By Thomas F. Schwartz John D. Rockefeller, Sr. is credited as being America’s first billionaire, having made his fortune in the oil industry. A devote Baptist, Rockefeller believed that money was not something to be hoarded but shared. He practiced the Biblical admonition of tithing, giving at least ten percent of his income away. Among … Continue reading Dimes and Dollar Watches: The Personal Philanthropy of John D. Rockefeller and Herbert Hoover
By Thomas F. Schwartz We all have guilty pleasures in life. At the top of the list for Lou and Herbert Hoover was reading mysteries. As this blog series has shown, the Hoovers had no set preference for a specific mystery writer or genre. They read widely, absorbing everything that was available. John T. McIntyre, … Continue reading Mystery Writers Read by the Hoovers Part X
Ida Koverman By Thomas F. Schwartz A previous blog post discussed the role of Ida R. Koverman with Herbert Hoover. During the 1928 presidential campaign, Koverman was on the editorial board of the Republican Women's Federation of California newspaper, The California Elephant. She occasionally wrote articles, including one in the February 1928 issue, “Mrs. Herbert … Continue reading “Mrs. Herbert Hoover”: An Article by Ida R. Koverman (Part I)
President and Lou Henry Hoover going to their new home in the White House on Inauguration Day, March 4, 1929, in Washington DC. (31-1929-d25) By Thomas F. Schwartz In watching the film “Trading Places” over the holiday season, two things emerged that had previously escaped my notice. The first was a close-up of the paintings … Continue reading “Greed is Good”: Or is it?
"The Cask of Death and Other Crimes" is shown on a bookshelf in the research room at the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library.Illustrations featured in "The Cask of Death and Other Crimes."Illustrations featured in "The Cask of Death and Other Crimes."Illustrations featured in "The Cask of Death and Other Crimes."Illustrations featured in "The Cask of Death … Continue reading Mystery Writers Read by the Hoovers: Part VIII
By Thomas F. Schwartz In the second volume of his memoirs, The Cabinet and the Presidency 1920-1933, Herbert Hoover explained the origins of zoning codes: “The building codes in our towns and cites had been largely dominated by contractors and labor organizations who greatly and unnecessarily increased costs. We called a national conference of public officials … Continue reading Herbert Hoover and Zoning
By Thomas F. Schwartz Two English mystery writers whose works were on the shelves at Camp Rapidan were Robin Forsythe and Freeman Wills Crofts. Both were born in 1879, Forsythe in Punjab, British India now Pakistan and Crofts in Dublin, Ireland. Both were popular during the “Golden Age” of detective fiction, roughly the two decades of 1920 … Continue reading Mystery Writers Read by the Hoovers: Part VII
By Thomas F. Schwartz Two titles on the shelves at Camp Rapidan were authors considered the best writers of the mystery genre: Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, often claimed to be the best mystery novel written by Christie, and The Omnibus of Crime, edited by Dorothy L. Sayers, offer interesting … Continue reading Mystery Writers Read by the Hoovers: Part VI
By Thomas F. Schwartz Carolyn Wells was born on June 18, 1862, in Rahway, New Jersey. She worked as a librarian after completing her education, accounting for her interest in books and writing. Her marriage to Hadwin Houghton, heir to the publishing house Houghton-Mifflin, provided an additional tie to the book world. Author of 170 books, … Continue reading Mystery Writers Read by the Hoovers: Part V, Carolyn Wells Houghton
By Thomas F. Schwartz Lawrence Saunders (a pseudonym for the married couple John Burton Davis and Clare Ogden Davis, not the Lawrence Saunders of The Anderson Tapes) and Harry Stephen Keeler are relatively unknown today but were rather well-known mystery writers in their day. The Columnist Murder (1931) was dedicated to Walter Winchell, the infamous gossip … Continue reading Mystery Writers Read by the Hoovers: Part IV
