Synopses & Reviews
A sweeping, magisterial biography of the man generally considered the greatest president of the twentieth century, admired by Democrats and Republicans alike.
Traitor to His Class sheds new light on FDR's formative years, his remarkable willingness to champion the concerns of the poor and disenfranchised, his combination of political genius, firm leadership, and matchless diplomacy in saving democracy in America during the Great Depression and the American cause of freedom in World War II.
Drawing on archival materials, public speeches, personal correspondence, and accounts by family and close associates, acclaimed bestselling historian and biographer H. W. Brands offers a compelling and intimate portrait of Roosevelt's life and career.
Brands explores the powerful influence of FDR's dominating mother and the often tense and always unusual partnership between FDR and his wife, Eleanor, and her indispensable contributions to his presidency. Most of all, the book traces in breathtaking detail FDR's revolutionary efforts with his New Deal legislation to transform the American political economy in order to save it, his forceful and cagey leadership before and during World War II, and his lasting legacy in creating the foundations of the postwar international order.
Traitor to His Class brilliantly captures the qualities that have made FDR a beloved figure to millions of Americans.
Review
"H.W. Brands is a master at finding the essence of an important American life, telling its story grippingly and showing us why it is important to our own generation. With Traitor to His Class, he has surpassed even his own high standard. This judicious and compelling work is the first major one-volume biography written by an historian too young to have lived in Franklin Roosevelt's time. It deserves a wide audience, especially among those younger Americans who need to be told why we all owe so much to FDR." Michael Beschloss
Review
"This is a rare book, indeed, shedding new light and brilliant insight upon an elusive subject we thought we knew well. In this elegant, all-encompassing portrayal, master historian H. W. Brands shows us a leader who got the big issues right and, in doing so, forever changed the expectations of the world. Traitor to His Class will quickly emerge as the finest one-volume biography of FDR." David Oshinsky, Winner of the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for History
Review
"We live in the world Franklin Roosevelt created, and we can never know enough about him. In this illuminating portrait of the man who proved far more radical than his upbringing would have ever suggested, H. W. Brands has painted FDR in bright and brilliant colors." Jon Meacham, author of Franklin and Winston and American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House
Review
"This may well be the best general biography of Franklin Roosevelt we will see for many years to come." Christian Science Monitor
Review
"Mr. Brands is resolutely evenhanded in his treatment of FDR, and he makes no attempt to persuade his readers of FDR's virtues or lack thereof." Dallas Morning News
Review
"Brands...turns in a finely balanced biography certain to garner much critical attention." Booklist
Review
"Though Brands does not break new ground, neither does he sensationalize the more controversial aspects of FDR's personality." Library Journal
Synopsis
A closeup, in-the-room look at how FDR took masterful command and control of the Second World War, from wresting key decisions away from Churchill and his own generals, to launching the first successful trial landing in North Africa, and beginning to turn the tide away from the Axis.
Synopsis
Based on years of archival research and interviews with the last surviving aides and Roosevelt family members, Nigel Hamilton offers a definitive account of FDRand#8217;s masterfuland#8212;and underappreciatedand#8212;command of the Allied war effort.and#160;Hamilton takes readers inside FDRand#8217;s White House Oval Studyand#8212;his personal command centerand#8212;and into the meetings where he battled with Churchill about strategy and tactics and overrode the near mutinies of his own generals and secretary of war.and#160;
Time and again, FDR was proven right and his allies and generals were wrong.and#160;When the generals wanted to attack the Nazi-fortified coast of France, FDR knew the Allied forces werenand#8217;t ready.and#160;When Churchill insisted his Far East colonies were loyal and would resist the Japanese, Roosevelt knew it was a fantasy.and#160;As Hamiltonand#8217;s account reaches its climax with the Torch landings in North Africa in late 1942, the tide of war turns in the Alliesand#8217; favor and FDRand#8217;s genius for psychology and military affairs is clear.and#160;This intimate, sweeping look at a great president in historyand#8217;s greatest conflict is must reading.
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.
Table of Contents
Prologueand#8194;ix
PART ONE: PLACENTIA BAY
Before the Stormand#8194;3
PART TWO: PEARL HARBOR
The U.S. Is Attacked!and#8194;43
Hitlerand#8217;s Gambleand#8194;76
PART THREE: CHURCHILL IN THE WHITE HOUSE
The Victory Planand#8194;99
Supreme Commandand#8194;136
The Presidentand#8217;s Map Roomand#8194;145
PART FOUR: TROUBLE WITH MACARTHUR
The Fighting Generaland#8194;157
PART FIVE: END OF AN EMPIRE
Singaporeand#8194;195
The Mockery of the Worldand#8194;207
The Battleground for Civilizationand#8194;214
PART SIX: INDIA
No Hand on the Wheeland#8194;223
Lessons from the Far Eastand#8194;228
Churchill Threatens to Resignand#8194;236
The Worst Case of Jittersand#8194;254
PART SEVEN: MIDWAY
Doolittleand#8217;s Raidand#8194;267
The Battle of Midwayand#8194;274
PART EIGHT: TOBRUK
Churchilland#8217;s Second Comingand#8194;289
The Fall of Tobrukand#8194;303
No Second Dunquerqueand#8194;310
Avoiding Utter Catastropheand#8194;317
PART NINE: JAPAN FIRST
Citizen Warriorsand#8194;325
A Staggering Crisisand#8194;330
A Rough Dayand#8194;337
PART TEN: THE MUTINY
Stimsonand#8217;s Betand#8194;349
A Definite Decisionand#8194;359
A Failed Mutinyand#8194;363
PART ELEVEN: REACTION IN MOSCOW
Stalinand#8217;s Prayerand#8194;373
PART TWELVE: AN INDUSTRIAL MIRACLE
A Trip Across Americaand#8194;381
The Presidentand#8217;s Loyal Lieutenantand#8194;390
PART THIRTEEN: THE TRAGEDY OF DIEPPE
A Canadian Bloodbathand#8194;395
PART FOURTEEN: THE TORCH IS LIT
Something in West Africaand#8194;401
Alameinand#8194;409
First Lightand#8194;413
The Greatest Sensationand#8194;423
Armistice Dayand#8194;430
Acknowledgmentsand#8194;441
Notesand#8194;447
Indexand#8194;497