Joseph Lelyveld (1937–2024)

This detailed account of the final months of Franklin Roosevelt's life, beginning with the Tehran Conference in the fall of 1943, is extraordinarily informative and a pleasure to read. The author is a fine stylist and provides not only a good overview of the 1944 election campaign (such as it was) and the diplomacy of WWII, but minute examination of FDR's health, psychology, postwar plans, manner of handling people and of governance, and personal relationships. The book is neither show more hagiography nor a Peglerian hatchet job; although the author sees through many of Roosevelt's techniques in handling people who were, or whom he needed to make, allies, and at times takes a dim view of them, almost all of the eyewitness accounts upon which he relies were members of his administration or family, and thus, at bottom, if frank, rarely if ever totally hostile. True, the book is lengthy, but I learned many new things and I was sorry to see it end. show less

A fascinating, insightful biography. Rather than telling the story of Gandhi's entire life, Lelyveld focuses on pivotal episodes that shaped the great man's philosophical, political, and spiritual views. This is not the Gandhi superbly portrayed by Ben Kingsely in the hagiographic but wonderful motion picture. Lelyveld has been criticized for his "all too human" portrait of Gandhi but I find it refreshing. Gandhi's eccentricities, flaws, weaknesses, and considerable naivtee in some important show more matters makes him all the more admirable and interesting. It is difficult to follow Lelyveld's discussions of India's vastly complicated Hindu caste system, but this subject seems to be a challenge for any writer. show less

(Written somewhere over Siberia on the plane to Incheon at 3:30 AM EST, god-knows-when actual Korean time)

Gandhi is one of those few figures whose name inspires near-universal reverence. In India, within a barely a century after his death, he is already somewhere between Jesus Christ and the Buddha. Perhaps there are a few diehard colonialists and preservers of Empire who still despise him, and aside from them, those few fervent religious devotees.

Yet he is still controversial. His role in show more Indian and world history, and the effects of his actions, are still yet to be determined. Great Soul tears open more than a few historical wounds and will no doubt cause history departments and devoted followers and nationalists to erupt with rage for years. It remains uncertain on the extent of his role in the renewal and independence of modern India �€û if he is solely responsible for its greatness, or if his meddling inadvertently worsened the centuries of sectarian strife.

In popular views, he is a saint û€û a simple holy man, seen in his biopics and operas. But in the beginning, in South Africa, we see the old story of Gandhiû€ûs awakening in a train as he is forced to sit in the back. He is still then a shrewd and ambitious lawyer, tempted to settle down and work for some social justice causes.

His views then were amorphous, but some guidelines have already been established û€û e.g. Should he include eggs or milk in his vegetarian diet? How are we to properly balance the roles of caste and religion? E.g. some traditional Hindus are in favor of maintenance of the system, etc. He first things of representation within empire, and serves as a medicine stretcher in the Boer War û€û by historical irony, one of the few circumstances where him and Churchill are on the same side. But later his views become more certain û€û Quit India! Village independence, local means of production. The dietary and sexual restrictions are part of a larger goal û€û improved discipline and sanitation. India does deal with the latter to this day.

A popular bugaboo of modern historical biography is discovering traces of homosexuality. German-Jewish bodybuilder named Kallenbach, who at least seems like an old friend more than anything û€û and male friendships were closer and more platonic in the 19th century until just recently.

Up until, and even after his arrival in India, he still has his shrewd political dealings, in contrast to his saintly image. We see discussions with Jinnah, the Pakistani û€ûfather of the nationû€û. Nehru, a û€ûchosen successorû€û. An û€ûuntouchableû€û û€û this one is an astonishing figure in his own right, B. R. Ambedkar, who insists upon his action for Caste Reform. Chandra Bose, who will defect to the Imperial Japanese Army and fights a war of rebellion, in contrast to his own plans of satyagraha û€û using the force of truth.

Unfortunately, we see the limits of satyagraha, with the composition of his letter to Hitler, simply asking him politely to let the Jews go. And then public statements asking the Jews to go peacefully to their deaths, and hope the sheer remorse will overcome the Nazis. This illustrates the fundamental differences between the British and German empires E€E the British Empire only committed genocide when it benefitted their policies E€E the Nazi empire, genocide was open policy and law.

As for what Hitler thought of Ghandi, he is said to have remarked offhand to a British liaison, E€EWhy donE€Et you just shoot him?E€E

His doctrines of non-violence and satyagraha and abst show less

An excellent and seemingly evenhanded analysis of Gandhi's character, personal struggles, and impact on India and the 20th Century.