I have two caveats about this book, and they are linked: One is that it doesn't go far enough, and the second is one person included as "Key" to the 100 Days.
The not far enough? Cohen himself notes that FDR started a "Second New Deal" in 1935 after the midterm elections. Most of what we think of today as New Deal programs arose there. So, focusing on the first 100 Days? That would be like focusing on Lincoln before Bull Run.
Second? The inclusion of Lewis Douglas as one of the "influentials." Cohen himself notes that Francis Perkins worked around, through and under him, Hopkins basically ignored him, and Congress overrode some of his veterans' cuts. So, how influential was he? Looks like Cohen is trying to be iconoclastic just to stake out new ground, whether warranted or not. This, to use the same analogy, would be like listing Simon Cameron, Lincoln's first secretary of war, as one of his "influentials."
Cohen did tell me things I didn't know about Ray Moley's post-New Deal turn to the right. And, I wasn't familiar with Douglas at all.
That said, if you want an **overview** of the first 100 Days, this isn't a bad book. Anything more than that? Look beyond these pages.
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