Synopses & Reviews
This is the story of a political miracleand#8212;the perfect match of man and moment.andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Franklin Delano Roosevelt took office in March of 1933 as America touched bottom. Banks were closing everywhere. Millions of people lost everything. The Great Depression had caused a national breakdown. With the craft of a master storyteller, Jonathan Alter brings us closer than ever before to the Roosevelt magic. Facing the gravest crisis since the Civil War, FDR used his cagey political instincts and ebullient temperament in the storied first Hundred Days of his presidency to pull off an astonishing conjuring act that lifted the country and saved both democracy and capitalism.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Who was this man? To revive the nation when it felt so hopeless took an extraordinary display of optimism and self-confidence. Alter shows us how a snobbish and apparently lightweight young aristocrat was forged into an incandescent leader by his domineering mother; his independent wife; his eccentric top adviser, Louis Howe; and his ally-turned-bitter-rival, Al Smith, the Tammany Hall street fighter FDR had to vanquish to complete his preparation for the presidency.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;and#8220;Old Doc Rooseveltand#8221; had learned at Warm Springs, Georgia, how to lift others who suffered from polio, even if he could not cure their paralysis, or his own. He brought the same talents to a larger stage. Derided as weak and unprincipled by pundits, Governor Roosevelt was barely nominated for president in 1932. As president-elect, he escaped assassination in Miami by inches, then stiffed President Herbert Hoover's efforts to pull him into cooperating with him to deal with a terrifying crisis. In the most tumultuous and dramatic presidential transition in history, the entire banking structure came tumbling down just hours before FDR's legendary and#8220;only thing we have to fear is fear itselfand#8221; Inaugural Address.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;In a major historical find, Alter unearths the draft of a radio speech in which Roosevelt considered enlisting a private army of American Legion veterans on his first day in office. He did not. Instead of circumventing Congress and becoming the dictator so many thought they needed, FDR used his stunning debut to experiment. He rescued banks, put men to work immediately, and revolutionized mass communications with pioneering press conferences and the first Fireside Chat. As he moved both right and left, Roosevelt's insistence on "action now" did little to cure the Depression, but he began to rewrite the nation's social contract and lay the groundwork for his most ambitious achievements, including Social Security.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;From one of America's most respected journalists, rich in insights and with fresh documentation and colorful detail, this thrilling story of presidential leadershipand#8212;of what government is forand#8212;resonates through the events of today. It deepens our understanding of how Franklin Delano Roosevelt restored hope and transformed America.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;andlt;iandgt;The Defining Momentandlt;/iandgt; will take its place among our most compelling works of political history.
Review
"A brilliant account." -- Dennie Hall, The Sunday Oklahoman
Review
"andlt;iandgt;The Defining Momentandlt;/iandgt; is a riveting account of the first hundred days of Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidency. Alter bewitches readers in this fast-moving story, often poignant, sometimes funny, of how Roosevelt changed the direction of American history." -- David Herbert Donald, author of andlt;iandgt;Lincolnandlt;/iandgt;
Review
"Alter's account has a refreshing buoyancy, not unlike its protagonist...describing Roosevelt's missteps as honestly as his triumphs, it succeeds in bringing a remarkable man back to life." -- Ted Widmer, andlt;iandgt;The New York Times Book Review andlt;/iandgt;
Review
"Well-written and tirelessly researched." -- Harry Levins, andlt;iandgt;St. Louis Post-Dispatch andlt;/iandgt;
Review
"Insightful and highly entertaining...offers lessons in effective leadership that are as relevant today as ever."
-- Christine Tatum, The Denver Post
Review
"Jonathan Alter's andlt;iandgt;The Defining Momentandlt;/iandgt; is an extraordinarily vivid account of a remarkable moment in American history. It is also a rich and perceptive examination of how Franklin Roosevelt transformed the presidency. This book should be of interest to everyone who cares about the New Deal, and also to everyone who wants to understand the character of American politics." -- Alan Brinkley, author of andlt;iandgt;The End of Reform: New Deal Liberalism in Recession and Warandlt;/iandgt;
Review
"A book like this, revealing the power of presidential speeches, should be read -- in FDR's repetition for emphasis -- 'again and again and again.'" -- William Safire, andlt;iandgt;New York Timesandlt;/iandgt; columnist emeritus
Review
"andlt;iandgt;The Defining Momentandlt;/iandgt; should be required reading for every president, every student of leadership, and anyone who appreciates narrative history at its finest." -- Richard Norton Smith, author of andlt;iandgt;An Uncommon Man: The Triumph of Herbert Hooverandlt;/iandgt;
Review
"In andlt;iandgt;The Defining Momentandlt;/iandgt;, one of the shrewdest political observers of our time turns his spotlight on the man who may have been the ablest American politician of all time." -- Geoffrey C. Ward, author of andlt;iandgt;Before the Trumpetandlt;/iandgt; and andlt;iandgt;A First-Class Temperamentandlt;/iandgt;
Review
"andlt;iandgt;The New York Daily Newsandlt;/iandgt; has confirmed Obama was referring to Jonathan Alter's andlt;iandgt;The Defining Momentandlt;/iandgt;. (In fact, I'd told CNN's Larry King that I'd heard Obama was reading Alter's book a few weeks ago.) I could not be happier or more impressed. Alter has a first-class writing style and a first-class sense of the moment. The book, published in 2006, was not intended as a veiled memorandum of advice for the 44th president, but in some ways it may have become just that. Alter recounts the story of an exuberantly hopeful new president -- winning the White House after overcoming enormous obstacles. As he prepares to take office, the ongoing economic collapse worsens. Convinced the Depression was caused by incompetent Republican economic theories, he refuses to be used as a prop. The failed Republican administration wanted to convince the public that the Depression was a lightning strike: random, unavoidable, and tragic. FDR knew it was a case of arson -- and he made sure the country understood the man-made causes of the collapse." -- Paul Begala, Daily Beast
Review
"Persuasive and sparkling...Alter's freshness and keen eye make this a joyful read....He also drives home an argument essential in these times: When democracy is threatened, our best leaders resist the temptation to run roughshod over Congress and the Constitution." -- David Gergen, andlt;iandgt;The Boston Globe andlt;/iandgt;
Review
"Alter is at his best reconstructing the political mood and maneuverings of the perilous winter of 1932-33. A gripping read." -- Gary Gerstle, andlt;iandgt;Chicago Tribune andlt;/iandgt;
Synopsis
Jonathan Alter's bestselling and critically acclaimed account of how FDR lifted the country from despair and paralysis and transformed the presidency for all time.
