What do you think?
Rate this book
Righteous Pilgrim: The Life and Times of Harold L. Ickes, 1874-1952
A rare portrait of a politician who refused to stand for corruption shows how one New Dealer turned the scandal-ridden Department of the Interior into a powerful tool for preserving public lands. Reprint. PW. LJ. NYT.
1010 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1990
7 people are currently reading
116 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 29, 2018
Don't let the length or the weight of this biography deter you: T.H. Watkins has written an eminently readable, frequently entertaining, and highly informative book about the life of Harold Ickes. Granted, Watkins had much to work with as Ickes' personality was pugnacious, caustic, deceiving, and, most of all, human. The man had a long career in politics, culminating with being Secretary of the Interior for just a month shy of thirteen years – all through the long presidency of Franklin Roosevelt and most of the first year of Harry Truman's presidency. In addition to these things, Ickes dictated like a madman. His journalistic output is almost superhuman when you look at massive responsibilities that he carried for so long. Watkins makes excellent use of Ickes' diary entries, his correspondence, his official publications, and those of his contemporaries, especially his fellow Cabinet members.
One of the many things that make this biography so good is that it is equal parts personal and professional. Again, Ickes makes this easy for Watkins, as he had a turbulent personal life. Even by today's standards it would be much cause for gossip. His family was a mess: his mother died when he was young; his father was a lazy alcoholic; he was bullied by his older brother John; and he was shipped off to Chicago at the age of 16 to live with some relatives who really weren't enthusiastic about taking him in. Later, he became involved in what can only be described as an extremely odd situation: living with a woman, Anna, who later became his first wife, and her first husband. Anna wanted him to move in and apparently the husband was fine with it. Anna was self-important, vain, and prone to throwing violent temper tantrums. Ickes, even when he was young, was grumpy and abrasive. Later in life, he used the word “curmudgeon” to describe himself. That word would seemingly have applied since childhood.
Ickes' marriage with Anna is a mess. They rarely seemed to get along, and in the end did not even seem to like being around each other. Anna's sudden death in a car accident in 1935 leaves Ickes feeling nothing. It was a dead marriage and had been for years. As Watkins points out, Ickes was coldly unemotional. Watkins is excellent in his analysis of Ickes' character, his many flaws, and his many virtues. This is no hatchet job, nor is it a hagiography. I found him to be very fair and highly objective when commenting on Ickes' actions, words, and motives. Ickes made a ton of poor decisions in his life (such as a having an affair early into his tenure as Interior Secretary - what a stupid thing to do, and he was very lucky that it was not completely uncovered), and Watkins scores him for them all. He also notes the many kind things that Ickes did, and how he was an uncommonly hard worker and dedicated to preserving and nurturing the conservation of America's natural beauty.
Once into his tenure at Interior, Watkins shifts the focus over to the Department. At times, Ickes all but disappears from the narrative. Then he returns with a force only to once again fade into the background. But Watkins' diversions from following Ickes serve a purpose: to provide a condensed though by no means rushed summary of the history of the Interior Department, and the state of its many bureaus when Ickes took over. The context is crucial in later understanding why Ickes made certain decisions. Thoughtful chapters on the administration of U.S. territories (especially Hawaii and Puerto Rico) and the Bureau of Indian Affairs help explain the problems that planted themselves on Ickes' desk everyday. In this manner, Watkins reminds me somewhat of how Robert Caro has been in regards to writing his multi-volume biography of Lyndon Johnson.
Ickes, despite being born in the 19th century, was one of the most anti-discriminatory officials in Washington during his time. He rightfully condemned the horrible herding of Japanese-Americans into what in effect were concentration camps (Ickes even privately referred to them as that). He tried to help Jews in Europe escape the nightmare that Hitler was inflicting on them. And he forbade discrimination against blacks in the Interior Department. For someone who was very rough around the edges, he possessed a high sense of sympathy for marginalized groups of people and tried to right any wrongs that he could.
Ickes was an uncommon worker and a very able, though sometimes polarizing, administrator. Despite not working in any type of natural resources or conservation capacity prior to his appointment, by virtue of his strong work ethic and sense of fairness, he became arguably the most successful Secretary of the Interior that the U.S. has had. In terms of accomplishing many of his major goals, he is unsurpassed. His responsibilities were just enormous; not only was he running Interior, in and of itself a herculean task, he was also administrator of the Public Works Administration, and later had a significant role in helping to regulate and control the flow of domestic oil supplies. Ickes was certainly temperamental, and credit needs to be given to FDR for giving him wide latitude in his duties and also refusing the ridiculous amount of resignations that Ickes tried to give him. But some of those attempted resignations were a direct result of Roosevelt's less-than-straight dealing with his Cabinet Secretaries.
