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FDR's Folly: How Roosevelt and His New Deal Prolonged the Great Depression 68 reviews
Jim Powell
Three Rivers Press, 2004
Valuable Resource on the Great Depression
A common historical misconception is that FDR's New Deal rescued the United States from the Great Depression. However, CATO Historian Jim Powell argues that the New Deal exacerbated and elongated the Great Depression. With impressive attention to detail, Powell examines the long-term results of the New Deal and persuasively argues that they crippled the U.S. economy.
In this detailed book, ...
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FDR's 12 Apostles: The Spies Who Paved the Way for the Invasion of North Africa 1 review
Hal Vaughan
The Lyons Press, 2006
WWII history
Read this if you want to know what US schools do not teach about the real history of WWII. Fascinating.
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The Defining Moment: FDR's Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope 36 reviews
Jonathan Alter
Simon & Schuster, 2007
Fascinating re-telling of FDR's rise
The first 100 days of FDR's first administration are the focal point of this recently published work. Alter uses several chapters to re-introduce us to FDR the man, and also to provide background on the socio-economic situation in America at the time. Some of the more powerful insights show how Roosevelt's struggle with polio changed him from the sneering, privileged, upper class twit of his ...
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FDR43 reviews
Jean Edward Smith
Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2008
History enhanced
I purchased this book on my Kindle because I felt woefully uninformed about FDR. My parents, born after the turn of the 19th century felt that FDR literally saved them and this country from a fate that had been launched by government policies of lassez faire that left everyone to their own devices. On the other hand, for years I have heard FDR put down as someone who opened up the country to ...
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The Presidential Difference: Leadership Style from FDR to George W. Bush15 reviews
Fred I. Greenstein
Princeton University Press, 2004
Review
Greenstein's The Presidential Difference is short and sweet. It condenses the story of our Presidents from FDR to George W. Bush into an easy to read manner. Each chapter is dedicated to a President and gives six points upon which they are evaluated, which makes comparisons with other Presidents in the book easy. Even with only 223 pages nothing seems to be left out. The book is engaging from ...
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Electing FDR: The New Deal Campaign of 1932 (American Presidential Elections) 4 reviews
Donald A. Ritchie
University Press of Kansas, 2007
The Change Election
Much has been made of the fact that 2008 is a "change" election year, a rarity in our nation's history. "Electing FDR", a terrific and revealing look at the election of 1932, is a good comparison to today...it ushered in the most profound transformations of the twentieth century, many of which are still in evidence. The passing of the baton from Herbert Hoover to Frankin Delano Roosevelt has ...
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FDR: Into the Storm 1937-19402 reviews
Kennet S. Davis
Random House, 1995
Extraordinary detail, but somewhat biased towards FDR
I have read Davis' entire four volume set on FDR and found this volume excellent on detail, but somewhat biased in favor of FDR and his war-time policies. Davis has a novelistic flair to his writing that can make what might be a dry subject quite interesting and exciting. I understand there will be a fifth volume from Davis in this series. If anyone can provide more detail as to the status of ...
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Roosevelt's Secret War: FDR and World War II Espionage19 reviews
Joseph E. Persico
Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2002
Awesome achievement
Sometimes a work of history is so thoroughly researched, so rich in detail, so comprehensive and so lucidly presented as to be considered art.
Such is Joseph Perisco's, "Roosevelt's Secret War." For anyone interested in FDR, World War II or wartime espionage this book is a must.
Perisco is an unabashed fan of FDR. Some readers will doubtless take issue with the author's interpretations of a ...
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Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Champion of Freedom53 reviews
Conrad Black
PublicAffairs, 2005
Astonishing brilliant bio of America's greatest president
We would be remiss to not credit Washington with defining the parameters of the powers of the Presidency, but for all intent and purposes, as far as impact is concerned, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the greatest President in the nation, including Lincoln. We must remember that history tends to overestimate martyrdom. As good as Lincoln was, he was never tested in a peace time setting.
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CHARACTER ABOVE ALL: Ten Presidents from FDR to George Bush5 reviews
Simon & Schuster, 1997
Informative, entertaining, worth rereading many times
We all have a book or two that's a favorite; one you cherish a bit more than others. This book is that kind for me. Studying our country's presidents is a hobby of mine so I snatched this title up at the local bookstore a few years ago. Even today, I still read specific sections about any one of the Presidents from FDR to George Bush. This is the perfect book for your summer reading list. ...
