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FDR

4.14 of 5 stars 4.14 · rating details · 1,158 ratings · 126 reviews

One of today’s premier biographers has written a modern, comprehensive, indeed ultimate book on the epic life of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. In this superlative volume, Jean Edward Smith combines contemporary scholarship and a broad range of primary source material to provide an engrossing narrative of one of America’s greatest presidents.

This is a portrait painted in broad...more One of today’s premier biographers has written a modern, comprehensive, indeed ultimate book on the epic life of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. In this superlative volume, Jean Edward Smith combines contemporary scholarship and a broad range of primary source material to provide an engrossing narrative of one of America’s greatest presidents.

This is a portrait painted in broad strokes and fine details. We see how Roosevelt’s restless energy, fierce intellect, personal magnetism, and ability to project effortless grace permitted him to master countless challenges throughout his life. Smith recounts FDR’s battles with polio and physical disability, and how these experiences helped forge the resolve that FDR used to surmount the economic turmoil of the Great Depression and the wartime threat of totalitarianism. Here also is FDR’s private life depicted with unprecedented candor and nuance, with close attention paid to the four women who molded his personality and helped to inform his worldview: His mother, Sara Delano Roosevelt, formidable yet ever supportive and tender; his wife, Eleanor, whose counsel and affection were instrumental to FDR’s public and individual achievements; Lucy Mercer, the great romantic love of FDR’s life; and Missy LeHand, FDR’s longtime secretary, companion, and confidante, whose adoration of her boss was practically limitless.

Smith also tackles head-on and in-depth the numerous failures and miscues of Roosevelt’s public career, including his disastrous attempt to reconstruct the Judiciary; the shameful internment of Japanese-Americans; and Roosevelt’s occasionally self-defeating Executive overreach. Additionally, Smith offers a sensitive and balanced assessment of Roosevelt’s response to the Holocaust, noting its breakthroughs and shortcomings.

Summing up Roosevelt’s legacy, Jean Smith declares that FDR, more than any other individual, changed the relationship between the American people and their government. It was Roosevelt who revolutionized the art of campaigning and used the burgeoning mass media to garner public support and allay fears. But more important, Smith gives us the clearest picture yet of how this quintessential Knickerbocker aristocrat, a man who never had to depend on a paycheck, became the common man’s president. The result is a powerful account that adds fresh perspectives and draws profound conclusions about a man whose story is widely known but far less well understood. Written for the general reader and scholars alike, FDR is a stunning biography in every way worthy of its subject.

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Published May 15th 2007 by Random House

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Aug 28, 2008 Krenzel rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: history

"FDR," by Jean Edward Smith (also author of the highly acclaimed biography "Grant"), adds to the long list of biographies of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, one of our greatest presidents. At the outset, Smith makes clear his admiration for FDR – the book is dedicated to his parents, "proud Mississippians devoted to Franklin Roosevelt," and the epigraph states, "He lifted himself from his wheelchair to lift this nation from its knees." In the preface to his book, Smith mentions the biggest riddle for...more "FDR," by Jean Edward Smith (also author of the highly acclaimed biography "Grant"), adds to the long list of biographies of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, one of our greatest presidents. At the outset, Smith makes clear his admiration for FDR – the book is dedicated to his parents, "proud Mississippians devoted to Franklin Roosevelt," and the epigraph states, "He lifted himself from his wheelchair to lift this nation from its knees." In the preface to his book, Smith mentions the biggest riddle for an FDR biographer: to explain how "this Hudson River aristocrat, a son of privilege who never depended on a paycheck, became the champion of the common man." In presenting FDR’s life story, though, Smith keeps to the conventional life story – from FDR’s privileged upbringing through the affair with Lucy Mercy through the bout with polio – covering the basics but never breaking new ground.

Smith, like most biographers, largely attributes FDR’s connection with the common man to his own bout with polio – not just because of the paralysis and helplessness FDR suffered himself but because FDR recovered in Warm Springs, Georgia, where he learned a great deal about rural poverty and strove to better the lives of these ordinary Americans. In addition to polio, Smith cites FDR’s affair with Lucy Mercer as a major factor in his growth as a person, quoting a friend of FDR’s who wrote that, in having to give up Lucy, FDR became a tougher and more resilient person. Smith describes in depth FDR’s accomplishments as president – from the GI Bill which opened up college education to the lower classes to Social Security to solving the housing and banking crises – making the clear case for how FDR "did more to alter the relationship between ordinary citizens and the government than any other American."