As an example of Watkins' excellent writing, here is a passage from page 822, right after Ickes and the Cabinet have attended Roosevelt's funeral in Hyde Park, NY. Watkins sums up Ickes' relationship with FDR: “Perhaps only the unarticulated memories occupied his mind in that sunlit patch of garden lost in a sea of lawn on a hill above the Hudson River, memories of the man who was too young to have been a father to him, but was a father,... of the man who plucked him from nowhere, used him, manipulated him, drove him to exhaustion, appealed to the worst and the best in him, preached to him, lied to him, brought him visions of power and fits of despair, inspired him, enraged him, gave him friendship and betrayal, dominated the troubled center of his life for thirteen years, and gifted him with a share in the greatness of an age. We do not know what went through his mind because, unlikely as it may seem, he never recorded it. We do know that for the first and last time in his public life, Harold L. Ickes cried.”
Watkins covers Ickes' resignation as Secretary in 1946 with his usual mix of critical analysis and unbiased commentary. Although Truman does not come across looking good in this episode, or in some later statements that he made about Ickes, Watkins notes that Ickes overplayed his own hand and seemed to almost be looking for a way out, complete with drama. Watkins treats his final few years respectfully and neither rushes through them nor bores the reader with unnecessary details. That is how I would characterize the book overall. While there were a few things that I found missing (no discussion of why Ickes and his second wife started a chicken farm in Maryland), and an occasional mistake (Henry Wallace did not resign as Commerce Secretary in 1948), there is already so much packed into this book that I am not sure making it any longer would make it better.
I recommend this biography for anyone interested in any of the following, besides Ickes himself, obviously: FDR, his administration, the New Deal, WWII rationing in the United States, the Progressive movement of the early 1900s (especially Theodore Roosevelt's 1912 campaign), Chicago politics of the early 20th century, Interior Secretaries, the history of the Department of the Interior, or the fight to maintain and create national parks to showcase the beauty of the United States.
Grade: A
One of the many things that make this biography so good is that it is equal parts personal and professional. Again, Ickes makes this easy for Watkins, as he had a turbulent personal life. Even by today's standards it would be much cause for gossip. His family was a mess: his mother died when he was young; his father was a lazy alcoholic; he was bullied by his older brother John; and he was shipped off to Chicago at the age of 16 to live with some relatives who really weren't enthusiastic about taking him in. Later, he became involved in what can only be described as an extremely odd situation: living with a woman, Anna, who later became his first wife, and her first husband. Anna wanted him to move in and apparently the husband was fine with it. Anna was self-important, vain, and prone to throwing violent temper tantrums. Ickes, even when he was young, was grumpy and abrasive. Later in life, he used the word “curmudgeon” to describe himself. That word would seemingly have applied since childhood.
Ickes' marriage with Anna is a mess. They rarely seemed to get along, and in the end did not even seem to like being around each other. Anna's sudden death in a car accident in 1935 leaves Ickes feeling nothing. It was a dead marriage and had been for years. As Watkins points out, Ickes was coldly unemotional. Watkins is excellent in his analysis of Ickes' character, his many flaws, and his many virtues. This is no hatchet job, nor is it a hagiography. I found him to be very fair and highly objective when commenting on Ickes' actions, words, and motives. Ickes made a ton of poor decisions in his life (such as a having an affair early into his tenure as Interior Secretary - what a stupid thing to do, and he was very lucky that it was not completely uncovered), and Watkins scores him for them all. He also notes the many kind things that Ickes did, and how he was an uncommonly hard worker and dedicated to preserving and nurturing the conservation of America's natural beauty.
Once into his tenure at Interior, Watkins shifts the focus over to the Department. At times, Ickes all but disappears from the narrative. Then he returns with a force only to once again fade into the background. But Watkins' diversions from following Ickes serve a purpose: to provide a condensed though by no means rushed summary of the history of the Interior Department, and the state of its many bureaus when Ickes took over. The context is crucial in later understanding why Ickes made certain decisions. Thoughtful chapters on the administration of U.S. territories (especially Hawaii and Puerto Rico) and the Bureau of Indian Affairs help explain the problems that planted themselves on Ickes' desk everyday. In this manner, Watkins reminds me somewhat of how Robert Caro has been in regards to writing his multi-volume biography of Lyndon Johnson.
