative obscurity in the Iowa farm belt to its pinnacle in the Vice Presidency, then the fall from grace from Truman's firing of him as Commerce Secretary through the debacle of the 1948 Progressive Party candidacy for President. Especially fascinating are the parts which trace the reasons for FDR's dumping Wallace in favor of Truman in 1944 and Wallace's increasing distance from the American political mainstream, especially after that point. Viewed from the perspective of post-Cold War America, Wallace's views toward the Soviet Union and World Communism seem to have more validity than they did when he expressed them between the end of World War II and the outbreak of the Korean War; but the authors maintain objectivity about Wallace in this regard and rightly suggest how naive or downright subversive some of his political stances seemed at the time. The book is not without its appreciation of the ironies of Wallace's life and career in politics--how a "rock-ribbed Republican" evolved into one of the most radical national politicians of his generation, and how a scientist and businessman who made a minor fortune from the new hybrid strains of corn which he developed came to be regarded as a closet Communist.

The main thing that is lacking from this biography is a full picture of Henry Wallace the man. There are a number of hints that his family life following his marriage was rather troubled and unhappy, but his wife, children, and siblings remain on the periphery of the authors' presentation. (For example, it mentions that his oldest son never forgave him for one particular disagreement, but never elaborates or returns to their relationship. His wife was obviously uncomfortable with his entrance into electoral politics, but the book never explores this in any depth.) The book also seems to compress its account of the final 15 years of his life to a snapshot at best; it would have been nice to know more about how he viewed American politics--both national and international--in the years preceding his death, how he felt about his relative anonymity, and whether he ever felt fully vindicated for taking the rather lonely political path he took.

As a result, the portrayal of his later life in particular seems to be a bit one dimensional. But these are minor flaws in what is otherwise a captivating biography of a very intricate individual. Most people will learn a lot from this book; I certainly did.