Both Herbert Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt were giants in public life. From strikingly different backgrounds, and sharply contrasting styles and approaches, each man left his unique mark upon the presidency. This collection of historical materials chronicles the connections between the lives of Hoover and Roosevelt from their early collaboration during the Wilson administration to their heated competition during the 1932 presidential election and beyond. Letters, reports, and telegrams between the two men and their wives tell a story of both communication and miscommunication between 1917 and 1945.

In 12 chapters, plus an introduction and a conclusion, the editors present documents which reveal the sometimes tense relations between Hoover and Roosevelt. Chapter one includes materials from their work on housing and homebuilding issues during the Harding and Coolidge administrations. The next two chapters focus upon Hoover's presidency and Roosevelt's rise as govenor of New York. Chapter four recounts the strong rivalry during the 1932 campaign, and that rivalry is even more apparent in chapter five. The remaining six chapters include material from Roosevelt's tenure as president. These documents reveal Hoover's attitudes toward Roosevelt's New Deal domestic policies, the threatening international situation of the 1930s, and U.S. involvement in the Second World War.