The Woman Behind the New Deal, Kirstin Downey
The Woman Behind the New Deal, Kirstin Downey
List: $23.99 | Sale: $16.79
Club: $11.99

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

Author: Kirstin Downey

Narrator: Susan Ericksen

Unabridged: 19 hr 29 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 04/12/2016

Synopsis



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.

About Kirstin Downey

Kirstin Downey is the author of The Woman Behind the New Deal, which was a finalist for the 2009 Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and Isabella. The managing editor for FTC:WATCH, she previously worked for the Washington Post as an award-winning reporter. She is married to Neil Warner Averitt, and together they have five children.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Bill on February 19, 2020

An absorbing biography of the woman who improved factory fire-safety standards after the Triangle Fire, and who, as FDR's Secretary of Labor, put social security, the minimum wage and unemployment insurance on the agenda and pushed them through to a successful conclusion. (She did fail at getting un......more

Goodreads review by Jean on August 16, 2017

What a team Frances Perkins (1880-1965) and Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945) made. Perkins had the ideas and the ambition to accomplish her goals. FDR had the political clout and knowledge to get the job done. Frances Perkins was the first female cabinet member in American history. She was the Secre......more

Goodreads review by Dinah on February 17, 2022

When FDR asked Frances Perkins to be his Secretary of Labor she came to him with a list of what she wanted to accomplish and let him know that without his support she wouldn't take the job. The list? A 40-hour work week, a minimum wage, worker's compensation, unemployment compensation, a federal chi......more

Goodreads review by Daniel Ray on February 04, 2025

Thanks to Frances Perkins, a teenaged child could no longer expect to spend its entire life working 70+ hours a week and then when old and all used up, have no pension. She was the first female cabinet member for a president. FDR appointed her to be his Secretary of Labor in 1933. FDR gave her free......more

Goodreads review by Emily on February 03, 2025

Kirstin Downey’s The Woman Behind the New Deal offers a fascinating look at Frances Perkins, FDR’s Secretary of Labor and the first woman in a U.S. Cabinet. The book dives into her pivotal role in shaping New Deal policies, showing how her moral convictions and drive for workers’ rights influenced m......more

Add to Cart
Add to Wish List