Ickes, despite being born in the 19th century, was one of the most anti-discriminatory officials in Washington during his time. He rightfully condemned the horrible herding of Japanese-Americans into what in effect were concentration camps (Ickes even privately referred to them as that). He tried to help Jews in Europe escape the nightmare that Hitler was inflicting on them. And he forbade discrimination against blacks in the Interior Department. For someone who was very rough around the edges, he possessed a high sense of sympathy for marginalized groups of people and tried to right any wrongs that he could.
Ickes was an uncommon worker and a very able, though sometimes polarizing, administrator. Despite not working in any type of natural resources or conservation capacity prior to his appointment, by virtue of his strong work ethic and sense of fairness, he became arguably the most successful Secretary of the Interior that the U.S. has had. In terms of accomplishing many of his major goals, he is unsurpassed. His responsibilities were just enormous; not only was he running Interior, in and of itself a herculean task, he was also administrator of the Public Works Administration, and later had a significant role in helping to regulate and control the flow of domestic oil supplies. Ickes was certainly temperamental, and credit needs to be given to FDR for giving him wide latitude in his duties and also refusing the ridiculous amount of resignations that Ickes tried to give him. But some of those attempted resignations were a direct result of Roosevelt's less-than-straight dealing with his Cabinet Secretaries.
As an example of Watkins' excellent writing, here is a passage from page 822, right after Ickes and the Cabinet have attended Roosevelt's funeral in Hyde Park, NY. Watkins sums up Ickes' relationship with FDR: “Perhaps only the unarticulated memories occupied his mind in that sunlit patch of garden lost in a sea of lawn on a hill above the Hudson River, memories of the man who was too young to have been a father to him, but was a father,... of the man who plucked him from nowhere, used him, manipulated him, drove him to exhaustion, appealed to the worst and the best in him, preached to him, lied to him, brought him visions of power and fits of despair, inspired him, enraged him, gave him friendship and betrayal, dominated the troubled center of his life for thirteen years, and gifted him with a share in the greatness of an age. We do not know what went through his mind because, unlikely as it may seem, he never recorded it. We do know that for the first and last time in his public life, Harold L. Ickes cried.”
Watkins covers Ickes' resignation as Secretary in 1946 with his usual mix of critical analysis and unbiased commentary. Although Truman does not come across looking good in this episode, or in some later statements that he made about Ickes, Watkins notes that Ickes overplayed his own hand and seemed to almost be looking for a way out, complete with drama. Watkins treats his final few years respectfully and neither rushes through them nor bores the reader with unnecessary details. That is how I would characterize the book overall. While there were a few things that I found missing (no discussion of why Ickes and his second wife started a chicken farm in Maryland), and an occasional mistake (Henry Wallace did not resign as Commerce Secretary in 1948), there is already so much packed into this book that I am not sure making it any longer would make it better.
I recommend this biography for anyone interested in any of the following, besides Ickes himself, obviously: FDR, his administration, the New Deal, WWII rationing in the United States, the Progressive movement of the early 1900s (especially Theodore Roosevelt's 1912 campaign), Chicago politics of the early 20th century, Interior Secretaries, the history of the Department of the Interior, or the fight to maintain and create national parks to showcase the beauty of the United States.
Grade: A
February 24, 2017
A sweeping, detailed, deeply compelling and well written biography of a fascinating man living in a fascinating era.
From hard youth and hard earned education, to the heady days of the Bull Moose party, to the frustration of life as a progressive during the 1920s, through his role in the New Deal and WW2, this is an incredibly interesting book.
Ickes comes across as flawed but passionate, idealistic, and ferociously committed to our nation's best principles. (If often controlled by his temper and ego).
If someone asked me to read a 900 page biography of a Chicago politico turned cabinet secretary, I would balk. But this book is worth the commitment. I strongly recommend it.
From hard youth and hard earned education, to the heady days of the Bull Moose party, to the frustration of life as a progressive during the 1920s, through his role in the New Deal and WW2, this is an incredibly interesting book.
