When FDR took his oath of office in March 1933, thousands of banks had gone under, a quarter of American workers were unemployed, farmers were in open rebellion, and hungry people had descended on garbage dumps. By the end of the Hundred Days, he and his inner circle had reinvented the role of the federal government and assumed active responsibility for the welfare of all its citizens. Adam Cohen offers a riveting group portrait of the five members of FDR's inner circle who played pivotal roles in this unprecedented transformation. Book jacket.