Book Review: Herbert Hoover’s story told

A new book, "Herbert Hoover” (Henry Holt, $22), separates fact from fiction about Hoover and provides valuable insight about government’s role in economic matters. Part of a series on American presidents, the book is a careful analysis by an eminent historian and scholar, William E. Leuchtenburg.

A child of poverty, Hoover’s energy and ambition drove him to earn a degree from Stanford University. His administrative skills and engineering knowledge made him valuable to mining executives, earning him a fortune while still a young man.

As "food czar,” he fed millions over the world before and during World War I. He was commerce secretary in the administrations of two Republican presidents, Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, and often was more popular than either.

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