Customer Reviews

An Uncommon Man: The Triumph of Herbert Hoover

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Smith does a nice job of showing Hoover as both a politician and a dedicated fund raiser for a variety of charities. He explains in detail many of the problems Hoover faced while in office, and that the depression was not "cured" by FDR as many people would have you believe. Obviously, there is an element of bias in Smith's work given that he is the curator for the Gerald Ford museum and a devout Republican. But, he does provide a balance of Hoover's good and bad points; apparrently he wasn't the easiest to get along with which makes sense given his difficulty in dealing with Congress. I wish the book had more detail regarding Hoover's upbringing, although Smith in the introduction noted that was not his intention. I think more background into Hoover as a child and his religious heritage would help put some of his actions and philosophies into better perspective. Overall, I enjoyed reading the book and have gained more respect for this "uncommon man."

An Uncommon Man is a great biography of Herbert Hoover, written by the best presidential historian alive. If you have an interest to learn about President Hoover's life, from early childhood in West Branch, Iowa, his days at Stanford, traveling the world in mining, relief efforts following floods, Secretary of Commerce, President of the United States, and 30 years as former President this book has it all. In great detail.

It goes into great detail about the events of his Presidency 1929-1933.

Read the book and ask yourself if there was much he could do during the depression.