The Life of Herbert Hoover—Keeper of the Torch, 1933-1964

It has often been said of Herbert Hoover that his accomplishments even before he became president were adequate to ensure him an important place in American history, even without his service in the White House. It is equally true that his achievements during his post-presidential years are sufficient, in themselves, to make him an important historical figure without reference to all that happened before l933. Hoover's post-presidential years were kaleidoscopic-filled with the activities of a man constantly on the move, both physically and mentally. He remained an active presence in politics, exerting his considerable influence in the Republican Party to maintain the GOP as the bulwark of conservative principles in American politics; he was a leader in the debate over American involvement in World War II as well as over-committing U.S. ground forces to the defense of Europe under NATO in the l950s; and post-World War II he formulated a program that was largely embraced both by the Republican Party and by the Roosevelt administration, paving the way for a bipartisan foreign policy after the war. Throughout these activities, he maintained his concern for public welfare, particularly children, through his efforts to feed children in war-torn Europe before and after U.S. involvement in the war and as head of the Famine Emergency Committee after World War II. In later years, he served as chairman of two commissions on reorganization of the executive branch of the federal government, bringing about major reforms and restructuring in the federal government. Among his other accomplishments, Hoover was also a productive historian and prolific author of articles and books. In this monumental contribution to Hoover scholarship, eminent historian Gary Dean Best chronicles the post-presidential decades of this important historical figure, and the achievements of a distinguished career that extended far beyond Herbert Hoover's presidency.

Gary Dean Best was a Professor of History at the University of Hawaii at Hilo. He received his PhD from the University of Hawaii in 1973, lectured at Sophia University in Tokyo, 1973-1974 and was a Fulbright Scholar in Japan, 1974-1975. Best held a National Endowment for the Humanities fellowship in 1982-1983 and was awarded research grants by the Hoover Presidential Library Association and the Hoover Institution of War, Peace and Revolution. In addition to his books on Hoover's post-presidency, Best is the author of The Politics of American Individualism: Herbert Hoover in Transition, 1918-1921 (1975); Pride, Prejudice, and Politics, 1933-1938 (1990); and The Critical Press and the New Deal: The Press Versus Presidential Power, 1933-1938 (1993).