The Colony Club, Jonathan Alter and the Hundred Days
by
Richard J. Garfunkel
May 22, 2006
It is really a small world out there and almost all of us are only “Six Degrees of Separation” from any and everyone. Recently through the excellent connections of my lovely wife Linda, I was able to get in contact with one of Newsweek’s best, Mr. Jonathan Alter. Mr. Alter, who after his graduation from Harvard in 1979, established a well-respected career as a journalist for the Washington Monthly before joining Newsweek in 1983. Along with his numerous awards he has gathered while at Newsweek as an outstanding columnist and editor, he has found time to be on NBC Today Show, be heard on Don Imus and contribute to The New Republic, The NY Times, and Esquire. He even was a visiting professor at Princeton in 1997. My son Jon was there then and even though he was always interested in politics and government, and was elected to office at Princeton, he was too tied up with his engineering load to get over to sit in on Jonathan Alter’s class on “Press and Politics”
After learning of Alter’s new book on Franklin Roosevelt, The Defining Moment: FDR’s First Hundred Days, I took the liberty of writing to him about my interest on the very same subject. Before long I started sending him pieces that I had written on the great man. When I received, my now autographed, copy of his book on FDR, I started to read his wonderful book and send my perspectives on some of his interesting vignettes. I finally finished it the other day and sent him a final email last night regarding my thoughts on his book.
By late afternoon I received his latest note and a separate email inviting us to the famous Colony Club for a cocktail party sponsored by the Roosevelt Institute in his honor.
—–Original Message—–
From: Alter, Jonathan [mailto:Jonathan.Alter@newsweek.com]
Sent: Monday, May 22, 2006 3:19 PM
To: 'Richard Garfunkel'
Subject: RE: The Defining Moment- May 21, 2006
all good ideas, thanks…i did imus and he helped a lot…oprah is not likely…see you tonight!
—–Original Message—–
From: Richard Garfunkel [mailto:rjg727@optonline.net]
Sent: Monday, May 22, 2006 4:16 PM
To: Alter, Jonathan
Subject: RE: The Defining Moment- May 21, 2006
There is a tremendous amount of interest in FDR amongst people my age (61) and older. One of the ways that you can reach some of these people is to have your publicist contact service organizations like the Rotary Club. I have spoken in front of 500 at the meeting of the Old Guard Assoc. in White Plains. I gave my speech on FDR/MacArthur at the Elmsford Rotary and there are 40 other Rotary Clubs in this area. I do it to grow my Long-Term Care Ins. business. In a way I meet people and tell them what I really do. There is no doubt that there is a disconnect amongst the younger generation, ages 17-31, and they do not read. I have been sponsoring an essay contest, in the name of my late friend Jon Breen, a Harvard Law School grad and a Fulbright scholar for 13 years and I have met countless young high school people, who are AP students and Ivy League caliber. I do annual lectures on FDR, The New Deal, WWII and similar subjects regarding the Presidency. To many this subject is real ancient history and they have a tough time relating. The book buying and reading population is out there but it is tougher to isolate. I know friends that participate in book clubs and discuss their latest choice. There maybe some umbrella organization that connects many of these book clubs. If one can get one's book on their agenda, things can happen. Obviously people like Ophra and Imus have developed an audience that maybe influenced by their “plug.” My sense is that you could go up to Hyde Park, and see if you can do a book signing and a talk at the library. The bottom line is to have your book on the top of FDR list. But even Martin Gilbert asked me to give him some ideas on how he can get his book more visibility. I had suggested to my sister, Mrs. Charles (Kaaren) Hale to have a book party amongst her friends in Belgravia where she lives. She has just written a book and told me that she would love to attend an event, but wouldn't host it! Manhattanville had a series where authors came and spoke on their books. I saw and listened to Martin Gilbert, Blanche Wiesen Cook and James Bradley (Flag of Our Fathers) who is a riveting speaker. Meanwhile we'll talk more soon.
