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Frank and Al: FDR, Al Smith, and the Unlikely Alliance That Created the Modern Democratic Party
The inspiring story of an unlikely political partnership--between a to-the-manor-born Protestant and a Lower East Side Catholic--that transformed the Democratic Party and led to the New Deal
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Democratic Party was bitterly split between its urban machines--representing Catholics and Jews, ironworkers and seamstresses, from the tenements of the northeast and Midwest--and its populists and patricians, rooted in the soil and the Scriptures, enforcers of cultural, political, and religious norms. The chasm between the two factions seemed unbridgeable. But just before the Roaring Twenties, Al Smith, a proud son of the Tammany Hall political machine, and Franklin Roosevelt, a country squire, formed an unlikely alliance that transformed the Democratic Party. Smith and FDR dominated politics in the most-powerful state in the union for a quarter-century, and in 1932 they ran against each other for the Democratic presidential nomination, setting off one of the great feuds in American history.
The relationship between Smith and Roosevelt, portrayed in Terry Golway's Frank and Al, is one of the most dramatic untold stories of early 20th Century American politics. It was Roosevelt who said once that everything he sought to do in the New Deal had been done in New York under Al Smith when he was governor in the 1920s. It was Smith who persuaded a reluctant Roosevelt to run for governor in 1928, setting the stage for FDR's dramatic comeback after contracting polio in 1921. They took their party, and American politics, out of the 19th Century and created a place in civic life for the New America of the 20th Century.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Democratic Party was bitterly split between its urban machines--representing Catholics and Jews, ironworkers and seamstresses, from the tenements of the northeast and Midwest--and its populists and patricians, rooted in the soil and the Scriptures, enforcers of cultural, political, and religious norms. The chasm between the two factions seemed unbridgeable. But just before the Roaring Twenties, Al Smith, a proud son of the Tammany Hall political machine, and Franklin Roosevelt, a country squire, formed an unlikely alliance that transformed the Democratic Party. Smith and FDR dominated politics in the most-powerful state in the union for a quarter-century, and in 1932 they ran against each other for the Democratic presidential nomination, setting off one of the great feuds in American history.
The relationship between Smith and Roosevelt, portrayed in Terry Golway's Frank and Al, is one of the most dramatic untold stories of early 20th Century American politics. It was Roosevelt who said once that everything he sought to do in the New Deal had been done in New York under Al Smith when he was governor in the 1920s. It was Smith who persuaded a reluctant Roosevelt to run for governor in 1928, setting the stage for FDR's dramatic comeback after contracting polio in 1921. They took their party, and American politics, out of the 19th Century and created a place in civic life for the New America of the 20th Century.
336 pages, Hardcover
Published September 11, 2018
About the author
Terry Golway
34 books50 followersTerry Golway is a journalist, historian and the author of more than a dozen books. His latest, "Terror From America," is his first novel. It takes place in New York and London as Irish Americans are using politics and violence to win freedom for Ireland. In the novel, Sherlock Holmes arrives in New York to break up the conspiracy.
Golway has worked for the New York Observer, the New York Times and Politico, and has written for many other publications, including America magazine and the Irish Echo. He is an adjunct professor of history and political science at the College of Staten Island, his alma mater. He also holds a Ph.D. in US History from Rutgers University.
Golway has worked for the New York Observer, the New York Times and Politico, and has written for many other publications, including America magazine and the Irish Echo. He is an adjunct professor of history and political science at the College of Staten Island, his alma mater. He also holds a Ph.D. in US History from Rutgers University.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
July 12, 2018
From the turn of the century to world War II, American political life was dominated by Alfred E. Smith and Franklin Roosevelt. Their lives intertwined the conflict and cooperation in events that changed the Democratic Party, U.S. politics, and American social and economic news.
