The Book, the Man, and the Venue — Warren G. Harding
Book Review — "Warren G. Harding: The American Presidents Series" by John W. Dean
Welcome back to “The Book, the Man and the Venue”, my weekly newsletter that aims to shed light on every U.S. president in a way that is engaging, informative, and hopefully, fun!
Every Monday, I’ll be releasing a new article in which I chronicle my journey through one biography for each U.S. President. Each post will consist of three parts: I’ll offer a brief review of the biography (the Book), share reflections on the president’s character and legacy (the Man), and choose a location where I would spend time with the president if they were alive today (the Venue).
Hopefully, you will find the content both enriching and enjoyable, and if you like what you read, please consider checking out my other articles (and subscribing if you don’t already)!
Without further ado: Warren G. Harding
The Book
Warren Gamaliel Harding’s life was filled with both personal and professional scandals. As such, history has often ranked his presidency as one of the worst five in this nation’s history. And yet, one would not get this impression from John W. Dean’s (yes the one from Watergate) “Warren G. Harding”.
As the author states in his prologue, “my undertaking has not been to challenge or catalogue all those who have gotten it wrong about Harding, only to get it right. Yet when assembling my narrative, I found myself often addressing, and flagging, the distorted and false Harding history, not because I want to write a brief for Warren Harding, but rather because I was curious to discern as best I could the truth of who he was, how he was elected, and how he operated and performed as president of the United States.”
If one takes the author’s own words at face value – namely that his objective was to provide a carefully balanced assessment of Harding’s life and presidency – unfortunately he has failed his mission. Far from the impartial narrative that is promised, Dean clearly took to heart the role of a white knight coming to restore his hometown hero’s reputation. As such, his biography is one that is not necessarily bad, but certainly flawed.
I had a few particular problems with Dean’s interpretation of Harding's life. First, he moves too briskly through Harding’s pre-presidential years. In this aspect, the author is not directly to blame. As I have come to expect from books from the American Presidency Series (APS), authors have minimal leeway regarding page count, inevitably forcing Dean to make editorial choices for the sake of brevity.
More frustrating, however, is the way in which Dean addresses Harding’s scandals. After giving the reader seven chapters illustrating how Harding’s reputation has been mangled by historians, Dean quickly rushes through the litany of transgressions committed by/around Harding in a way that seems as if he is almost trying to sweep them under the rug. Further, while his passionate dismantling of Nan Britton’s claims is quite persuasive, subsequent evidence has demonstrated that his perspective is simply incorrect. As such, Dean’s remaining assertions feel less credible to the informed reader.
Nonetheless, the book itself is pretty solid. Dean’s biases are easy enough to overcome, and he offers many arguments in favor of Harding’s reputation that are actually quite persuasive. While the book shies away from the salacious side of Harding that is the most interesting, overall, it is not a bad place to get an introduction to the man whose reputation has only eroded as time has passed.
Rating: 5.4/10
The Man
I don’t often dole out advice in these blog posts, but I am going to do so right now. If you like drama, you NEED to pick up a book about Warren Harding. After 28 presidents, I’ve seen my fair share of extramarital affairs. From Thomas Jefferson to Grover Cleveland and Woodrow Wilson – not to mention the slew of presidents I have coming up shortly – there have been a depressing amount of men in the Oval Office who have been unfaithful to their wives.
But when I tell you that my man Warren WENT for it. Oh boy – this guy was on a different level. Not only did he have two separate affairs and a child out of wedlock, but HE GOT AFTER IT IN THE DMs. Early in his life, Warren Harding was an owner and publisher of the Marion Daily Star, and you better believe that he put his journalism background to good use. Just check out this letter he sent to his longtime mistress Carrie Phillips – who by the way was married to one of his best friends:
“Oh, Carrie! I want the solace you only can give. It is awful to hunger so and be so wholly denied. . . . Wouldn’t you like to hear me ask if we only dared and answer, “We dare,” while souls rejoicing sang the sweetest of choruses in the music room? Wouldn’t you like to get sopping wet out on Superior—not the lake—for the joy of fevered fondling and melting kisses? Wouldn’t you like to make the suspected occupant of the next room jealous of the joys he could not know, as we did in morning communion at Richmond?”
Or how about this absolute gem:
“I love your poise
Of perfect thighs
When they hold me
in paradise. . . .
I love the rose
Your garden grows
Love seashell pink
That over it glows
I love to suck
Your breath away
I love to cling—
There long to stay…
I love you garb’d
But naked more
Love your beauty
To thus adore…
I love you when
You open eyes
And mouth and arms
And cradling thighs…
If I had you today, I’d kiss and
fondle you into my arms and
hold you there until you said,
‘Warren, oh, Warren,’ in a
benediction of blissful joy.”
Finally, a personal favorite:
“Oh, Carrie mine! You can see I have yielded and written myself into wild desire. I could beg. And Jerry came and will not go, says he loves you, that you are the only, only love worthwhile in all this world, and I must tell you so and a score or more of other fond things he suggests, but I spare you. You must not be annoyed. He is so utterly devoted that he only exists to give you all. I fear you would find a fierce enthusiast today.”
There are dozens of more letters where these came from, but I know what you astute readers must be thinking: is Jerry who I think it is?
Yup, that's right, the 29th president of the United States had a nickname for his own private part. God Bless America.
I often try to end these sections with something I found interesting from the book or a meaningful takeaway for those of you reading at home. Today, I end only with this: Warren, my brother, you are lucky you died before Twitter was invented.
The Venue
Warren Harding (somewhat unsurprisingly) loved to play poker. During his time as a Senator, Harding hosted poker nights at his home a few times a week, a tradition which he would continue during his time in the White House. According to Ike Hoover, the White House Usher who spent 42 years serving different presidents, Harding would host poker sessions beginning “immediately after dinner…until twelve-thirty or one o’clock.” Apparently, Harding once even gambled away a set of White House China to Louise Cromwell Brooks during a hand. As the story goes:
“All at once during the game President Harding said, ‘Louise, let's play a cold hand of poker -- just the two of us -- winner names the stakes.’
‘Whatever you want I will do,’ he assured her. But as the handsome Chief Executive was obviously attracted to her, she agreed to the stakes ‘with reservations,’ she said.
She won. And when he asked her to name her price, the heiress replied, ‘I'll take a set of White House China.’
‘The very next day,’ continued Mrs. Heiberg, with a chuckle of recollection, ‘a barrel of china of the Benjamin Harrison administration was delivered at my door.’”
I need to get in one of those games.
I hope that you’ve enjoyed this installment of “The Book, the Man, and the Venue.” If you have feedback about today’s issue, or thoughts about future topics, please feel free to send me a message.
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Oh wow what a writer… There should be a book of all his letters