Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.
Loading... FDR (edition 2007)by Jean Edward Smith
Work InformationFDR by Jean Edward Smith
Loading...
Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. I realize that FDR was a larger than life man and had a HUGE impact on history, however, I thought that though this book was filled with enormous amounts of details, I frequently caught myself thinking "do we really know that's what was going on or was this master speculation?" Other times I was often searching for more details. Well-written and very informative but maybe could have been edited better. Listened to the audiobook for most of it on 1.2-1.5x speed. Good beginning to end biography of FDR. Though it literally just ends when he dies. No wrap up or epilogue to tie things up or anything. I found some of the events covered to be more of a history play by play than giving much insight into what Roosevelt was thinking or why he was doing something. The first time I thought that was during the court packing incident. Later in during the war some of it played the same way. I don't know if this is just because we don't know what he was thinking or if it's because the author was trying to cover so much in one book. My other nitpick with the book was the early focus on Eleanor and then pretty much abandoning what she is doing. In the first half of the book there are at least a couple of chapters devoted to her and what she is doing, FDR builds a house for Eleanor and two of her friends. Later in the book she isn't mentioned much. It is a book about FDR and Eleanor and him were living separate lives at that point so I suppose it makes some sense? Overall I liked this book and it gave me insight into this vast span of time that FDR was president, the New Deal, the preparations for WWII and our actually entry into the war. no reviews | add a review
Awards
Acclaimed biographer Smith combines contemporary scholarship and a broad range of primary source material to narrate the epic life of the president who, more than any other individual, changed the relationship between the American people and their government. We see how Roosevelt's energy, intellect, and personal magnetism permitted him to master countless challenges. Smith recounts FDR's battles with polio and physical disability, and how they helped forge the resolve to surmount the turmoil of the Great Depression and the wartime threats. FDR's private life is also depicted, with close attention paid to the four women who molded his personality and helped to inform his worldview: His mother; his wife, Eleanor; Lucy Mercer, the great love of his life; and Missy LeHand, his secretary, companion, and confidante. Smith also tackles the failures and miscues of Roosevelt's public career. Smith gives us a clear picture of how this Knickerbocker aristocrat, a man who never had to depend on a paycheck, became the common man's president.--From publisher description. No library descriptions found. |
Current DiscussionsNonePopular covers
Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)973.917092History and Geography North America United States 1901- Roosevelt Through Truman Administrations F.D. Roosevelt F.D. RooseveltLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
Is this you?Become a LibraryThing Author. |
Great inclusion of primary sources
( )