Terry Golway has plenty of material to work with and he does his material proud in his book, Frank and Al. Golway draws you into the lives of these giants. We see them as men trying to succeed but more importantly as men trying to do right, It would have been easy to fall into the chronology tray where an author lists accomplishment after accomplishment but leaves out the soul of the accomplishments. Suffering and pride, ego and anger are part of life, they are included in Frank and Al's story.
In 1928, New York Times journalist, Walter Lippman wrote that in the time of hardship, Americans would choose fear over hope. How lucky that we had Franklin Roosevelt and Al Smith "The happy warrior" to show us we could build anything, overcome anything and survive anything. How lucky that we have Terry Golway to remind us that this is the role that history can play in our lives, much to our betterment.
I received an advance copy of this book from Netgalley. My reviews are unbiased. #netgalley #FrankandAl
Terry Golway has plenty of material to work with and he does his material proud in his book, Frank and Al. Golway draws you into the lives of these giants. We see them as men trying to succeed but more importantly as men trying to do right, It would have been easy to fall into the chronology tray where an author lists accomplishment after accomplishment but leaves out the soul of the accomplishments. Suffering and pride, ego and anger are part of life, they are included in Frank and Al's story.
In 1928, New York Times journalist, Walter Lippman wrote that in the time of hardship, Americans would choose fear over hope. How lucky that we had Franklin Roosevelt and Al Smith "The happy warrior" to show us we could build anything, overcome anything and survive anything. How lucky that we have Terry Golway to remind us that this is the role that history can play in our lives, much to our betterment.
I received an advance copy of this book from Netgalley. My reviews are unbiased. #netgalley #FrankandAl
September 6, 2020
Although entertaining at times, this is a scattershot, superficial, anecdotal history of these two historical figures and their decades long and evolving relationship.
If you are familiar with either of these two men and this time period - nothing really new here.
If you are familiar with either of these two men and this time period - nothing really new here.
September 20, 2024
“Frank and Al” is an interesting book about two New York State governors, Al Smith and Franklin D. Roosevelt, who served back to back terms as governor and as Presidential candidates. The two could not have been more opposite. Al Smith came from very humble beginnings on New York City’s lower east side. Born in 1873 Smith was the last presidential candidate who did not have a high school degree, much less a degree from college. Smith became a product of local politics, falling under the protective wing of the Tammany Hall crowd. By doing small tasks for Tammany he slowly worked his way up the ladder to where he was trusted enough to be given a job in the state legislature. And it was truly a gift because political offices were Tammany’s to give and take. Smith could have held this job for the rest of his career but he was almost ashamed at his lack of ability and understanding of the issues for the first few years he held office. Determined to make more of himself and to do more for the constituents of New York he spent thousands of hours studying the bills that came before him and eventually became the most knowledgeable legislator in the state.
Roosevelt, on the other hand, was born with a silver presidential ticket in his mouth. Raised in a mansion on the banks of the Hudson River. Roosevelt graduated from Harvard and then law school. He worked for a law firm for a few years but when his cousin Theodore became president he was able to use his name to get a position in Woodrow Wilson’s administration and in the Democrat party when the Democrats lost the presidency. His ascendancy was so rapid that when Al Smith became governor of New York and then ran for the presidency, Roosevelt was often called upon for support and even to put Smith’s name in nomination.
The two were close politically, if not socially, until Smith lost the 1928 election. While Smith was losing his presidential election, Roosevelt was winning his for the Governor of New York. When the Stock Market crashed in 1929 and the country went into a depression whoever ran for president against Herbert Hoover in 1932 was certain to win. Smith felt that he should be given a second chance. But the reasons he lost in 1928 were still around in 1932 - Religion and Prohibition. Smith lost the South in 1928 because he was a Catholic running in a an area that saw a rise in the popularity of the Ku Klux Klan. And he lost the Midwest because he was a “wet” who favored the repeal of Prohibition. Roosevelt was neither of these and won the Democrat nomination and the 1932 presidential election handily.