Ickes comes across as flawed but passionate, idealistic, and ferociously committed to our nation's best principles. (If often controlled by his temper and ego).
If someone asked me to read a 900 page biography of a Chicago politico turned cabinet secretary, I would balk. But this book is worth the commitment. I strongly recommend it.
September 29, 2018
Harold L. Ickes by force of his waspish personality was one of the most visible of Franklin D. Roosevelt's Cabinet members. If Ickes were alive today he'd be a great commentator on one of the
major news networks, most assuredly though not Fox.
Born in Pennsylvania, Ickes made his fame and fortune as a muckraking journalist for three decades
in Chicago. He registered as a Republican in deference to the party of Lincoln, but wore party regularity as lightly as you can. His early concerns were mostly Chicago municipal as he castigated
machine politicians of both parties.
In Theodore Roosevelt Ickes found new reason for his enrollment in the GOP. He was a thoroughgoing fan and of course supported his Bull Moose Progressive Party candidacy to return to
the White House. He also supported Charles Evans Hughes against Woodrow Wilson in 1916. Hughes
was the last GOP presidential candidate he ever supported.
After he was elected FDR tried to include a few of the more liberal Republican types in his administration, hence Ickes got the call for the Interior Department which usually went to westerners with a more rural background. Whatever else he was Ickes was scrupulously honest,
even his enemies conceded that and ran the Interior Department so. He could be vindictive too,
witness the controversy he started when he renamed Hoover Dam, Boulder Dam. As a good New
Dealer he really had it in for FDR's predecessor. By that time Ickes was also a Democrat.
Ickes loved the press and the Washington media loved him because he would always give them
something interesting to be quoted. I think his most famous line was about Wendell Willkie when
he called FDR's opponent, "a simple barefoot boy from Wall Street".
Ickes was one of two people who served in FDR's administration for its entire length, the other being Labor Secretary Frances Perkins. Although he could intrigue with the best of them it was
always on matters of policy. The rest of that administration all saw themselves as Roosevelt's
successor and intrigued over that, especially as the second term drew to a close. Ickes was under
no illusion about himself as a candidate for anything. Although he threatened many times to quit
over some issue, somehow he never got around to doing it. I think FDR liked having him around.
One who didn't was his successor and when Ickes objected to one of Harry Truman's appointments,
Truman didn't hesitate to accept his resignation. It's one of the more comical stories in the book,
the fact that Truman was not like his predecessor and wouldn't play the intrigue game.
Ickes wrote a well received autobiography entitled The Biography of a Curmudgeon. That he was,
one of the biggest out there.
We could use a few honest Harolds today.
major news networks, most assuredly though not Fox.
Born in Pennsylvania, Ickes made his fame and fortune as a muckraking journalist for three decades
in Chicago. He registered as a Republican in deference to the party of Lincoln, but wore party regularity as lightly as you can. His early concerns were mostly Chicago municipal as he castigated
machine politicians of both parties.
In Theodore Roosevelt Ickes found new reason for his enrollment in the GOP. He was a thoroughgoing fan and of course supported his Bull Moose Progressive Party candidacy to return to
the White House. He also supported Charles Evans Hughes against Woodrow Wilson in 1916. Hughes
was the last GOP presidential candidate he ever supported.
After he was elected FDR tried to include a few of the more liberal Republican types in his administration, hence Ickes got the call for the Interior Department which usually went to westerners with a more rural background. Whatever else he was Ickes was scrupulously honest,
even his enemies conceded that and ran the Interior Department so. He could be vindictive too,
witness the controversy he started when he renamed Hoover Dam, Boulder Dam. As a good New
Dealer he really had it in for FDR's predecessor. By that time Ickes was also a Democrat.
Ickes loved the press and the Washington media loved him because he would always give them
something interesting to be quoted. I think his most famous line was about Wendell Willkie when
he called FDR's opponent, "a simple barefoot boy from Wall Street".
Ickes was one of two people who served in FDR's administration for its entire length, the other being Labor Secretary Frances Perkins. Although he could intrigue with the best of them it was
always on matters of policy. The rest of that administration all saw themselves as Roosevelt's
successor and intrigued over that, especially as the second term drew to a close. Ickes was under
no illusion about himself as a candidate for anything. Although he threatened many times to quit
over some issue, somehow he never got around to doing it. I think FDR liked having him around.
