The Man Behind Roosevelt

The Story of Louis McHenry Howe

Originally published in 1954, this book tells the story of Louis McHenry Howe (1871-1936), an American reporter for the New York Herald who became best known for acting as an early political advisor to President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Affectionately referred to as “the little boss,” he would play an important part behind the scenes in shaping the destiny of the man who four times became President of the United States.

“THIS BIOGRAPHY of Louis Howe is delightfully written and has the advantage of giving a number of stories which I am sure would never have been printed unless someone close to the work Louis did had undertaken to write it. The sidelights on the relationship between my husband and Louis and what this relationship meant to my husband’s public life in the early days and in the struggles of his future life will, I think, be a valuable contribution to history. There has seldom been a story of greater devotion to another man’s success but at the same time one realizes that this was not due to any lack of ambition on the part of Louis McHenry Howe. He loved power, but he also recognized realities and he decided that in the end he would exercise more power through someone else and he prided himself on the judgment he used in choosing the individual with whom and for whom he was going to work.

“Lela Stiles shows discrimination and powers of observation which mark her as a real reporter. I found her book delightful reading.”—ELEANOR ROOSEVELT, Foreword, The Man Behind Roosevelt: The Story of Louis McHenry Howe