Alice: Alice Roosevelt Longworth, from White House Princess to Washington Power Broker Paperback – Illustrated, September 30, 2008

Next to Ron Chernow's "Hamilton", this is one of the best politically related books I have read. Alice's whole life was about the world of politics although she never held an office. Being the daughter of Teddy Roosevelt, this is not surprising.The fact that she could publicly criticize her relatives, FDR and Eleanor, and still remain one of the most influential people in Washington speaks to her charm and independence. She obviously had a very brilliant mind and enhanced it by reading extensively about science, philosophy etc. She could discuss various subjects in depth with experts in their field. Her love life was not what should have been acceptable but it never lessened her power or influence with the famous and powerful. I knew that Alice was a handful when she was young but I didn't realize how independent in thought and action she was until the end of her long life. I found the book to draw a very in depth portrait of a most unusual, intelligent and witty woman. The author did a thorough job of researching the life of Alice Roosevelt Longsworth.

So happy to have this interesting bio!

An amateur psychologist like myself can have a field day with this story. Her mother died shortly after Alice's birth, and her father bundled her off to an aunt who doted on her. But at age three when father re-married, she found herself with a step-mother with stricter parenting styles. Rebellion was a certain result. She demanded attention at home, lavished on it when her family moved into the White House, and lived with it for her entire life. Was she searching for a father figure when her husband, her lover and another intimate male friends were much older than she? Her personality was further forged by adversity: father's loss of the 1912 election and later death, deaths of brothers, drunkenness and infidelity of husband, and problems with her daughter.You cannot help like the fighting spirit of the woman portrayed in this book, but she had a decided mean streak. One person who bore the brunt of her scorn was her cousin Eleanor, wife of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. And if truth be told, Eleanor's accomplishments far exceed those of sharp-tongued Alice and have left a longer, larger legacy. Nevertheless, the book is very well written, extensively researched and documented. Bibliography and footnotes make up almost a fourth of the contents. It's a very good read.

Stacy Cordery shows us the complete and unvarnished Alice Roosevelt Longworth -- warts and all. Far more than the first daughter of President TR and glamorous DC socialite hostess, Alice was an autodidact savant with an in-depth knowledge of boundless topics. She could discuss politics with the King of Spain, astronomy with astro-physicists, or cuts of meat with the local butcher and never be found wanting. Irreverent, iconoclastic, ascerbically witty with incredible insights into politics and everything else imaginable, she awed and entertained admirers and detractors alike. Ms Cordery portrays Alice as a practical intellectual, not an academic dilettante. Thanks to Cordery's fascinating portrait, I feel that I am now a new friend and admirer of one of the truly great personalities of the 20th century."Princess Alice" was one of a kind.

Often gets lost in the words rather than telling a story. Drags on. Content is good though.

At 640 pages this is a not a short read, yet it was over all too quickly. A life as remarkable s Alice Roosevelt's might require a couple more books of this length, if it can be distilled into print at all. Very enjoyable, well written, and well researched.

Very interesting person who I had always wanted to know about. THe book took alittle time to really get rolling but then it was very very good. Bought this copy for a friend who I told about it. The author really tried a little to hard to make her likeable which I get the feeling she wasn't. Too prickly and way to jealous of Eleanor and Franklin but interesting. A real sore loser. But when you are talking family it's hard to be magnamous

Really enjoyable. Highly recommend.

Really enjoyed this biography. It was very well written and held my attention all the way through.