It was probably inevitable that there would be a limit as to how long the two would be friends due to their different backgrounds and their lofty ambitions. It was sad to read about their falling out after 1932. But “Frank and Al” is an entertaining read particularly if you are interested in some of the old time New York characters that pop in and out, like Mayor Jimmy Walker, “Power Broker” Robert Moses, and Frances Perkins who, although she served in FDR’s cabinet, was an Al Smith acolyte. But the Democrat presidential nominees for 1928 and 1932 are by far he two most interesting characters, and two good reasons to read “Frank and Al”.
Roosevelt, on the other hand, was born with a silver presidential ticket in his mouth. Raised in a mansion on the banks of the Hudson River. Roosevelt graduated from Harvard and then law school. He worked for a law firm for a few years but when his cousin Theodore became president he was able to use his name to get a position in Woodrow Wilson’s administration and in the Democrat party when the Democrats lost the presidency. His ascendancy was so rapid that when Al Smith became governor of New York and then ran for the presidency, Roosevelt was often called upon for support and even to put Smith’s name in nomination.
The two were close politically, if not socially, until Smith lost the 1928 election. While Smith was losing his presidential election, Roosevelt was winning his for the Governor of New York. When the Stock Market crashed in 1929 and the country went into a depression whoever ran for president against Herbert Hoover in 1932 was certain to win. Smith felt that he should be given a second chance. But the reasons he lost in 1928 were still around in 1932 - Religion and Prohibition. Smith lost the South in 1928 because he was a Catholic running in a an area that saw a rise in the popularity of the Ku Klux Klan. And he lost the Midwest because he was a “wet” who favored the repeal of Prohibition. Roosevelt was neither of these and won the Democrat nomination and the 1932 presidential election handily.
It was probably inevitable that there would be a limit as to how long the two would be friends due to their different backgrounds and their lofty ambitions. It was sad to read about their falling out after 1932. But “Frank and Al” is an entertaining read particularly if you are interested in some of the old time New York characters that pop in and out, like Mayor Jimmy Walker, “Power Broker” Robert Moses, and Frances Perkins who, although she served in FDR’s cabinet, was an Al Smith acolyte. But the Democrat presidential nominees for 1928 and 1932 are by far he two most interesting characters, and two good reasons to read “Frank and Al”.
July 28, 2018
Common goals bring people together; alliances are made between unlikely people. Friendships are forged, but sometimes the friends become alienated, their relationships shifting with the loss or gain of political power.
Reading biographies on President Franklin D. Roosevelt I learned about Al Smith, the New York City politician who failed to gain the presidential nomination because of his Catholic Faith. I knew that FDR's 1928 presidential nomination speech for Al Smith marked FDR's political comeback after polio. I was curious to learn more about Al and requested the galley for Frank & Al by Terry Golway.
Right away I fell under Al's spell. He had charisma and personality and a commitment to helping the 'little man' with a progressive agenda. He knew the challenges they faced first-hand for Al had to leave school and work in the Fulton Fish Market after the death of his father. His mother took a factory job. Tammany Hall promoted his political rise to Albany. Realizing how unprepared he was, Al committed to studying until he had a command of the issues and laws. He became a popular and beloved New York State governor.
No one could have been more different from Al than FDR with his long family history of status and wealth. FDR was a Harvard man. He was also seen as a lightweight, but he supported Al all the way.
How these two men changed the Democratic party is the core of the book. The history of their friendship recalls Adams and Jefferson--allies turned foes who embrace reconciliation later in life.
I was actually thrilled while reading the narratives about the conventions! Al's Catholicism was a huge issue. The KKK came out in full force to wield its influence. The Democrats had to choose to condemn the KKK as an Anti-American terrorist group and risk splitting the party or water the platform down to condemning any secret society. The clan gathered in New Jersey to burn an effigy of Al Smith. Protestant preachers across Middle America turned Al into a Papal pawn and denounced his opposition to Prohibition.
Al was hugely popular in the East and among city folk but could not win rural WASP America. After Hoover's failure to address the Depression, FDR was successful in his presidential bid...and the rest is history. Al, though, did not take his losses well and was critical of FDR's policies.
