The defining moment: FDR's hundred days and the triumph of hope

Prologue: Sunday, March 5, 1933

pt. 1: Lightweight steel. Security ; "My boy Franklin" ; "Miss Nancy" ; Eleanor and Sara ; Dilettante ; "The medieval gnome" ; The operator ; The "ghastly affliction"

Warm Springs dress rehearsal ; "I've got to be it myself"

pt. 2: The ascent: 1932. "Brother, can you spare a dime?" ; "This doesn't go for above the neck" ; "Try something" for "the forgotten man" ; The Brain Trust ; The hair-splitter ; The "corkscrew candidate" ; Off the reservation ; Flight to Chicago ; The Bonus Army ; The trial of Jimmy Walker ; "Hang Hoover!"

pt. 3: The crisis: winter 1933. The perfect foil ; Under the mattress ; "Wooden roof" and other cabinetry ; Nearly martyred in Miami ; "Damn the secretary" ; "Gabriel over the White House" ; The hairy hand ; Reluctant First Lady ; "Like hell I will!"

pt. 4: The Hundred Days. "Fear itself" ; The consecration ; "An injection of adrenalin" ; "Action now" ; That temperament ; Holiday spirit ; "Surpassing charm" ; That voice ; "The chief croupier" ; Roosevelt's "tree army" ; The blue eagle ; Social Security ; "Dr. New Deal"

Appendix: Inaugural address, March 4, 1933 ; First Fireside Chat, March 12, 1933.