Reviews for Franklin D. Roosevelt : a political life

Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Presidential historian Dallek follows up his well-received An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963 with his third and most comprehensive work on Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945) to date. After briefly covering Roosevelt's college years and early political career, the book chronologically recounts the politician's greatest challenges, including trying presidential elections and the years leading up to and during World War II. Dallek's familiarity with his subject and deep understanding of American history and context shines in his clear and engaging prose. The author keeps his focus almost entirely on Roosevelt's political life. For example, a chapter on the leader's struggles with polio is also cast in a political light. There is less information on his life with wife Eleanor and his extended family. Although lengthy, the narrative manages to move quickly through a dense subject; readers will gain a solid sense of Roosevelt's political mind and an inspiring appreciation of his mighty character. VERDICT This highly recommended, expertly crafted book will please a variety of readers, especially those interested in biographies as well as presidential, military, and American history.-Benjamin Brudner, Curry Coll. Lib., Milton, MA © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.


Choice
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.

Nearly 40 years ago, preeminent presidential scholar and biographer Dallek first wrote about the nation's 32nd president in Franklin D. Roosevelt and American Foreign Policy (1979). His fascination and respect for the political longevity of FDR's career and the sheer weight of his political accomplishments frame the narrative of this new book. From Roosevelt's first election as an undergraduate at Harvard (a losing effort) through his second reelection campaign in 1944, Dallek regards FDR's drive and political instincts as nothing short of brilliant. He credits FDR for his extraordinary leadership as a campaigner in 1932 and then as the ambitious launcher of the New Deal. Roosevelt's ability to steer public opinion in 1940 when it came time to oppose Hitler and his allies also garners praise. But Dallek also doles out equal shares of criticism, holding Roosevelt accountable for his failure to support anti-lynching legislation (and civil rights), for lending support to the mass incarceration of Japanese Americans, and for failing to be more proactive about assisting victims of the Holocaust. The fact that Dallek writes beautifully will only be seen as a bonus when reading this extraordinary book. Summing Up: Essential. All levels/libraries. --Bob Miller, University of Cincinnati-Clermont


Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

*Starred Review* Dallek, among our leading presidential biographers (JFK, LBJ), now takes on the daunting task of providing a comprehensive one-volume biography of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He succeeds in presenting the abundance of information in a flowing and highly readable narrative, and he supports FDR's story with memorable sketches of the president's many associates Harry Hopkins and Louis Howe, among them his varied opponents, the foreign leaders who served opposite him (Dallek is particularly good on Churchill), and many others. Eleanor, too, is portrayed in full, complete with a notably honest account of her marriage to Franklin. Among this book's other strengths are the coverage of the isolationists who opposed America's entry into WWII, the lead-up to the cross-channel invasion, and FDR's paralysis, especially the manner in which he handled it and the ways in which it shaped him. His leadership skills and communication, including his use of radio, are also discussed intelligently. Dallek admires FDR's experimental temper even in the absence of a preconceived plan, say, for the New Deal. The book is drawn largely from secondary works (a notable exception being letters between FDR and his distant cousin Daisy, quotations from which enhance the personal dimension). It is the nature of biographies of this type to bypass the negative, but we are reminded that FDR's role regarding refugee Jews, the internment of Japanese-Americans, and the treatment of African Americans was less than noble. In all, a first-rate biography and a must-buy for most public-library history collections.--Levine, Mark Copyright 2017 Booklist


Publishers Weekly
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Dallek (Camelot's Court), an acclaimed biographer of earlier American presidents, covers nearly every aspect of F.D.R.'s life in a characteristically adroit work that is balanced in coverage and prudent in assessment. While Dallek does not add in any major way to existing knowledge of F.D.R., his emphasis falls on the two great crises of F.D.R.'s presidency-the Depression and WWII-and highlights F.D.R.'s emergence as a skillful politician. Given the book's paucity of attention to issues regarding women, people of color, the environment, and civil and human rights, it's not quite the timely work it is being framed as. When those issues arise it's within chronological coverage of the New Deal and war. Readers may tire from the book's relentless parade of declarative statements, though few will challenge Dallek's characterization of Roosevelt as "an instinctively brilliant politician" and all will benefit from Dallek's principal addition to earlier works on F.D.R.: the convincing argument that as early as May 1943 F.D.R. was showing signs of the illness that would kill him. The result is a comprehensive retelling of a major American life that will rank among the standard biographies of its subject. Agent: John W. Wright, John Wright Literary. (Nov.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

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