The Democratic party was transfigured by Al's agenda which was continued by FDR on the national level; the president admitted he was following the agenda set by Al many years ago in New York State. The two men had some form of reconciliation and worked together but the warm friendship was never regained.
It always strikes me when I read history that human nature does not change. Al and Frank, or John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, politics power disrupts friendships. Xenophobia rears its ugly head again and again. Where once the Catholics were feared as puppets of the Pope, now we fear Muslims. Every history I read is relevant to the issues we face today.
Golway has written a wonderful book that brings these men and the times to life in a thrilling narrative history.
I received a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
Reading biographies on President Franklin D. Roosevelt I learned about Al Smith, the New York City politician who failed to gain the presidential nomination because of his Catholic Faith. I knew that FDR's 1928 presidential nomination speech for Al Smith marked FDR's political comeback after polio. I was curious to learn more about Al and requested the galley for Frank & Al by Terry Golway.
Right away I fell under Al's spell. He had charisma and personality and a commitment to helping the 'little man' with a progressive agenda. He knew the challenges they faced first-hand for Al had to leave school and work in the Fulton Fish Market after the death of his father. His mother took a factory job. Tammany Hall promoted his political rise to Albany. Realizing how unprepared he was, Al committed to studying until he had a command of the issues and laws. He became a popular and beloved New York State governor.
No one could have been more different from Al than FDR with his long family history of status and wealth. FDR was a Harvard man. He was also seen as a lightweight, but he supported Al all the way.
How these two men changed the Democratic party is the core of the book. The history of their friendship recalls Adams and Jefferson--allies turned foes who embrace reconciliation later in life.
I was actually thrilled while reading the narratives about the conventions! Al's Catholicism was a huge issue. The KKK came out in full force to wield its influence. The Democrats had to choose to condemn the KKK as an Anti-American terrorist group and risk splitting the party or water the platform down to condemning any secret society. The clan gathered in New Jersey to burn an effigy of Al Smith. Protestant preachers across Middle America turned Al into a Papal pawn and denounced his opposition to Prohibition.
Al was hugely popular in the East and among city folk but could not win rural WASP America. After Hoover's failure to address the Depression, FDR was successful in his presidential bid...and the rest is history. Al, though, did not take his losses well and was critical of FDR's policies.
The Democratic party was transfigured by Al's agenda which was continued by FDR on the national level; the president admitted he was following the agenda set by Al many years ago in New York State. The two men had some form of reconciliation and worked together but the warm friendship was never regained.
It always strikes me when I read history that human nature does not change. Al and Frank, or John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, politics power disrupts friendships. Xenophobia rears its ugly head again and again. Where once the Catholics were feared as puppets of the Pope, now we fear Muslims. Every history I read is relevant to the issues we face today.
Golway has written a wonderful book that brings these men and the times to life in a thrilling narrative history.
I received a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
October 27, 2018
When young, I thought that all men were like my father. So, when I was old enough to perceive that my father (1) was grumpy, and (2) worshipped Franklin Roosevelt, I thought that this was normal behavior for all adults. Even when I was older, and refined my observations so that I noticed my father (1) was grumpy in direct proportion to his proximity on household repair projects, and (2) worshipped Franklin Roosevelt exclusively among politicians, I assumed that this was more or less par for the course for middle-class white suburban men of an age which at the time seemed unimaginably ancient, but which is younger than I am now.
Al Smith, by comparison, existed in my young imagination as a comic creature who appeared in the dusty pages of collections of old cartoons from The New Yorker which lay untouched on my parents' bookshelves. Smith was portrayed as an ever-grinning figure with a bowler hat nudged to a jaunty angle, more like a cartoon character than a serious politician.