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FDR: A Biography4 reviews
Ted Morgan
Simon & Schuster (Paper), 1986
This is the One
FDR is a frustrating figure, in my opinion, because he was so big, and so transformative a leader (to pin James MacGregor Burns's taxonomy of leadership onto him) that every other biography of him I have seen has become reduced to simply the author's bias and idiosyncratic interpretation of him. Some little twerp laboring over a PhD thesis for 10 years gives us a whole book on FDR and the ...
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FDR: Nothing to Fear1 review
Speechworks
SoundWorks, 1995
Great Book!
This is a great book. FDR may be a favorite of yours or not, regardless his speeches desereve to be read. FDR was an inspirational speaker who moved the masses with his words. He has left us with many timeless and priceless quotes that can be found in the speeches featured in this book. I would highly recommend this book to any one looking for a boost in confidence. FDR's words make you ...
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The Plot to Seize the White House: The Shocking True Story of the Conspiracy to Overthrow FDR18 reviews
Jules Archer
Skyhorse Publishing, 2007
"Fascinating and alarmingly true!" - Time Magazine
Smedley Darlington Butler - A U.S. Marine War hero picked by the corporate elite to oust FDR so they could install their own fascist dictator. Impossible you say? You've never heard of him because they don't teach this stuff in school. I guess it's not that important... Or maybe the wrong people would have to be hung for treason. If Butler had not been such a stand-up guy, WWII would have been ...
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The Second Bill of Rights: FDR's Unfinished Revolution--And Why We Need It More Than Ever7 reviews
Cass Sunstein
Basic Books, 2006
FDR's vision
The idea of the Second Bill of Rights appeared in the classic State of the Union address by Franklin Roosevelt in 1944, and is an underground current of American culture. It was also in part the inspiration for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. That this speech, and the real FDR, is so little known tells us something of the times, but the birth of an idea foretells perhaps its future ...
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FDR & Stalin; A Not So Grand Alliance2 reviews
Amos Perlmutter
University of Missouri Press, 1993
A must read for WWII history buffs and students alike.
Great Book! One of the most accurate accounts of FDR & Stalin
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In the Shadow of FDR: From Harry Truman to George W. Bush1 review
William E. Leuchtenburg
Cornell University Press, 2001
Examines the Lasting Impact of FDR 55 Years Later
Leuchtenburg, and esteemed historian of the Roosevelt era, examines the profound, lasting impact of Roosevelt's policies on America for many decades following his presidency and how future presidents have operated in Roosevelt's shadow. (The book will need to be revised again due to the Bush plan to privatize Social Security - although FDR's original plan was more modest than the current system, ...
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FDR: The New Deal Years 1933-19374 reviews
Kenneth S. Davis
Random House, 1995
Past is future
This really is a remarkable book and outstanding contribution to FDR scholarship. All of the books in this series are probably the best books on the life and times of Franklin Roosevelt, but I think this is one is the best. In this, the second volume in the series Davis explores just how much of the early stages of FDR's presidency owed to his career as governor, how his concerns as governor ...
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American-Made: The Enduring Legacy of the WPA: When FDR Put the Nation to Work10 reviews
Nick Taylor
Bantam, 2008
American Made
This is an excellent book and a great addition to history. I knew very little about the Worker's Progress Association until I saw the author speak about his book on Book TV. I was ignorant of the great works that the WPA did and had always had a negative view of the WPA. Since I have read the book I have talked with several people whose parents actually worked for the WPA and heard wonderful ...
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FDR: The War President, 1940-1943: A History11 reviews
Kenneth S. Davis
Random House, 2000
An inscrutable mystery......
To the layman, FDR's name is associated with Pearl Harbour dilemma and the consequential entry of USA into WWII.
We have read the memoirs of Winston Churchill and seen impassioned appeals (some were even desperate) by the Allied player (France's Reynaud and England's WC) to the American President to interfere. Yet the appeals never effectively addressed the American public opinion.
The French ...
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Warm Springs: Traces of a Childhood at FDR's Polio Haven9 reviews
Susan Richards Shreve
Mariner Books, 2008
Memory Springs
This book was beautiful, honest and thoughtful. To remember what it was to be 11 or 16 or 25 and what was important to us then and to keep from judging our younger selves seems to be part of our job after middle age. After being parents ourselves we can be more forgiving to our own parents and having been children we can keep from judging our children. Susan Shreve takes her story and through ...
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