The Man Behind Roosevelt: The Story of Louis McHenry Howe

by Lela Stiles

Overview

Originally published in 1954, this book tells the story of Louis McHenry Howe (1871-1936), an American reporter for the New York Herald who became best known for acting as an early political advisor to President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Affectionately referred to as "the little boss," he would play an important part behind the scenes in shaping the destiny of the man who four times became President of the United States.
"THIS BIOGRAPHY of Louis Howe is delightfully written and has the advantage of giving a number of stories which I am sure would never have been printed unless someone close to the work Louis did had undertaken to write it. The sidelights on the relationship between my husband and Louis and what this relationship meant to my husband's public life in the early days and in the struggles of his future life will, I think, be a valuable contribution to history. There has seldom been a story of greater devotion to another man's success but at the same time one realizes that this was not due to any lack of ambition on the part of Louis McHenry Howe. He loved power, but he also recognized realities and he decided that in the end he would exercise more power through someone else and he prided himself on the judgment he used in choosing the individual with whom and for whom he was going to work.
"Lela Stiles shows discrimination and powers of observation which mark her as a real reporter. I found her book delightful reading."—ELEANOR ROOSEVELT, Foreword, The Man Behind Roosevelt: The Story of Louis McHenry Howe

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781787204720
Publisher:	Papamoa Press
Publication date:	06/28/2017
Sold by:	Bookwire
Format:	eBook
Pages:	278
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

Lela Mae Stiles (September 5, 1894 - May 25, 1988) was a member of the staff to elect President Franklin D. Roosevelt and was then hired to work on the White House secretarial staff as a research assistant, serving for 20 years during the entire Roosevelt-Truman presidencies.
Born in Cecilia, Kentucky, she started on an early career in journalism as a feature writer and columnist. She worked for such papers as the Louisville Courier Journal, Cincinnati Enquirer, and Denver Post. In 1928, in search of stories for her columns, she took a job with the Democratic National Committee in New York during the Al Smith campaign, and worked with Louis Howe for the first time. From that time on, until his death in 1936, she was Howe's constant assistant.
After Roosevelt's election, she went to the White House with Howe and, after his death, stayed on the White House staff during the administrations of Presidents Roosevelt and Truman. She resigned a similar post under President Eisenhower to accept a position with the Democratic National Committee in Washington. He retired from this Committee and public service in 1986.
In addition to her biography of Louis Howe and poetry, she published eulogies for John Kennedy and Sam Rayburn, an article entitled "The Day FDR Died" for the Saturday Evening Post, and another entitled "What Men Notice First About Women."
She passed away in Lanham, Maryland in 1988 at the age of 93.

Born in Cecilia, Kentucky, she started on an early career in journalism as a feature writer and columnist. She worked for such papers as the Louisville Courier Journal, Cincinnati Enquirer, and Denver Post. In 1928, in search of stories for her columns, she took a job with the Democratic National Committee in New York during the Al Smith campaign, and worked with Louis Howe for the first time. From that time on, until his death in 1936, she was Howe’s constant assistant.
After Roosevelt’s election, she went to the White House with Howe and, after his death, stayed on the White House staff during the administrations of Presidents Roosevelt and Truman. She resigned a similar post under President Eisenhower to accept a position with the Democratic National Committee in Washington. He retired from this Committee and public service in 1986.
In addition to her biography of Louis Howe and poetry, she published eulogies for John Kennedy and Sam Rayburn, an article entitled “The Day FDR Died” for the Saturday Evening Post, and another entitled “What Men Notice First About Women.”
She passed away in Lanham, Maryland in 1988 at the age of 93.