Whether you grew up in an FDR-worshipping home or not, it is likely that Smith is now a less familiar figure. That's a shame, because he was far more remarkable, as this book demonstrates. He was poor and Catholic at a time when these held you back in the same manner that being female and of color holds people back in our time. In spite of a limited formal education, he possessed the ability to master facts and engage in oratory in a manner far exceeding his contemporaries with superior credentials. And he had a way with words.
But like all wildly-successful men, both Smith and FDR were massive egos. Neither could stand being the second-most-important person in the room for long periods of time. It was a shame that they didn't get along better – they could've accomplished a lot more if they had worked together. But there is some consolation in the thought that the American left's inability to look past their differences to the larger goal is not a shortcoming confined to our generation.
This good book covers a lot of territory. It is written for the general reader and not burdened down with the necessity to defend a point of view, nor is it seemingly written to please a faculty tenure committee. It's an engaging narrative and reads quickly. That's what I look for in a history – it should crackle with the excitement of history but also leave me a little bit smarter than I was when I began.
A year of so before his death in the mid-2000s, my father mentioned to me that he had seen apparently serious grown adults on the television saying that FDR's presidency was actually a failure and his policies had made the Great Depression worse, not better. Did I know that such opinions were being taken seriously in the world? I admitted that I had heard such things myself with increasing frequency and opined that the rise of such revisionism was the result of the diminishing number of people who had experienced the situation first hand and could, with authority, set the record straight. My father, whose visage could by that time have passed for an illustration accompanying the dictionary definition of “crusty”, looked at me in all earnestness and asked “Don't they know that he saved the country?”
No, Dad, I guess they didn't, and they probably never will. However, if those of us who remain read a story that tells you the way it was, perhaps we can remember that the country was in a time in which it (and its people) really required saving, and a few flawed individuals popped up to make it happen. They didn't always get along, but they pulled together when it counted.
I received a free electronic advance review copy of this book via Netgalley and St. Martin's Press, an offspring of MacMillan Publishers.
Al Smith, by comparison, existed in my young imagination as a comic creature who appeared in the dusty pages of collections of old cartoons from The New Yorker which lay untouched on my parents' bookshelves. Smith was portrayed as an ever-grinning figure with a bowler hat nudged to a jaunty angle, more like a cartoon character than a serious politician.
Whether you grew up in an FDR-worshipping home or not, it is likely that Smith is now a less familiar figure. That's a shame, because he was far more remarkable, as this book demonstrates. He was poor and Catholic at a time when these held you back in the same manner that being female and of color holds people back in our time. In spite of a limited formal education, he possessed the ability to master facts and engage in oratory in a manner far exceeding his contemporaries with superior credentials. And he had a way with words.
[A]ny man that conjures up for you a fancied grievance against your government or against the man at the head of it to help himself is breeding the seeds of an anarchy and a dissatisfaction more disastrous to the welfare of the community than any other teaching I can think of (Kindle location 1829).Smith defended the defenseless in a way which has aged exceedingly well. On the other hand, a look at Smith's racist blockhead and religious hyprocrite opponents will show to those with eyes to see how certain segments of the political landscape today will appear to our children's children.
But like all wildly-successful men, both Smith and FDR were massive egos. Neither could stand being the second-most-important person in the room for long periods of time. It was a shame that they didn't get along better – they could've accomplished a lot more if they had worked together. But there is some consolation in the thought that the American left's inability to look past their differences to the larger goal is not a shortcoming confined to our generation.
This good book covers a lot of territory. It is written for the general reader and not burdened down with the necessity to defend a point of view, nor is it seemingly written to please a faculty tenure committee. It's an engaging narrative and reads quickly. That's what I look for in a history – it should crackle with the excitement of history but also leave me a little bit smarter than I was when I began.
A year of so before his death in the mid-2000s, my father mentioned to me that he had seen apparently serious grown adults on the television saying that FDR's presidency was actually a failure and his policies had made the Great Depression worse, not better. Did I know that such opinions were being taken seriously in the world? I admitted that I had heard such things myself with increasing frequency and opined that the rise of such revisionism was the result of the diminishing number of people who had experienced the situation first hand and could, with authority, set the record straight. My father, whose visage could by that time have passed for an illustration accompanying the dictionary definition of “crusty”, looked at me in all earnestness and asked “Don't they know that he saved the country?”
