"[A] fine biography....Ms. Smith has filled a small gap in Roosevelt historiography with this compelling personal story."
The Wall Street Journal
"In <i>The Gatekeeper,</i> Kathryn Smith does full justice to the fascinating and heartbreaking life of Missy LeHand, who rose from a working-class background to become a close confidant and trusted adviser to Franklin D. Roosevelt and one of the most influential figures in his administration. Although Missy’s total devotion to FDR made her indispensable to him, she sacrificed much in the process, including other personal relationships and, ultimately, her life. Thanks to Smith,she is — at long last — getting the recognition she deserves."
- Lynne Olson, author of Those Angry Days: Roosevelt, Lindbergh, and America’s Fight Over World War II, 1939-1941,
"A much-needed, balanced...marvelous portrait of a professional woman ahead of her time whose relationship with FDR sheds new light on his personality and decisions."
Kirkus Reviews, starred review
"Highly readable....Smith's biography represents her subject perfectly."
Washington Post
Kathryn Smith’s <i>The Gatekeeper</i> is a vivid, much-needed life of one of the least-known but most consequential figures in FDR’s immediate circle, Missy LeHand. Anyone interested in Roosevelt, the New Deal or the path toward global war will want to snap it up.
- Geoffrey C. Ward, author of A First Class Temperament: The Emergence of FDR,