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Lawmakers and Legislators in Pennsylvania: A Biographical Dictionary. Vol. One: 1682-1709 (review)

three continents" and whose life was irrevocably set on the path of public service and, eventually, American politics. In tracking the transition years of 1914 to 1917, Nash demonstrates that "the world of philanthropy was no place for the meek." His detailed narrative, based on extensive research in US, British, and Belgian archives, praises Hoover and provides insights into the political intrigue, personal ambition, petty rivalries, and diplomatic infighting that constantly challenged him and the CRB. Hoover had to confront not only the British and the Germans, neither of whom would take responsibility for feeding the trapped Belgians, but also fellow philanthropists such as John D. Rockefeller, Jr. who tried to establish rival organizations or to commandeer the CRB. Throughout all these wearisome struggles, Hoover proved himself to be adroit and dogged in his determination to save the Belgians, brilliantly blending his idealism with practical efficiency. In 1915 one colleague wrote, "I should like to see H. C.H. run for President. He has all the qualities requiredrare common sense and judgment—wonderful executive ability—and high idealism of a practical sort. The only trouble is nobody ever heard of him." By 1928 millions of Americans would have heard of him, and voted for him, only to see him fail at the very task that initially made him famous: relief of the destitute. Readers will have to await the next projected volumes to understand more of this irony. For readers particularly interested in Quaker history, Nash's Life of Hoover provides occasional glimpses, though no sustained analysis of his views regarding pacifism, preparedness and peace. (Although the index indicates only one item on "Quakers," there are at least six other relevant references scattered through the text.) In 1914, Hoover was "no advocate of fashionable prewar panaceas for international peace," concluding instead that competing national movements made "preparedness for war" the "only safeguard of peace"; in March, 1917 he declared himself "a pacifist, but not a peace-at-any-price pacifist. ' ' Throughout these three years formal religious observances were "entirely absent" from Hoover's life. Though still nominally a Quaker, he had no contact with Friends groups in London; in explaining and justifying his humanitarian mission, he did not offer an explicitly Christian rationale. Nevertheless, he defended his wartime plans to limit American extravagance "in dress and display" as "not only good for the conduct of the war but for our souls." Whatever his motivations, Hoover and his incredible adventure in international altruism deserved a responsible re-telling. Nash's carefully crafted biography provides just such a service for history and for its readers.