FDR

Amazon lists this book at 880 pages. You would think 880 pages would be plenty when telling a biography about anybody. However, when one considers that William Manchester’s wonderful account of Winston Churchill took a total of 3 volumes totaling over 3000 pages, one can start to see that 880 pages covering such a massive historical figure as FDR might be cutting it a tad thin. After reading this book, those were my exact sentiments. A very well written book, but there simply should have been more. I still give this book 5 stars though, because I think it’s fair to review a book on what it is as opposed to what it is not.Although there are lot of people that don’t or didn’t like Franklin Roosevelt, this book clearly shows us that the man was a brilliant orator and a master politician. The best leaders are ones that inspire; they lift us up when times are bad and show us that despite the travails of the country and the individual, we can and will persevere as a nation. FDR was the commander in chief during the two most calamitous times in history during the 20th century; the Great Depression and World War II. I find it somewhat interesting that the former didn’t end until the latter happened, but people stood by their leader with the depression a decade old because he made them feel good about themselves.This is the complete opposite of Roosevelt’s predecessor, Herbert Hoover. Many historians have correctly stated that Roosevelt’s plans and policies weren’t any more effective than Hoover’s, but the two presidents were night and day when it came to talking to an audience.Roosevelt was born into prestige and gobs of old New York money. This, plus the fact that he was handsome and charming was the main reason why he was elevated to the top of local politics. The book seems to suggest that it’s only when Roosevelt succumbs to becoming a paraplegic due to the crippling disease polio, does his heart change for the common man. It’s also quite interesting to read about his hot and cold relationship with the somewhat crooked Tammany Hall political machine in New York City during the 1910s and 1920s.Since I’ve read other books about FDR, as well as many books about FDR’s political counterparts, it’s impossible for me to read this book without making comparisons to other narratives I’ve read. For example, I thought this book was the best biography when covering his early years up to the first half of his presidency. To contrast, the book on FDR by James MacGregor Burns “The Lion and the Fox” (which covered FDR until 1940) was one of the most lifeless, drab books that I have ever read. I wish I had read this one and never bothered with the Burns volume. Ironically, the volume 2 of FDR by Burns, which covered the years 1940-1945, is actually much better than this particular bio. I think that was my main gripe about this book; the war years just weren’t covered in as much detail as they should have been. If I recall, Jean Edward Smith only devotes the last three chapters of this biography to the war years. As I’ve stated, 880 pages really isn’t enough to get the complete picture.Speaking of book comparisons, my favorite compendium of FDR is Doris Kearns Goodwin’s “No Ordinary Time”. That book was more of a co-biography on FDR and wife Eleanor. That book focused on the war years as well, and really did an excellent job paying homage to Eleanor and the great things that she did for her country; mostly in different circles. FDR and Eleanor had a very strange marital relationship, and most of their latter years they seemed more akin as business partners than a married couple happy in love. Again, Jean Edward Smith only scratches the surface when discussing Eleanor as compared to the Doris Kearns Goodwin book.I will say that the only thing about this book that left me feeling a bit cheated was the end. Yes, FDR died in office shortly after his fourth term began in April 1945, but it feels as though the author puts on the breaks to the story too fast. It’s possible that I felt this way since there was a lot of drama that occurred within the six months after FDR’s death; mostly the conclusion of World War II and how the U.S. got where they did. It feels as though there really should have been a coda that talked a bit about things such as Harry Truman, VE Day, and Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Yes, Roosevelt had left us by that point, but he did set the wheels in motion for all of those events to occur, and it would have made a better ending than the abrupt conclusion Smith gives us in this book.I really enjoyed this book. FDR was such a well-known president, though, that I can’t help but recommend to the serious reader that they use this book as a starting point and continue their education with the many other volumes out there to get a more full picture of the times and the places where FDR was at center stage during such a tumultuous time in the nation’s history.

