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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good Biography of Woodrow Wilson's Secretary,
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This review is from: Joe Tumulty and the Wilson Era, (Hardcover)
Professor Blum's biography about Woodrow Wilson's personal secretary provides an account of Joe Tumulty's personality and character, his loyalty to Wilson (even when not reciprocated toward the end of Wilson's life), and his management of Wilson's political affairs when allowed.No research about Woodrow Wilson is complete without a parallel study of his secretary Joseph P. Tumulty. All the major characters of the period are covered in some detail, and the truth about Wilson's wife Edith poisoning her husband's mind against his close friends, like Tumulty and Colonel House, is clearly presented. Tumulty's loyalty to the president would turn out to be a liability, as he was unaware of the seriousness of Wilson's illness. Although the biography is solid, it lacks depth concerning Tumulty's childhood, upbringing, and college life. Also, too few pictures were included of the man and his family. On the positive side, Professor Blum clearly illustrates how Tumulty came to realize the implications of Wilson's total collapse only slowly. He was shut out, unable to even see his boss, by Mrs. Wilson, who, as we now know, essentially ran the presidency herself in collusion with Dr. Cary Grayson, Wilson's doctor. The notes and bibliography are detailed, providing amplification to the text. Professor Blum was fortunate to have an interview with Charles L. Swem (who had taken Wilson's dictation for a decade) and reported that after his collapse, Wilson never dictated more than five minutes at a time, and after partial recovery, passed most of his time sitting in silence. Swem, who was in a good position to evaluate the effects of Wilson's disease, stated that, in his opinion, Wilson was never again competent to hold office. Edith Wilson, continued to cover-up her part in the charade, in her "Memoir" by pasting over the facts and denigrating Wilson's close associates Joseph Tumulty and Colonel House, whose friendship with him, she was instrumental in breaking up. She wrote in the vein of the later Attorney General Harry Daugherty ("The Inside Story of the Warren G. Harding Tragedy"), who wrote after Warren Harding died, trying to re-write history and put himself in a good light. Wilson may have thought better of his strained relations with Tumulty toward the end of his life, when he wrote a letter to James Kerney, recommending Tumulty to the U.S. Senate. Edith tried to intercept the letter but was unsuccessful. Of course, Blum reveals that Tumulty's own memoir of Wilson (which Edith also criticized) was biased with errors, due to his blind loyalty and his writing to defend his boss. Edith Wilson did not even have the courtesy to invite Tumulty to Wilson's funeral. And it was only through an invitation by way of McAdoo that he was able to attend. In the funeral procession he rode in the last coach. Only personal reasons can account for Edith Wilson's scathing criticism of her husband's Secretary. Overall, it is a solid biography.
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