Synopsis This comprehensive biography of one of the 20th century's revered (and, it is true, reviled by some) presidents balances both the public and the private side of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Historian H. W. Brands draws on the official record as well as personal papers in his warts-and-all approach. He includes the pressures on young Franklin of growing up in a famous family, his troubled marriage to Eleanor, his several romances, and the long relationship with Lucy Mercer. Brands presents accounts of the youthful Franklin as well as the seasoned politician, and covers well the dynamic, history-making epoch of the last man to be elected three times to the highest office of the land. Along the way, Brands provides very useful and entertaining context on the times in which FDR lived. The book was a finalist for the 2009 Pulitzer Prize in the Biography category.
| Details | | Publication Date: | 2008-11-11 |
| Size | | Length: | 888 pages | | Height: | 10.0 in | | Width: | 6.3 in | | Thickness: | 1.8 in | | Weight: | 44.8 oz |
Publisher's Note A sweeping biography of the life and political career of Franklin Delano Roosevelt draws on archival materials, public speeches, interviews with family and colleagues, and personal correspondence to examine FDR's political leadership in a dark time of Depression and war, his championship of the poor, his revolutionary New Deal legislation, and his legacy for the future. 125,000 first printing.
Industry Reviews "Brands revisits all the familiar material with a storyteller's touch, making TRAITOR TO HIS CLASS a good beginner's book for readers seeking a fuller sense of FDR's life and times than the entertainment media can provide. He also conveys a sense of the Roosevelt political genius at work." (02/12/2009)
"[T]RAITOR TO HIS CLASS is reliable and compulsively readable. Brands writes in the vein of FDR's earlier, liberal chroniclers: his is a most favorable account of Roosevelt's career, with an emphasis on the dramatic turning points in the Depression and the war, and on the president's leadership style." (04/27/2009)
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