The Warm Springs Story:

Legacy & Legend

With unique access provided by 13 years as the public relations director at Roosevelt Warm Springs, the renowned rehabilitation facility founded by Franklin Delano Roosevelt in Warm Springs, Georgia during the polio era, F. Martin Harmon recently completed a long overdue story of this special, but surprisingly little appreciated place. In fact, The Warm Springs Story: Legacy & Legend, is not just the FDR history at Warm Springs, but the complete, 200-year story of this largely hidden, historic jewel.

Built upon the lives of thousands of people impacted by its compassionate care and enduring spirit over the last nine decades, it’s a story defined by FDR, but not limited to just one of our most famous Americans. From Native American legends to one of mankind’s greatest achievements, the eradication of polio; from near closure to rebirth and unfulfilled destiny; and from constantly missed opportunities to FDR’s still abiding influence, this uniquely regional history is shared in its entirety. Along with major milestones, the book features the individual stories of significant characters throughout, a different sort of historical script, conveying a much broader and deeper message when paired with the chronological events.

In addition, the saga of Warm Springs’ earliest settlers and West Georgia’s most prominent families; the modern history of rehabilitation so tied to Warm Springs’ past; the genesis of the independent living movement inspired by FDR’s own, personal triumph over disability; the development of a unique, healing community of polio survivors and medical experts in the Georgia backwoods; the realities of healthcare in the South before, during, and after Civil Rights; the previously unreported and unrealized dreams Roosevelt had for the old resort; and the economic opportunities missed, lost, or ignored at such an undervalued but nationally significant historic site are just a few of the topics addressed in the book. Its legacies and legends are sure to interest a variety of readers.