Jean Edward Smith is a fine writer and biographer, with an ear for anecdotes, who paints in broad strokes. As with his biography of U.S. Grant, Smith is a sympathetic admirer of his subject. He's written a solid and easily readable one-volume account of a man whose life could (and has) clearly fill several volumes.Most authors who've written about FDR are very favorable toward Roosevelt and his policies. The resulting cascade of hagiographic books has given rise to a smaller batch of tracts arguing that Roosevelt ushered in all kinds changes detrimental to the long-term health of the U.S.What's yet to be written in a truly balanced account of Roosevelt that judges him as harshly for his failures as it does generously for his successes. Smith's account doesn't do that, either.Roosevelt was a great president and the nation was truly fortunate to have him in charge for his leadership during World War Two. Even if conservative critics are right about most of FDR's economic policies, the perceived harm is outweighed by his masterful guidance of the U.S. in war. His handling of the military and the allies was generally superb.If anything, Roosevelt is underpraised for his actions during his third term. He would not be considered a great president today if his tenure ended after his second term and another president presided over World War Two. Nor would the New Deal be seen in such a favorable light.That's because his handling of the Great Depression is decidedly mixed. FDR signed some vital legislation in the early days of his first year that contributed the future stability of the U.S. economy. Banking and Wall Street reform fit the bill.Yet an impatient Roosevelt, eager for a faster recovery, also pushed laws that extended and even deepened the depression (1937-38). The biggest monstrosity was the National Industrial Recovery Act, arguably the worst piece of economic legislation ever passed in the United States. It was later struck down as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Other acts of folly included the advent of costly farm-crop subsidies that linger to this day and the imposition of tax and regulatory policies that punished business, especially the undistributed profits tax.It was not all FDR's fault. He was not much of a public-policy intellectual and didn't know a lot about economics. The science of economics was not as well understood then as it is now and Roosevelt frequently changed advisers when the results of prior policies were not to his liking.His willingness to constantly change policies - favoring monopolies in his first term, for example, and antitrust enforcement in his second - could be seen as the work of a nimble mind showing "bold, persistent experimentation." Or it could be seen as the sort of inconsistency that confused business and prolonged the bad times.When things did not go Roosevelt's way, he could be extremely vindictive toward his political adversaries. His effort to pack the Supreme Court is a perfect example. He was shockingly disingenuous about his naked political reasons for doing so and he even campaigned against members of his own party who refused to go along (disastrously for FDR, as it turned out).Roosevelt also lacked political courage at key junctures to resist the political tide, such as the move to impress Japanese-Americans after Pearl Harbor. He too easily gets a pass for that ill-fated decision, though in this particular case Smith is unrelenting.In his personal life, FDR strayed on his wife, was often absent for his kids and would distance himself from friends, especially political friends, when he sensed they were no longer useful. In short, he was a gregarious public man who was privately inscrutable. The master politician was not self-reflective and seldom let people know what he really thought.Smith's book only touches on only some of this. He ignores FDR's economic failures, perhaps because he is not deeply versed in the subject matter. He largely skirts past domestic policies after the first year of the New Deal (1933) and the court-packing plan (1937). And he does little to explain exactly why Roosevelt was such a great wartime leader. The war years are rushed through.More details, as another reviewer wrote, would have made the book even better.And yet for all those flaws, Smith has arguably produced the most readable and accessible one-volume biography of Roosevelt. A fuller and fairer treatment of FDR - one that is more critical about his shortcomings - has yet to be written.Perhaps it never will. FDR is in the exalted company of George, Abraham and Teddy - the only presidents who to this day generate deep respect, admiration and even awe among scholars and the general public alike.

A great book about a great President.Franklin Delano Roosevelt had a fascinating life."I'm pledged to no man, I'm influenced by no special interests."--FDR

Excellent livre très détaillé (un peu trop de noms cités) et qui explique clairement le rôle joué par FDR pour transformer ce pays en un état moderne, démocratique et puissant avec un sens très réaliste de la conduite des affaires politiques.

The book could have been equal to his about Eisenhower, but one final chapter is missing : nothing about the funeral, the transfer of power to Pdt Truman, and some remarks or commentaries by people who were close to FDR, even some of his adversaries...

There was a load of hoo-hah when Obama got elected due to the colour of his skin. They are ahead of us Brits on that one. Same for disability. President Roosevelt got himself elected over 80 years ago from a wheelchair, and hardly anybody noticed.Those were the days. Of course they didn't have 24 hour 'news' following everybody everywhere up to and including bathroom back then, but still the lack of vast libraries of photos showing a man in a wheelchair must be a staggering achievement.I suppose coming from a privileged background might have helped, as did having another president in the family (albeit a looney one), but its hard to imagine it being repeated even now. So have we really advanced that much?The book ends a bit abruptly. Biographies always have sad endings, ie the subject dies. But this chap died on 12 April 1945, less than a month before his nemesis Hitler died and the war ended. So a bit of continuity would not have been amiss. But a good read for all that.

The most interesting fact about Jean Edward Smith's FDR is the thorough and complete picture made of a complex individual. Born with such wealth he didn't have to work a day in his life, he nonetheless choose to become a politician. This politician whom everything had come so easily, who had so much in commun with the upper class nevertheless was the savior of the farmers, workers, and middle-class people of America during the depression.The New Deal saved millions from hunger, despair. Single handedly, by sheer force of will and the upmost confidence in himself, he took innovative and risky steps to help the US recover. Electrification of rural regions, education and sound banking policies were the basis of FDR plan.You'll also benefit of the author view about what went on before Pearl Harbor. What did the administration knew? Did FDR deliberately let it happen?Those questions finds answer in the book.However, the only drawback, if you can even call it that is that the relations between FRD, Churchill and "Uncle Joe" Stalin should have been deepen, As the book ended, I wish I had more.