The Bully Pulpit of Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft / Boomers and Addiction

Summary: Part A:The early twentieth-century was a turbulent and progressive era of new technology, violence, corporate mergers, and impending reform. Journalism was also in it’s golden age and being led by publisher S.S. McClure and his staff that came to known as muckrakers. At the same time, Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft competed for a presidential nomination and national reform as their friendship disintegrated. Doris Kearns Goodwin explores the lives of these two historical figures and the muckraker journalists which Roosevelt used ingeniously to his political advantage in her first book in eight years titled, The Bully Pulpit. Through meticulous research and enthralling storytelling, Goodwin unveils the story of the explosive friendship two early presidential heavy weights and spurs the rise of muckraker journalism. She also questions whether we are in a new gilded age of communication, or whether modern politicians are just using new technologies in very old ways. Regardless old the answer, The Bully Pulpit transports us to a time that forever changed the nature of journalism and enlightened our nation.Part B:It is a common stereotype that younger Boomers used many drugs in the sixties and seventies, an era in which it was socially acceptable. However, that same generation is often overlooked when it comes to substance abuse in the new millennium. Because of their socialization structure, there are unique issues that need to be addressed when it comes to addiction and drug abuse. Dr. Barbara Krantz, Director of Medical Services and the Medical Director of Research at Hanley Center, describes how addiction affects Boomers differently and new research that will help those struggling with addiction by approaching them at an intellectual level to explain why they need to be treated by specific methods.