“The Woman Behind the New Deal” (Doubleday, 398 pages, $35), by Kirstin Downey: Reading the biography of FDR’s labor secretary, Frances Perkins, brings to mind the old saying about how Ginger Rogers had to do everything Fred Astaire did, except backward and in high heels.

Perkins, the first female Cabinet member, not only had to do more than her male counterparts to prove herself, she had to do it while dealing with rough-and-tumble labor leaders, a husband in and out of mental institutions, condescending bureaucrats and some Congress members hellbent on impeaching her.

Perkins would have notched a place in history simply by taking the job. But she earned it through a jaw-dropping number of accomplishments: She took a major role in shepherding through Social Security, unemployment insurance, child labor laws and the minimum wage.

One problem with the book is that Perkins lacked the sort of larger-than-life personality that can propel a narrative through dry patches, such as legislative battles over Social Security. Still, the story of a Cabinet member who really did care and really did make a difference is relevant now.