Franklin K. Lane (1864–1921)

4145 The Letters of Franklin K. Lane Personal and Political, edited by Anne Wintermute Lane and Louise Herrick Wall (read 29 Mar 2006) How many of you know who Lane was? This is an odd book, intended to be an autobiography made up from letters Lane wrote. He was Wilson's Secretary of the Interior from 1913 to 1920. I would have liked more about the cabinet meetings. Many of Lane's comments seem naive or elementary. The letters written in the last six months of his life are quite attention-holding, as he philosophizes about his possible death from an operation he had in May 1921 at Rochester, and what he would like to do in heaven. (He did die four days after the operation.) This is an insightful look into the inner being of a good man who was a good Secretary of the Interior.… (mais)