Author's note -- 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 -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Acknowedgments.