Lecture and book signing at the Fort Orange Club in Albany. Monday, November 30, at 6 pm. Open to members and their guests. Full flyer available to download here.
Robert F. Cross, a former award-winning newspaper correspondent, is also author of Shepherds of the Sea: Destroyer Escorts in World War II published by the Naval Institute Press in 2010. He is a trustee of the USS Slater, the last destroyer escort still afloat in the United States. Cross previously served as Commissioner and Chairman of the Board of the Port of Albany and also Water Commissioner for the City of Albany. He was an assistant environmental commissioner for New York State in the administration of Governor Mario M. Cuomo. He has written for The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and several other newspapers and magazines, and has appeared on C-Span’s Book TV and American History TV.
He lives in Albany, New York and Nantucket, Massachusetts with his wife, Sheila, a physician, and Fala, their West Highland White Terrier. He currently is at work on a new book exploring activities in and around America’s East Coast seaports during World War II. For more information, please visit the author’s webpage at www.robertfcross.com.
Robert Cross’ first book, Sailor in the White House, a biography of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, was originally published in 2003. A new softcover edition was released in August 2015. Secret Service agents, family, and old sailing pals share stories about their days on the water with America’s greatest seafaring president. A natural blue water sailor, FDR could read the water and tides, logging hundreds of thousands of miles afloat. The author argues that the skills required to be a good sailor are the same ones that made FDR a successful politician: the ability to alter courses, make compromises and shift positions as the situation warrants. This perspective shows how Roosevelt’s love of the sea shaped his presidency and, indeed, the entire world.