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FDR's Funeral Train: A Betrayed Widow, a Soviet Spy, and a Presidency in the Balance

by Robert Klara

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902304,471 (3.97)7
"In April 1945, the funeral train carrying the body of Franklin D. Roosevelt embarked on a three-day, thousand-mile odyssey through nine states before reaching the president's home where he was buried. It passed with darkened windows; few gave thought to what might be happening aboard. A closer look inside the train, however, would reveal a Soviet spy about to leak a state secret, a newly widowed Eleanor Roosevelt, who just found out that her husband's mistress was in the room when he died, and the entire family of incoming President Harry S. Truman. The thrilling story of what took place behind the Pullman shades, where women whispered and men tossed back highballs, has never been told. On the occasion of the sixty-fifth anniversary of FDR's death, Klara chronicles the action-packed three-day train ride during which, among other things, Truman hammered out the policies that would galvanize a country in mourning and win the Second World War"--Provided by publisher.… (more)
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Using the three days of FDR's funeral, Klara packs in a ton of information about the man, the people around him, and the beginnings of the Truman administration. Mostly I liked the way he described the train cars - they became like other characters and I really like trains. Interesting to note that Ed Pauley, a petroleum tycoon, had a strong influence on Truman. ( )
1 vote lindap69 | Apr 5, 2013 |
4866. FDR's Funeral Train A Betrayed Widow, a Soviet Spy, and a Presidency in the Balance, by Robert Klara (read 1 Oct 2011) While this book has a huge amount of trivia obviously gathered through intensive research I found it unfailingly captivating to read. It begins with FDR's trip to Warm Springs, Ga., on Mar 29 and then details events from the time he was stricken on the afternoon of Apr 12, 1945, thru his death and his body being put on the train, taken to Washington for a short funeral at the White House, and then slowly to Hyde Park for burial. Then the return trip is detailedly related back to Washington and to the speech Truman delivered to Congress and the nation on April 16. There is much fascinating information in the book and while some of it is indeed trivial I think it gets the mood right and shows the importance of the things going on in that pivotal period. ( )
1 vote Schmerguls | Oct 1, 2011 |
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"In April 1945, the funeral train carrying the body of Franklin D. Roosevelt embarked on a three-day, thousand-mile odyssey through nine states before reaching the president's home where he was buried. It passed with darkened windows; few gave thought to what might be happening aboard. A closer look inside the train, however, would reveal a Soviet spy about to leak a state secret, a newly widowed Eleanor Roosevelt, who just found out that her husband's mistress was in the room when he died, and the entire family of incoming President Harry S. Truman. The thrilling story of what took place behind the Pullman shades, where women whispered and men tossed back highballs, has never been told. On the occasion of the sixty-fifth anniversary of FDR's death, Klara chronicles the action-packed three-day train ride during which, among other things, Truman hammered out the policies that would galvanize a country in mourning and win the Second World War"--Provided by publisher.

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