No, Dad, I guess they didn't, and they probably never will. However, if those of us who remain read a story that tells you the way it was, perhaps we can remember that the country was in a time in which it (and its people) really required saving, and a few flawed individuals popped up to make it happen. They didn't always get along, but they pulled together when it counted.
I received a free electronic advance review copy of this book via Netgalley and St. Martin's Press, an offspring of MacMillan Publishers.
March 16, 2025
A fan boy's account of Al Smith and a backhanded tribute to FDR. Mr. Golway really loves Al Smith, thinks of him as one of New York's greatest governors, and felt that FDR treated him poorly when he rose to the Presidency, something Smith never did. Mr. Golway has tons of praise for Smith while he has initial disdain for Roosevelt, and then warms up to him a little but, but never enough.
I think there are better and less one sided books on the two of these gentlemen, but this is a good primer if you never heard of Al Smith or did not realize the progressive firebrand that he was, along with FDR.
I think there are better and less one sided books on the two of these gentlemen, but this is a good primer if you never heard of Al Smith or did not realize the progressive firebrand that he was, along with FDR.
September 21, 2018
*I received an electronic galley from netgalley.com in exchange for a review*
Al Smith grew up in the neighborhoods of New York working long hours among the poor and immigrant populations. FDR was from one of the most prestigious families of New York calling President Teddy Roosevelt a cousin, access to the best education, etc. Nothing in these brief biographical sketches suggests that the two men would grow to have a warm, if sometimes strained friendship, but there it was.
The men were united because despite their backgrounds, they shared a common set of political ideas and beliefs of how things should be. This friendship was not easy because they also shared the ambition to be President of the United States. Wanting to be president strained the relationship and forced friends to take sides.
I fear that I have described a book for political nerds which is far from what Frank and Al is. It’s actually quite a moving portrait of the two men and their friendship because taking the two men as most Americans know them, they shouldn’t have been friends, but yet they were and it most assuredly should not have survived the achievement of one man’s ambition at the expense of the other, but while the friendship was strained it never ruptured.
A rare book on politics that left this reader feeling something deep within.
Al Smith grew up in the neighborhoods of New York working long hours among the poor and immigrant populations. FDR was from one of the most prestigious families of New York calling President Teddy Roosevelt a cousin, access to the best education, etc. Nothing in these brief biographical sketches suggests that the two men would grow to have a warm, if sometimes strained friendship, but there it was.
The men were united because despite their backgrounds, they shared a common set of political ideas and beliefs of how things should be. This friendship was not easy because they also shared the ambition to be President of the United States. Wanting to be president strained the relationship and forced friends to take sides.
I fear that I have described a book for political nerds which is far from what Frank and Al is. It’s actually quite a moving portrait of the two men and their friendship because taking the two men as most Americans know them, they shouldn’t have been friends, but yet they were and it most assuredly should not have survived the achievement of one man’s ambition at the expense of the other, but while the friendship was strained it never ruptured.
A rare book on politics that left this reader feeling something deep within.
February 19, 2019
Good book explaining the changing focus of the Democratic party in the early 20th century. Started a little slow but really got going in explaining how Al Smith started the process of getting the Ku Klux Klan out of the Democratic Party.
Very interesting how the South, which was solid Democratic in those years, voted in 1928 for President against Smith who was Catholic and anti-KKK. 1928 was also interesting because it was the first year that the Democratic candidate carried the top 12 cities.
If you look at the long term pattern in the chart here:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solid...
you'll see how Smith's 1928 candidacy started a change in the South's voting pattern. While the South went Democratic with FDR during the disaster of Hoover and the Depression, the South soon became solid Republican. It especially capped in the 1960s with LBJ, a Democrat, ushering in voting rights. The only time since then that the South went solid Democratic was Carter in 1976 - a Southerner against the backdrop of a bad economy and the Nixon resignation.
