Partner and I

Book excerpt: A fascinating exploration of the private and public worlds of Molly Dewson, America's original female political boss. In the first biography ever written of Dewson, Susan Ware not only examines her political career as a trusted member of the Roosevelt team throughout the New Deal but also considers how Dewson's fifty-two year partnership with Polly Porter and her woman-centered existence strengthened her success as a politician. "Susan Ware's excellent biography of Molly Dewson restores one of Franklin Roosevelt's chums and an irrepressible battler for women in politics to her proper place in the history of the New Deal."--Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. "Rich, readable, and intriguing biography."--Estelle B. Freedman, Women's Review of Books "Readers should welcome Ware's spotlight on Dewson, which widens to disclose wonderfully human views of FDR and Eleanor and brings to life many virtually forgotten feminists of an era that threatens to fade into gray."--Publishers Weekly "Provides a lively and refreshingly concrete sense of everyday activities in reform and political circles. ... A wonderful account of the model of a modern political woman."--Elizabeth Fox-Genovese, Times Literary Supplement Susan Ware is assistant professor of history at New York University, where she also coordinates the Women's History Program.