First published 2016
Douglas Brinkley examines Franklin Delano Roosevelt's overlooked environmental achievements from 1933 to 1945. The historian reveals how FDR established the Civilian Conservation Corps, created dozens of state park systems, and protected landscapes including the Great Smokies, Everglades, and Joshua Tree. Brinkley traces Roosevelt's conservation passion from his youth exploring the Hudson River Valley through his presidency, when he founded hundreds of federal bird refuges and launched the modern endangered species movement. The book shows how FDR cleverly framed conservation as economic policy to address Depression-era unemployment. His CCC employed nearly three million young men over nine years, building park trails, controlling pollution, restoring Dust Bowl lands, and planting over two billion trees. Brinkley includes portraits of key figures like Eleanor Roosevelt, Harold Ickes, and Rosalie Edge. The book analyzes the ongoing tension between resource exploitation and conservation while demonstrating how Roosevelt positioned environmental protection as both economic necessity and national heritage.
Genres: biography, history, 20th-century, environment, non-fiction, american-history
Vibes: thought-provoking
Tropes: historical-figures
Setting: Everglades, Great Smokies, Hudson River Valley, Joshua Tree
Period: 1933-1945
752 pages · Hardcover · Harper