Quotes by Doris Kearns Goodwin

The same magazines which not long before advertised products which would quickly allow women to return to their war work now extolled elaborate recipes which women could attempt if they stayed home and vacated jobs for men.

She feared that she would become a slave to superficial, symbolic duties.

(Tafts mothers) losing her firstborn had convinced her that children are treasures lent not given and that they may be recalled at any time. Parents, she firmly believed, could never love their children too much.

Excitement about things became a habit, a part of my personality, and the expectation that I should enjoy new experiences often engendered the enjoyment itself.

The author writes that key FDR aide Harry Hopkins was in such poor health near the end of his bosss second term that one observer said he didnt know how Hopkins could possibly report to the president. But, at the onset of war and genuine national emergency, Hopkins was animated with a new sense of purpose.

I read them (articles TR wrote on his honeymoon) all over to Edith and her corrections and help were most valuable to me.

Lincoln, considering a Cabinet nominee: He is a Radical without the petulance and fretfulness of many radicals.

One journalist complemented another that his article on a dispute, had made both sides see themselves as they are.

In the reflected gaze of his (her husbands) steady admiration, she saw the face of the girl he had fallen in love with.

He (William Howard Taft) had little patience with the unconscious arrogance of conscious wealth and financial success.

I have plenty of information now, but I cant get it into words. Im afraid its too big a task for me. I wonder if I will find everything in life too big for my abilities. Well, time will tell. Theodore Roosevelt, writing in naval history in his spare time while in law school

I opened the curtain and entered the confessional, a dark wooden booth built into the side wall of the church. As I knelt on the small worn bench, I could hear a boys halting confession through the wall, his prescribed penance inaudible as the panel slid open on my side and the priest directed his attention to me.Yes, my child, he inquired softly. Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. This is my First Confession. Yes, my child, and what sins have you committed? ....I talked in church twenty times, I disobeyed my mother five times, I wished harm to others several times, I told a fib three times, I talked back to my teacher twice. I held my breath. And to whom did you wish harm? My scheme had failed. He had picked out the one group of sins that most troubled me. Speaking as softly as I could, I made my admission. I wished harm to Allie Reynolds. The Yankee pitcher? he asked, surprise and concern in his voice. And how did you wish to harm him? I wanted him to break his arm. And how often did you make this wish? Every night, I admitted, before going to bed, in my prayers. And were there others? Oh, yes, I admitted. I wished that Robin Roberts of the Phillies would fall down the steps of his stoop, and that Richie Ashburn would break his hand. Is there anything else? Yes, I wished that Enos Slaughter of the Cards would break his ankle, that Phil Rizzuto of the Yanks would fracture a rib, and that Alvin Dark of the Giants would hurt his knee. But, I hastened to add, I wished that all these injuries would go away once the baseball season ended. ...Are there any other sins, my child? No, Father. For your penance, say two Hail Marys, three Our Fathers, and, he added with a chuckle, say a special prayer for the Dodgers. ...

As soon as (Teddy Roosevelt) received an assignment for a paper or project, he would set to work, never leaving anything to the last minute. Prepared so far ahead freed his mind from worry and facilitated fresh, lucid thought.

Of Teddy Roosevelt and his siblings, the author writes they were, armed with an innate curiosity and discipline fostered by his remarkable father.

Their lifelong love of learning, their remarkable wide-ranging intellectual curiosity, was fostered primarily by their father. He read aloud to them at night, eliciting their responses to works of history and literature. He organized amateur plays for them, encourage pursuit of special interests, prompted them to write essays on their readings, and urge them to recite poetry.

She was never satisfied with anything less than perfection, but she was no grind. She was too interested in people.

Whereas Taft discouraged the young Yale student from extracurricular reading, fearful it would detract from required courses, Roosevelt read widely yet managed to stand near the top of his class. The breath of his numerous interests allowed him to draw on knowledge across various disciplines, from zoology in philosophy and religion, from poetry and drama to history and politics.

Why bother with fictional characters and plots when the world was full of more marvelous stories that were true, with characters so fresh, so powerful, so new, that they stepped from into the narratives under their own power?

The Yale graduate who had refused to read outside the course curriculum (the future Pres. Taft) suddenly found himself inspired.

If he (Teddy Roosevelt) lacked Will Tafts immediate charisma, gradually his classmates could not resist the spell of his highly original personality.