Very interesting how the South, which was solid Democratic in those years, voted in 1928 for President against Smith who was Catholic and anti-KKK. 1928 was also interesting because it was the first year that the Democratic candidate carried the top 12 cities.
If you look at the long term pattern in the chart here:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solid...
you'll see how Smith's 1928 candidacy started a change in the South's voting pattern. While the South went Democratic with FDR during the disaster of Hoover and the Depression, the South soon became solid Republican. It especially capped in the 1960s with LBJ, a Democrat, ushering in voting rights. The only time since then that the South went solid Democratic was Carter in 1976 - a Southerner against the backdrop of a bad economy and the Nixon resignation.
November 11, 2019
Having Irish catholic New Yorker ancestry its hard not to have an interest in Al Smith and of course we all know about FDR, but what I didn't know much about was the relationship between the two men.
The men couldn't be more opposite. Al Smith with his 8th grade education, raised in poverty worked his way up through Tammany Hall to become an idolized and effective NY politician but being a Catholic put the breaks on his further aspirations. FDR with his Harvard/Columbia education, his wealth and being Episcopalian was the key to take him all the way to the presidency. Somehow these two were friends, then enemies, then friends again.
What you get in this book is some insight into the personalities of the two men and the impact they had on each others success. The book flops back and forth between the two men and I thought ended a bit abruptly but still in all worthwhile.
The men couldn't be more opposite. Al Smith with his 8th grade education, raised in poverty worked his way up through Tammany Hall to become an idolized and effective NY politician but being a Catholic put the breaks on his further aspirations. FDR with his Harvard/Columbia education, his wealth and being Episcopalian was the key to take him all the way to the presidency. Somehow these two were friends, then enemies, then friends again.
What you get in this book is some insight into the personalities of the two men and the impact they had on each others success. The book flops back and forth between the two men and I thought ended a bit abruptly but still in all worthwhile.
May 17, 2021
I certainly knew of Al Smith, that he was a governor of New York in the 1920s and that he ran unsuccessfully for President of the U.S. in 1928, and that he was roundly defeated by Herbert Hoover in that election. But that was all I knew, and there was so much more to learn about Al Smith that that. I feel like much of what was discussed in this book would not have been new to the people of my grandparents' generation, and possibly of my parents' generation also. But to a large extent, losers of presidential elections become forgotten as years go by. As the first Roman Catholic who ran for president, I don't think Al Smith will ever be totally forgotten in the way that others who lost the presidency, like John W. Davis in 1924 and Alf Landon in 1936, have become. But I think he should be remembered for more than just having been the first Catholic to run for president.
November 27, 2018
Excellent history, well-written, engrossing and leading me to want to read more from this period. It recalls the stories I was told about Albany and the operation of state government by fellow reporters during my brief sojourn at my first newspaper job in Troy NY. I had no idea how many of the key people in FDR’s administration came out of Al Smith’s time as guv of NY. I like a history that pulls aside a curtain and allows new connections that enlighten. Definitely worth a read.
February 4, 2019
Frank and Al is Terry Golway’ s engaging chronicle of the fraught relationship between FDR and Al Smith two of New York’s powerhouses. FDR originally saw Smith as a mentor and supported him in the troubled 1924 and 1928 presidential campaigns. Of course FDR went on to eclipse his mentor in Albany and in the WH, a source of friction and envy for Smith. A great primer on the tension of political alliances and a wonderful read.
April 12, 2019
A worthwhile book on the relationship between Roosevelt and Smith and their careers, from Roosevelt nominating Smith for the Democratic Presidential Candidate To Smith denouncing the excesses of the New Deal and endorsing Landon and Wilkie.