One who didn't was his successor and when Ickes objected to one of Harry Truman's appointments,
Truman didn't hesitate to accept his resignation. It's one of the more comical stories in the book,
the fact that Truman was not like his predecessor and wouldn't play the intrigue game.
Ickes wrote a well received autobiography entitled The Biography of a Curmudgeon. That he was,
one of the biggest out there.
We could use a few honest Harolds today.
August 19, 2011
A well-researched and insightful look into the life and political evolution of one to the earliest progressives.
February 8, 2014
Voluminous but very readable biography of FDR's Secretary of the Interior, halos, warts and all.
Read
November 20, 2021Entitled The Life and Times. And you get an amazing glimpse into the times as well as Ickes' life.
My brother spent his life as an educator. One of the traits he looked for in successful students was "grit." Ickes was the epitome of grit. To read his quest for education was truly inspiring. He scraped and clawed his way to a higher education. Once he achieved that education you would not think he would be making it to the pinnacle of American government. Sort of thought he would be a presence in Chicago politics ( a political pol, if you will). Then he had the good fortune to marry money. And things started looking up from that point forward. He was a great example of rich guy makes good.
Amazingly back in those times, a progressive liberal Republican actually existed!!!! Ickes, Wendell Wilkie being another. He stayed a Republican long into his political career. And hardly a whiff of scandal for his entire life in politics.
The book presents to you Chicago at the turn of the century. And it was fascinating!! The list of large corporations in existence and on the rise was jaw dropping for me. The good is loaded with rich descriptions of the times in which he lived and worked.
I would almost describe his being appointed Secretary of Interior as almost a fluke. He was actually interested in a job in a bureau of indian affairs, but apparently Roosevelt knew of Ickes and decided he would be appointed Sec. of Interior. He spent the entire 4 Roosevelt terms in that capacity. An ardent champion of the national parks system and the huge amount of square miles of new national parks was staggering. The Interior Department building was his baby from start to finish. He became a key player in the Roosevelt administration and a trusted and loyal confidant of Roosevelt.
His married life was a mess. He was a "randy" fellah. Never really loved his first wife. He found love very late in life to a younger woman. A perfect match.
Ickes also was an avid gardener, and a good one at that. I immediately warmed to him as a gardening kindred spirit.
This book is so very rich in history.
I had to go to Biblio.com to find this hard to find book. If it were not for the Ken Burns PBS series on the national parks I would never have thought of reading Ickes' biography. It was a big book but worth every minute .
And no, I will not loan it out to anyone!! Find your own copy.
My brother spent his life as an educator. One of the traits he looked for in successful students was "grit." Ickes was the epitome of grit. To read his quest for education was truly inspiring. He scraped and clawed his way to a higher education. Once he achieved that education you would not think he would be making it to the pinnacle of American government. Sort of thought he would be a presence in Chicago politics ( a political pol, if you will). Then he had the good fortune to marry money. And things started looking up from that point forward. He was a great example of rich guy makes good.
Amazingly back in those times, a progressive liberal Republican actually existed!!!! Ickes, Wendell Wilkie being another. He stayed a Republican long into his political career. And hardly a whiff of scandal for his entire life in politics.
The book presents to you Chicago at the turn of the century. And it was fascinating!! The list of large corporations in existence and on the rise was jaw dropping for me. The good is loaded with rich descriptions of the times in which he lived and worked.
I would almost describe his being appointed Secretary of Interior as almost a fluke. He was actually interested in a job in a bureau of indian affairs, but apparently Roosevelt knew of Ickes and decided he would be appointed Sec. of Interior. He spent the entire 4 Roosevelt terms in that capacity. An ardent champion of the national parks system and the huge amount of square miles of new national parks was staggering. The Interior Department building was his baby from start to finish. He became a key player in the Roosevelt administration and a trusted and loyal confidant of Roosevelt.
His married life was a mess. He was a "randy" fellah. Never really loved his first wife. He found love very late in life to a younger woman. A perfect match.
Ickes also was an avid gardener, and a good one at that. I immediately warmed to him as a gardening kindred spirit.
This book is so very rich in history.
I had to go to Biblio.com to find this hard to find book. If it were not for the Ken Burns PBS series on the national parks I would never have thought of reading Ickes' biography. It was a big book but worth every minute .
And no, I will not loan it out to anyone!! Find your own copy.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews