Rightful Heritage

The acclaimed,award-winning historianΓÇöΓÇ£AmericaΓÇÖs new past masterΓÇ¥ (Chicago Tribune)ΓÇöexamines the environmental legacy of FDR and the New Deal. Douglas BrinkleyΓÇÖs The Wilderness Warrior celebrated Theodore RooseveltΓÇÖs spirit of outdoor exploration and bold vision to protect 234 million acres of wild America. Nowin Rightful HeritageBrinkley turns his attention to the other indefatigable environmental leaderΓÇöTeddyΓÇÖs distant cousinFranklin Delano Rooseveltchronicling his essential yet under-sung legacy as the founder of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and premier protector of AmericaΓÇÖs public lands. FDR built from scratch dozens of State Park systems and scenic roadways. Pristine landscapes such as the Great Smokiesthe EvergladesJoshua Treethe OlympicsBig BendChannel IslandsMammoth Caveand the slickrock wilderness of Utah were forever saved by his leadership. Brinkley traces FDRΓÇÖs love for the natural world from his youth exploring the Hudson River Valley and bird watching. As AmericaΓÇÖs president from 1933 to 1945RooseveltΓÇöconsummate political strategistΓÇöestablished hundreds of federal migratory bird refuges and spearheaded the modern endangered species movement. He brilliantly positioned his conservation goals as economic policy to combat the severe unemployment of the Great Depression. During its nine-year existencethe CCC put nearly three million young men to work on conservation projectsΓÇöincluding building trails in the national parkspollution controlland restoration to combat the Dust Bowland planting over two billion trees. Rightful Heritage is an epic chronicle that is both an irresistible portrait of FDRΓÇÖs unrivaled passion and driveand an indispensable analysis that skillfully illuminates the tension between business and natureΓÇöexploiting our natural resources and conserving them. Within the narrative are brilliant capsule biographies of such environmental warriors as Eleanor RooseveltHarold Ickesand Rosalie Edge. Rightful Heritage is essential reading for everyone seeking to preserve our treasured landscapes as an American birthright.