Nothing to Fear: FDR's Inner Circle and the Hundred Days that Created Modern America

by Adam Cohen. Penguin Press. 2009

Anyone read this? I came across this book recently via a review on Bloomberg.com. Cohen, with the editorial board of the NY Times, focuses on 5 people in the FDR admin. who helped shaped policy during the first 100 Days. I was particularly interested in Frances Perkins as I have recently read some interesting things about her. As a young lady she was a witness to the fire tragedy at the Triangle Shirtwaist Company in NYC where 146 people perished in this horrible event. Many of the victims were young girls working behind locked doors in this sweatshop environment. Perkins later had a huge impact in labor rights and better working conditions. She was instrumental in developing unemployment insurance that many people are gratefully using now in the current economic downturn. Check out Amazon for more information as well as the status of the book in the Gorgas Library.