I just got your email about the Colony Club and Linda and I will be there- Richard
—–Original Message—–
From: Alter, Jonathan [mailto:Jonathan.Alter@newsweek.com]
Sent: Monday, May 22, 2006 1:14 PM
To: 'Richard Garfunkel'
Subject: RE: The Defining Moment- May 21, 2006
Hi, Richard…. It was so wonderful to get your missive this morning. I hope to sell the book to lots of people who don't know much about FDR, but I actually wrote it looking for the approval of people like you–who have read so much about him. It was very difficult deciding what to keep and what to cut–I cut more than 25,000 words out of the book at the suggestion of my editor, who argued, rightly, I think, that a shorter book would work better. But it was painful. You mention Warren Delano, for instance. He was a great character and much that I learned about him was left on the cutting-room floor. (Though you might have noticed that there's practically another book entirely in the End Notes!). I'm not sure I agree that FDR should have served a fifth, sixth and seventh term had he lived (and I think he would have gratefully retired to Hilltop after his fourth). But I agree that Leuchtenberg's book on his legacy is marvelous. We ALL live in the shadow of FDR!!
A question for you: How do I get the word out about the book among people old enough to remember him? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
—–Original Message—– From: Richard Garfunkel [mailto:rjg727@optonline.net] Sent: Sunday, May 21, 2006 11:19 PM To: Jonathan.alter@newsweek.com Subject: The Defining Moment- May 21, 2006
I called Linda, who works on 56th Street and Madison and said, “Do you want to go to the Colony Club?” and I was happy she agreed. Mrs. J. (Jefferson) Borden Harriman originally founded the Colony Club, the oldest women’s club in New York, in 1902, with help from her friends (Mrs. John Jacob Astor and Mrs. Payne Whitney.) In its second location at 564 Park Avenue, where it has stood since 1916, the Georgian-style edifice may have claimed Eleanor Roosevelt as a member. But when she and her mother-in-law, Sara Delano Roosevelt were invited to be charter members they had refused. It was built originally on 120 Madison Avenue, from a design by Stanford White (remember him from Ragtime, when he was shot and killed by Evelyn Nesbitt’s estranged husband, Harry K. Thaw, in the roof garden of the old Madison Square Garden!) Delano and Aldrich, who also built Kykuit, in Sleepy Hollow, the home of the Rockefeller dynasty that overlooks the Hudson and the Palisades, designed the present building. William Adams Delano (1874-1960) of the Massachusetts Delano’s, and Chester Holmes Aldrich (1871-1940) were Beaux Arts architects and designers for elite clients in NYC.
I made excellent time from Tarrytown and before long I was exiting on the FDR Drive at 71st and heading east to Park Avenue. I decided to look for a parking space anywhere I could find one. But luckily, as I approached 63rd Street going south on Park, a Rolls Royce, mind you, pulled out of a space almost directly in front of 564 Park. How fortuitous, no less convenient. I parked, walked 50 feet to the building, was checked in by the doorman and sent up to the 7th floor outside patio. I was the first one there and eventually Linda came in with Chris Breiseth, a member of the Roosevelt family and a Roosevelt Institute senior board member. We had met when I helped chair the revival of the famous Roosevelt Birthday Balls, which we again held on January 30, 2003 at the Culinary Institute and Hyde Park. (FDR and Dana Garfunkel were born on January 30th!) Not long after that our guest of honor arrived along with other Roosevelt aficionados. Jonathan Alter quickly felt right at home with his admirers and captivated the group with stories from his book.
It was a grand time, with marvelous canapés and drinks to satiate the digestive tract and lubricate the palate. I brought along a few FDR items from my collection and along with Linda, Jonathan Alter and the son of John C. Winant, who was a two-term Governor of New Hampshire and our wartime Ambassador to Great Britain, we tried to identify some of the dignitaries in a picture with FDR. So the book is The Defining Moment; FDR’s Hundred Days, and if you want to enjoy a very readable book that chronicles FDR’s pivotal roll in the saving of America, please read it this summer.