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qatsiBook Review: FDR, by Jean Edward Smith
This was more of a doorstop than I had expected, and the world was a different place when I began reading it. My interest in the subject was driven by the pattern emerging from the infinite stream of WW2 documentaries on the leaders of the various powers - in particular the apparent naïvety of FDR regarding Stalin; his political ambivalence towards Britain is easier to comprehend. This book doesn't exactly resolve that for me, but it gives a lot more background to his character which goes some way. Born into privilege in 1882, and marrying into even more privilege, it is perhaps surprising that he should have entered the Democratic Party; but then, the positions of the two major US parties on various issues has moved strangely (to an outsider) over time. It's interesting that he occupied a position in the US Navy (Assistant Secretary) during World War 1, like Churchill: perhaps this goes some way to explaining their personal relationship, though there's no real discussion of his opinion of the British Empire. Also like Churchill, there's ample discussion of the divisive personality he was within his own party, though this was largely settled by electoral success. The New Deal and the "One Hundred Days" saw genuinely radical change, but the wider picture painted is rather more opportunistic and cynical - for example, the shameless attempt to pack the Supreme Court. Controversially seeking a third term in 1940, he found ways through the legal barriers to supporting the UK and France, prior to Pearl Harbor; rising again as a wartime leader, though often at odds with some of his military advice.
This felt like a thorough book, although it feels like it's missing an epilogue: what of FDR's legacy, Truman's succession, the 22nd amendment? The book is weighty enough without them, but there is perhaps still a sense of incompleteness.
This was more of a doorstop than I had expected, and the world was a different place when I began reading it. My interest in the subject was driven by the pattern emerging from the infinite stream of WW2 documentaries on the leaders of the various powers - in particular the apparent naïvety of FDR regarding Stalin; his political ambivalence towards Britain is easier to comprehend. This book doesn't exactly resolve that for me, but it gives a lot more background to his character which goes some way. Born into privilege in 1882, and marrying into even more privilege, it is perhaps surprising that he should have entered the Democratic Party; but then, the positions of the two major US parties on various issues has moved strangely (to an outsider) over time. It's interesting that he occupied a position in the US Navy (Assistant Secretary) during World War 1, like Churchill: perhaps this goes some way to explaining their personal relationship, though there's no real discussion of his opinion of the British Empire. Also like Churchill, there's ample discussion of the divisive personality he was within his own party, though this was largely settled by electoral success. The New Deal and the "One Hundred Days" saw genuinely radical change, but the wider picture painted is rather more opportunistic and cynical - for example, the shameless attempt to pack the Supreme Court. Controversially seeking a third term in 1940, he found ways through the legal barriers to supporting the UK and France, prior to Pearl Harbor; rising again as a wartime leader, though often at odds with some of his military advice.
This felt like a thorough book, although it feels like it's missing an epilogue: what of FDR's legacy, Truman's succession, the 22nd amendment? The book is weighty enough without them, but there is perhaps still a sense of incompleteness.