The gap between rich and poor is ever wider . . . Legislative stalemate paralyses the country . . . Spectacular mergers produce giant companies . . . Bombs explode in crowded streets . . . Small wars proliferate far from our shores . . . A dizzying arrray of inventions speeds the pace of daily life.
These unnervingly familiar headlines serve as the backdrop for Doris Kearns Goodwin's highly anticipated The Bully Pulpit, a dynamic history of America's Progressive Era.
Reform is in the air, and it is time to take on the robber barons and corrupt politicians who have brought the country to its knees.
The story is told through the close friendship between two Presidents: Theodore Roosevelt and his handpicked successor William Howard Taft. They break up monopolies, ban unsafe drugs and close sweatshops. But then a brutal fight for the presidential nomination divides their families and their closest friends, and changes the country's history.
Also at the heart of the story are the original 'muckrakers' - a brilliant group of investigative journalists at the celebrated magazine McClure's. They publish popular exposes of fraudulent railroads and millionaire senators, aiding Roosevelt in his quest for change and fairness.
As Roosevelt, Taft and the muckrackers confront corruption and expose exploitation, America is reborn. As well as a major work of history, The Bully Pulpit is an examination of leadership in a rare moment of reform that brought America closer to its founding ideals.