I enjoyed the book but would have liked more depth on the 1924,1928 and 1932 Democratic Conventions, as well as the 1924 New York Gubernatorial Race between Al Smith and Teddy Roosevelt Jr (this was some brief focus on Eleanor attacking her cousin)
I enjoyed the book but would have liked more depth on the 1924,1928 and 1932 Democratic Conventions, as well as the 1924 New York Gubernatorial Race between Al Smith and Teddy Roosevelt Jr (this was some brief focus on Eleanor attacking her cousin)
November 6, 2018
Frank and Al is a fascinating read that brings to life two great men in all their glory and also all their petty prides. A riveting history with lessons that apply today, including the need to keep our eyes on haters.
February 17, 2019
A solid overview of the relationship between the two. I think the explanation for the break between the two men towards latter part of FDR’s time as President was lacking, but overall an interesting and enjoyable read.
June 2, 2022
Repetitive, far too critical of FDR and far too hagiographic towards Smith, Golway writes less like an historian who invested in heavy research and more of someone who approached both men as celebrities rather than historical figures.
March 15, 2024
Great book that looks at the lives and political relationship of Al Smith and FDR. Golway is a terrific writer who captures the spirit and essence of these men, their complicated professional and personal friendship, and their times.
February 9, 2025
The issues of the early 20th century are different, yet familiar. This book exposedls to key figures in NY and US politics in that period. Interesting history. Some bias is clearly evident as would be expected about thoae outside of the cities.
October 10, 2018
Good political bio of these 2 NY giants. FDR is of course the subject of many biographies, Smith not as many. It can be a bit too focused on NY state politics.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 8, 2019
Perfect read for an Irish, Catholic, Democratic New Yorker like me. Excellent. Took lots of notes. And then watched Long Journey Home, episode 3 about Al Smith.
April 23, 2021
Easy , enjoyable read
February 19, 2025
A non fiction book that keeps you engage about a time of history
November 24, 2025
4.5 stars. A wonderful read on two political titans.
September 20, 2018
This book provides an excellent overview of how religious prejudice influenced the American electorate in the first half of the 20th centaur. It also has in-depth perspectives on the relationship between the Tammany "machine" and the the more patrician political organizations.
June 16, 2018
A brilliant history of the alliance that made the made America what it was in the twentieth century. The alliance between the Catholic down town New York fixer Al Smith and the patrician landed aristocrat that was FDR. How did it come about and why was it so important? Terry Golway answers all in a decisively riveting narrative that will leave you satisfied. This is very good readable history.
Some elements are missing such as the tie between the KKK and the prohibition movement. The KKK were the vigilante group that went from a few thousand to several million during prohibition. By Smith and FDR breaking prohibition they were breaking the KKK. This is a connection Golway does not quite represent but there is lots of talk around it. (For more information about this see the article "Hoodwinked The Anti-Saloon League and the Ku Klux Klan in 1920s Prohibition") This however is a minor criticism. Golway can not drag up the whole past but he can sure tell a story.
I highly recommend this to anyone who is interested in twentieth century American history or anyone anywhere that enjoys a good fast paced historical read with lots of colourful detail.
Some elements are missing such as the tie between the KKK and the prohibition movement. The KKK were the vigilante group that went from a few thousand to several million during prohibition. By Smith and FDR breaking prohibition they were breaking the KKK. This is a connection Golway does not quite represent but there is lots of talk around it. (For more information about this see the article "Hoodwinked The Anti-Saloon League and the Ku Klux Klan in 1920s Prohibition") This however is a minor criticism. Golway can not drag up the whole past but he can sure tell a story.
I highly recommend this to anyone who is interested in twentieth century American history or anyone anywhere that enjoys a good fast paced historical read with lots of colourful detail.
September 11, 2018
I love reading books that are well researched and contain information that I wouldn't have known unless I read it! This is one of those books. The author's extensive research on how two unlikely allies created the New Deal and the Modern Democratic Party. By all accounts, FDR and Al Smith were completely different, but they managed to change history. Fascinating and informative read!
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