About the Author
Jonathan Alter is an analystandnbsp;and contributing correspondent for NBC News and MSNBC. He is aandnbsp;former senior editor and columnist for andlt;iandgt;Newsweekandlt;/iandgt;, where he worked for twenty-eight years, writing moreandnbsp;than fifty cover stories. He has also written for andlt;iandgt;The New York Timesandlt;/iandgt;, andlt;iandgt;The Washington Postandlt;/iandgt;, andlt;iandgt;The Atlanticandlt;/iandgt;, andlt;iandgt;Vanity Fairandlt;/iandgt;, andlt;iandgt;The New Republicandlt;/iandgt;, and other publications.andnbsp;He is the author ofandnbsp;andlt;iandgt;The Promise: President Obama, Year Oneandlt;/iandgt; and andlt;iandgt;The Defining Moment: FDRand#8217;s Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hopeandlt;/iandgt;, both andlt;iandgt;New York Timesandlt;/iandgt; bestsellers, and andlt;i andgt;Between the Linesandlt;/iandgt;, a collection of his andlt;i andgt;Newsweek andlt;/iandgt;columns.
Table of Contents
Contents
Author's Note
Prologue: Sunday, March 5, 1933
PART ONE: LIGHTWEIGHT STEEL
Chapter One: Security
Chapter Two: "My Boy Franklin"
Chapter Three: "Miss Nancy"
Chapter Four: Eleanor and Sara
Chapter Five: Dilettante
Chapter Six: "The Medieval Gnome"
Chapter Seven: The Operator
Chapter Eight: The "Ghastly Affliction"
Chapter Nine: Warm Springs Dress Rehearsal
Chapter Ten: "I ve Got to Be It Myself"
PART TWO: THE ASCENT: 1932
Chapter Eleven: "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?"
Chapter Twelve: "This Doesn t Go for Above the Neck"
Chapter Thirteen: "Try Something" for "the Forgotten Man"
Chapter Fourteen: The Brain Trust
Chapter Fifteen: The Hair-Splitter
Chapter Sixteen: "The Corkscrew Candidate"
Chapter Seventeen: Off the Reservation
Chapter Eighteen: Flight to Chicago
Chapter Nineteen: The Bonus Army
Chapter Twenty: The Trial of Jimmy Walker
Chapter Twenty-one: "Hang Hoover!"
PART THREE: THE CRISIS: WINTER 1933
Chapter Twenty-two: The Perfect Foil
Chapter Twenty-three: Under the Mattress
Chapter Twenty-four: "Wooden Roof" and Other Cabinetry
Chapter Twenty-five: Nearly Martyred in Miami
Chapter Twenty-six: "Damn the Secretary"
Chapter Twenty-seven: "Gabriel Over the White House"
Chapter Twenty-eight: The Hairy Hand
Chapter Twenty-nine: Reluctant First Lady
Chapter Thirty: "Like Hell I Will!"
PART FOUR: THE HUNDRED DAYS
Chapter Thirty-one: "Fear Itself"
Chapter Thirty-two: The Consecration
Chapter Thirty-three: "An Injection of Adrenalin"
Chapter Thirty-four: "Action Now"
Chapter Thirty-five: That Temperament
Chapter Thirty-six: Holiday Spirit
Chapter Thirty-seven: "Surpassing Charm"
Chapter Thirty-eight: That Voice
Chapter Thirty-nine: "The Chief Croupier"
Chapter Forty: Roosevelt s "Tree Army"
Chapter Forty-one: The Blue Eagle
Coda: Social Security
Epilogue: "Dr. New Deal"
Appendix
Inaugural Address, March 4, 1933
First Fireside Chat, March 12, 1933
Notes
Bibliography
Acknowledgments Index