Overview

"The acclaimed, award-winning historian--""America's new past master"" (Chicago Tribune)--examines the environmental legacy of FDR and the New Deal. Douglas Brinkley's The Wilderness Warrior celebrated Theodore Roosevelt's spirit of outdoor exploration and bold vision to protect 234 million acres of wild America. Now, in Rightful Heritage, Brinkley turns his attention to the other indefatigable environmental leader--Teddy's distant cousin, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, chronicling his essential yet under-sung legacy as the founder of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and premier protector of America's public lands. FDR built from scratch dozens of State Park systems and scenic roadways. Pristine landscapes such as the Great Smokies, the Everglades, Joshua Tree, the Olympics, Big Bend, Channel Islands, Mammoth Cave, and the slickrock wilderness of Utah were forever saved by his leadership. Brinkley traces FDR's love for the natural world from his youth exploring the Hudson River Valley and bird watching. As America's president from 1933 to 1945, Roosevelt--consummate political strategist--established hundreds of federal migratory bird refuges and spearheaded the modern endangered species movement. He brilliantly positioned his conservation goals as economic policy to combat the severe unemployment of the Great Depression. During its nine-year existence, the CCC put nearly three million young men to work on conservation projects--including building trails in the national parks, pollution control, land restoration to combat the Dust Bowl, and planting over two billion trees. Rightful Heritage is an epic chronicle that is both an irresistible portrait of FDR's unrivaled passion and drive, and an indispensable analysis that skillfully illuminates the tension between business and nature--exploiting our natural resources and conserving them. Within the narrative are brilliant capsule biographies of such environmental warriors as Eleanor Roosevelt, Harold Ickes, and Rosalie Edge. Rightful Heritage is essential reading for everyone seeking to preserve our treasured landscapes as an American birthright."

Full Product Details

9781504696463

Table of Contents

Reviews

A brightly written, highly useful argument, especially in a time when the public domain is under seige. -- Kirkus Reviews With an accessible writing style, Brinkley crafts a detailed study that will attract legions of faithful readers. Scholars will savor the author's meticulous annotations in addition to end notes highlighting a lesser-studied aspect of Franklin's legacy of governmental action. -- Library Journal This monumental examination of [FDR's]commitment to preserving public lands takes a solid combination of writer and narrator to carry off for listeners. The book provides both. Douglas Brinkley brings a conversational tone to his scholarship that is ably rendered by narrator William Dufris. In particular, Dufris varies his tone and pacing to match the material. He wisely doesn't try to imitate FDR's voice in direct quotes; rather, he alters his tone slightly to give aural clues that the material is a direct quotation. He also changes his voice slightly for quotations from common folks, giving them a more natural sound. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award. -- AudioFile Brinkley...succeeds in showing that FDR should be remembered for his extraordinary, often unsung role as a great conservationist, particularly of public lands...Brinkley's book adds significantly to knowledge of FDR as both man and president and ranks among the best books on this major historical figure. -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) High spirited and admirably thorough. -- Washington Post A marvelous book; one of Brinkley's very best. -- Sean Wilentz, New York Times bestselling author Enjoyably exhaustive. -- New York Times Book Review Rightful Heritage is a big book about a pivotal time in American history. Brinkley writes admiringly of Roosevelt's record, but his tone is backed up by a rich trove of research. -- USA Today (four stars) Rightful Heritage is a landmark achievement...a must read for anyone interested in the environment. -- Robert Dallek, New York Times bestselling author With this engaging book, Brinkley recovers one of FDR's long-overlooked legacies...A vivid history of an important subject. -- Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize-winning author

A brightly written, highly useful argument, especially in a time when the public domain is under seige. -- Kirkus Reviews With an accessible writing style, Brinkley crafts a detailed study that will attract legions of faithful readers. Scholars will savor the author's meticulous annotations in addition to end notes highlighting a lesser-studied aspect of Franklin's legacy of governmental action. -- Library Journal This monumental examination of [FDR's]commitment to preserving public lands takes a solid combination of writer and narrator to carry off for listeners. The book provides both. Douglas Brinkley brings a conversational tone to his scholarship that is ably rendered by narrator William Dufris. In particular, Dufris varies his tone and pacing to match the material. He wisely doesn't try to imitate FDR's voice in direct quotes; rather, he alters his tone slightly to give aural clues that the material is a direct quotation. He also changes his voice slightly for quotations from common folks, giving them a more natural sound. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award. -- AudioFile Brinkley...succeeds in showing that FDR should be remembered for his extraordinary, often unsung role as a great conservationist, particularly of public lands...Brinkley's book adds significantly to knowledge of FDR as both man and president and ranks among the best books on this major historical figure. -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) High spirited and admirably thorough. -- Washington Post Enjoyably exhaustive. -- New York Times Book Review Rightful Heritage is a big book about a pivotal time in American history. Brinkley writes admiringly of Roosevelt's record, but his tone is backed up by a rich trove of research. -- USA Today (four stars) Rightful Heritage is a landmark achievement...a must read for anyone interested in the environment. -- Robert Dallek, New York Times bestselling author A marvelous book; one of Brinkley's very best. -- Sean Wilentz, New York Times bestselling author With this engaging book, Brinkley recovers one of FDR's long-overlooked legacies...A vivid history of an important subject. -- Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize-winning author

Author Information

Douglas Brinkley, is an acclaimed historian and the multiple award-winning author of numerous New York Times bestsellers. The New York Historical Society has chosen him as their official US presidential historian, and the Chicago Tribune has called him America's New Past Master. Among his numerous awards are the Sperber Prize, Benjamin Franklin Award, the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award, the Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt Naval History Prize, a Grammy Award, Arthur S. Link/Warren F. Kuehl Prize, and Business Week Book of the Year Award. He works in many capacities in the world of public history, including on boards, museums, colleges and historical societies. William Dufris attended the University of Southern Maine in Portland-Gorham before pursuing a career in voice work in London and then the United States. He has won more than twenty AudioFile Earphones Awards, was voted one of the Best Voices at the End of the Century by AudioFile magazine, and won the prestigious Audie Award in 2012 for best nonfiction narration. He lives with his family in Maine.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available