Man, they don't write them like this anymore! Nowadays, historians want to prevaricate you to death with all the fine points they can dredge up. Here's an author who sticks to his single point throughout, that President Cleveland's innate honesty was not enough to serve America and that he should have tried to alter his stances at times to suit America's needs. As we say nowadays, Cleveland needed a paradigm shift big time. Tugwell's style is both lively and direct, sometimes a little like a good high school sourcebook in how it anxiously seeks to explain even the most basic points in completely understandable terms. If you're looking for a good first book to read on Cleveland, this is it. There is a curious resonance with the present too: Sometimes the Cleveland story is a bit like the Clinton story; at other times it's a bit like the George W. Bush story. See for yourself.

Tugwell liked to write but the author likes to edit too much. It is common knowledge by New Deal historians Tugwell had affairs but Namorato does not show this in his research. Instead he provides the reader with entry after entry of business Tugwell was conducting. What about the secret letters to his girlfriend? The author does not want to show us the dark side of Tugwell because he is afraid the reader is too weak minded to be able to come up with his on conclusion about this Tugwell. Michael Namorato needs to be honest and show us all of his research.

A biography about Rexford Tugwell is in great demand, unfortunately the author does not deliver. The first weakness the reader will encounter is the very poor writing style of the author. The entire book lacks a flow from point to point which should pull the reader through the chapters. Even with this said, the true underlying fault in the writing is the complete absence of Tugwell's dark personal life. It is common knowledge, among most New Deal historians, Tugwell had extramarital affairs. However, Michael Namorato does not mention these affairs. In fact, one of these affairs was with a woman who Tugwell later married. This is a major fact which must be included so that the reader can understand what kind of person he was. The author's silence on this topic shows his inability to break away from his own bias. After all, true historians attempt to eliminate their own preconceived biases (Carr). This absence just makes the reader also wonder how much more Namorato is not telling us.

It is true research on Tugwell is much needed but Namorato does not deliver. It is no doubt Michael Namorato is a some what average researcher but the fact he picks and chooses the information he wishes to present severely discredits his objectivity as a historian. This fact combined with a terrible, dry writing style should leave the reader with an undying need never to read another one of his works again. It says on the book, Namorato is a professor at the University of Mississippi. If this is true, this reviewer only hopes he does not torture his students with this abominable book.

Cons
- Horrible readability
- Complete absence of major sections of Tugwell's personal life

Pros
- Good example on how not to write a biography