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FDR by Jean Edward Smith
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FDR (edition 2007)

by Jean Edward Smith

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9023023,431 (4.33)40
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.… (more)
Member:Grownup
Title:FDR
Authors:Jean Edward Smith
Info:Random House (2007), Edition: 1, Hardcover, 880 pages
Collections:Your library
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Tags:Presidents

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FDR by Jean Edward Smith

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Showing 1-5 of 30 (next | show all)
enjoyed the bio. Felt it gave a nice balance of personal and political information. There was a lot I didn't know, particularly aboout his relationship with Eleanor.
Great inclusion of primary sources
( )
  cspiwak | Mar 6, 2024 |
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. ( )
  cyderry | Dec 5, 2023 |
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. ( )
  littlemuls | Feb 22, 2023 |
The best presidential biography I've read to date. Not a perfect man, but perfect for that time in our nation's history. ( )
  btbell_lt | Aug 1, 2022 |
Good description of FDR's history. ( )
  addunn3 | Jun 3, 2022 |
Showing 1-5 of 30 (next | show all)
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To the memory of my parents,
Eddyth and Jean - proud Mississippians,
devoted to Franklin Roosevelt
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Three presidents dominate American history: George Washington, who founded the country; Abraham Lincoln, who preserved it; and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who rescued it from economic collapse and then led it to victory in the greatest war of all time. (Preface)
The Roosevelts were an old but relatively inconspicuous New York family.
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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.

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