Awards
NATIONAL BESTSELLER
A Washington Post Notable Book
Synopses & Reviews
andldquo;This is revisionist history in the best sense of the word andmdash; it forces us to rethink assumptions and to reconsider the way that history unfolded . . . This bold argument is extensively researched, well stated, and will undoubtedly change the way we see Franklin Roosevelt.andrdquo; andmdash; Christian Science Monitor andldquo;A fine beginning to an important project.andrdquo; andmdash; Wall Street Journal
Based on years of archival research and interviews with the last surviving aides and Roosevelt family members, The Mantle of Command offers a radical new perspective on Franklin Delano Rooseveltandrsquo;s masterful andmdash; and underappreciated andmdash; leadership of the Allied war effort. After the disaster at Pearl Harbor, Roosevelt devised a global strategy that would save Churchill and the British and defeat Hitler and the Japanese. As Nigel Hamiltonandrsquo;s account reaches its climax and U.S. forces conduct Operation Torch andmdash; the successful invasion of French Northwest Africa andmdash; the tide of war turns in the Alliesandrsquo; favor, and FDRandrsquo;s genius for military command is clear. This intimate, sweeping look at a great President in historyandrsquo;s greatest conflict is gripping, essential reading.
Review
andquot;
The Mantle of Command is splendid: Itandrsquo;s the memoir Roosevelt didnandrsquo;t get to write.andquot;
andmdash;New York Times Book Reviewandquot;Masterly.andquot;
andmdash;Wall Street Journalandquot;A definitive volume on this aspect of Rooseveltandrsquo;s career and essential reading for anyone interested in WWII, the Roosevelt Presidency, and presidential leadership.andquot;
andmdash;Publishers Weeklyandquot;This convincingly written and gripping volume is essential for historians, political scientists, and history buffs, for a deeper understanding of the principle of civilian supremacy of the military in the U.S. political system.andquot;
andmdash;Library Journal, STARREDandquot;A deeply engrossing study of the first year of Franklin Rooseveltandrsquo;s prescient military leadership in World War II...Lively, elucidating, elegant and highly knowledgeable.andquot;
andmdash;Kirkus, STARREDandquot;Hamilton is tantamount to the amanuensis for the memoir FDR never wrote...well researched and confident in its conclusions, Hamiltonandrsquo;s study ably augments the gallery of WWII leaders.andquot;
andmdash;Booklistandquot;Nigel Hamiltonandrsquo;s Mantle of Command is a stirring and noteworthy book about Rooseveltandrsquo;s crucial role as commander-in-chief during World War II. Hamilton writes with insight, passion, and a great grasp of history. I believe this book will become the standard by which other books about FDRandrsquo;s role in World War II will be measured.andquot;
andmdash;Carlo Dandrsquo;Este, author of Patton: A Genius for War and Warlord: A Life of Churchill at War, 1874andndash;1945andquot;This is not the Roosevelt (or Churchill) youand#39;d expect. From the start, an aggressive, in-charge FDR emerges from a wonderful weaving of established scholarship and the fascinating bits and pieces that make history live. Churchill is an inspirational nag, with a busy, unfocused strategic vision. A key entry into the ongoing debate over who made grand strategy in the early war years andmdash; Roosevelt or Churchill?andquot;
andmdash;Warren F. Kimball, author of Forged in War: Roosevelt, Churchill, and the Second World Warandquot;Nigel Hamilton in Mantle of Command presents a very different wartime Franklin Delano Roosevelt than the one we are used to seeing. Whether or not one agrees with all his conclusions, Hamilton clearly shows that FDR was an extremely strong and effective commander-in-chief. This volume should go a long way to dispelling popular myths about Roosevelt as a naandiuml;ve and weak war leader.andquot;
andmdash;Mark Stoler, editor of the George C. Marshall Papers and Professor Emeritus of History, University of Vermontandquot;Nigel Hamilton has written a spirited and thoughtful andlsquo;revisionistandrsquo; study of Franklin Delano Roosevelt as commander-in-chief during the first phase of U.S. involvement in the Second World War. Hamiltonandrsquo;s narrative skill brings alive the human dramas, logistic hurdles, and strategic debates to show how FDRandrsquo;s indispensable drive and forward-looking leadership tamed his own andlsquo;team of rivalsandrsquo; and set the United States and its Allies on the road to victory over the Axis. The books enlivens the often murky worlds of bureaucratic struggle and military detail to demonstrate how important it was for the United States to andlsquo;get it rightandrsquo; early in the war and how FDR accomplished this.andquot;
andmdash;Michael Schaller, author of Douglas MacArthur and Regents Professor of History, University of Arizona
Synopsis
A brilliant evocation of the qualities that made FDR one of the most beloved and greatest of American presidents.
Drawing on archival material, public speeches, correspondence and accounts by those closest to Roosevelt early in his career and during his presidency, H. W. Brands shows how Roosevelt transformed American government during the Depression with his New Deal legislation, and carefully managed the country's prelude to war. Brands shows how Roosevelt's friendship and regard for Winston Churchill helped to forge one of the greatest alliances in history, as Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin maneuvered to defeat Germany and prepare for post-war Europe.
Synopsis
NATIONAL BESTSELLER - A brilliant evocation of one of the greatest presidents in American history--from the two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist and New York Times bestselling author of Our First Civil War. - It may well be the best general biography of Franklin Roosevelt we will see for many years to come." --The Christian Science Monitor
Drawing on archival material, public speeches, correspondence and accounts by those closest to Roosevelt early in his career and during his presidency, H. W. Brands shows how Roosevelt transformed American government during the Depression with his New Deal legislation, and carefully managed the country's prelude to war. Brands shows how Roosevelt's friendship and regard for Winston Churchill helped to forge one of the greatest alliances in history, as Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin maneuvered to defeat Germany and prepare for post-war Europe.
Synopsis
A dramatic, eye-opening account of how FDR took personal charge of the military direction of World War II.
Synopsis
Longlisted for the National Book Award andldquo;This bold argument . . . will undoubtedly change the way we see Franklin Roosevelt.andrdquo;
andmdash;Christian Science Monitor
andldquo;Masterly.andrdquo; andmdash; Wall Street Journal
A dramatic, eye-opening account of how FDR took personal charge of the military direction of World War II
Based on years of archival research and interviews with the last surviving Roosevelt aides and family members, The Mantle of Command offers a radical new perspective on Franklin Delano Rooseveltandrsquo;s masterful andmdash; and underappreciated andmdash; leadership of the Allied war effort. After the disaster of Pearl Harbor, we see Roosevelt devising a global strategy that will defeat Hitler and the Japanese, rescue Churchill and the British people, and quell a near insurrection of his own American generals and War Department. All the while, Hamiltonandrsquo;s account drives toward Operation Torch andmdash; the invasion of French Northwest Africa andmdash; and the outcome of the war hangs in the balance. The Mantle of Command is an intimate, sweeping look at a great President in historyandrsquo;s greatest conflict.
About the Author
NIGEL HAMILTON is a best-selling and award-winning biographer of President John F. Kennedy, General Bernard andldquo;Montyandrdquo; Montgomery, and President Bill Clinton, among other subjects. His most recent book, The Mantle of Command: FDR at War, 1941-1942, was longlisted for the National Book Award. He is a senior fellow at the McCormack Graduate School, University of Massachusetts, Boston.