However, in making the case for FDR’s greatness as president, Smith sticks mostly to ground that has already been covered and breaks no new ground. In her extraordinary biography, "No Ordinary Time," Doris Kearns Goodwin not only covered the basics, but provided insight into that time by describing letters and thoughts of ordinary Americans – i.e., actually describing the connection ordinary Americans felt to the Roosevelts. Telling the story of FDR’s life through only FDR’s view point, Smith never succeeds in capturing the relationship between FDR and the American people. In addition, by including Eleanor Roosevelt as part of her biography, Goodwin added key insight into FDR’s thinking. While Smith dismisses Eleanor’s role as "tangential," Goodwin attributed great importance to Eleanor’s trips across the country – visiting the poor from the shacks of Appalachia to the sweatshops of Puerto Rico and reporting back to FDR – as something that allowed the Roosevelts to keep in touch with regular Americans. In "No Ordinary Time," the connection between FDR and the American people was personal and one of the great storylines in the book, culminating with America’s tearful reply to his death. In "FDR," Roosevelt’s life is presented more in terms of what he did rather than how he affected others and how they affected him.

As a result, "FDR" succeeds in its straightforward telling of the life of FDR but fails to present insight into his character and evolution from aristocrat to champion of the people. In the preface to "FDR," Smith wrote that it was time to recall "that cheerful man who could not walk, who could not stand unassisted, yet who remained serenely confident as he calmly guided the nation into a prosperous, peaceful future." In fact, FDR succeeds in recalling the life of FDR, but for readers who want to do more than recall his life – but want to get to know FDR and what he was about – the same ground is covered better in "No Ordinary Time," a more personal and compelling retelling of the extraordinary life of one of America's greatest presidents.
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Jan 18, 2009 Susan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Excellent biography for the general reader. There have been many books on Roosevelt recently, several about his relationship with Churchill specifically, but not a complete biography. Smith sees Roosevelt as, with Washington and Lincoln, in the top echelon of influential American presidents and her book is intended to show why. But she is also sensitive to his faults and doesn’t hesitate to condemn a number of his actions and attitudes, not the least of which was his attempt to "pack" the Suprem...more Excellent biography for the general reader. There have been many books on Roosevelt recently, several about his relationship with Churchill specifically, but not a complete biography. Smith sees Roosevelt as, with Washington and Lincoln, in the top echelon of influential American presidents and her book is intended to show why. But she is also sensitive to his faults and doesn’t hesitate to condemn a number of his actions and attitudes, not the least of which was his attempt to "pack" the Supreme Court by mandating another justice for every justice who turned 70. The reader has a sense of a factual and balanced view of an extraordinary man.
This isn’t a biography with startlingly new information. I’ve read a lot of books about Roosevelt and a lot of histories in which Roosevelt figures prominently and was surprised by nothing but still delighted with the book because of Smith's ability to analyze Roosevelt’s attitudes and actions in detail, free of political and popular bias. The one section of the book that seemed to me particularly good was her analysis of the build up to the attack on Pearl Harbor which revisionist historians recently have construed to suggest that Roosevelt deliberately allowed to happen in order to have an excuse for the US to enter the war. Certainly Roosevelt saw that necessity before the country as a whole was willing to abandon its isolationism, but after reading Smith’s account I’m convinced that the revisionist’s were wrong about Roosevelt. One particularly interesting facet was the attempt of Ambassador Joseph C. Grew to broker a rapprochement with Japan through the Japanese prime minister who did not want war but who was facing an ever-more-militant party within the government. Grew cabled the prime minister’s offer of talks to Roosevelt, but Roosevelt was in Placentia Bay at the time meeting with Churchill and drafting what became the Atlantic Charter. Evidently Grew’s cable was dealt with by more militant and anti-Japanese elements within the State Department.
Smith devoted more attention to the New Deal, both its successes and its failures, than to WWII which seemed odd to me, but after all, those years constituted a larger proportion of FDR’s presidency and the war years have been covered so thoroughly in the recent spate of books on WWII and Roosevelt’s role and influence. I was particularly convinced of Roosevelt’s power as a politician and leader when Smith showed how his positive attitude and ability to communicate with all Americans appealed to the people who had heard nothing but doom and gloom from Hoover who was not an inspiring communicator. In fact, with the US facing a Presidential choice at this time, it reminds me that sometimes the ability to communicate a vision is the most important job of a national leader.

This book clarified in my mind that Obama was the one to support in 2009.
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Mar 15, 2011 Jason Bland rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book is a delicious meal made up of turn of the century politics and a side order of regret on how modern political discourse (and positions) have reverted. The beginning of the book which covers FDR's childhood and early political career, goes into Wilson's administration which offers an insight to a political party that no longer exists. That being one made up of religious conservatives with socially conscious progressive ideals in foreign relations, taxation, and the role to be played by...more

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Aug 18, 2008 Bap rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: biography

I can't believe that I have never read a biography of FDR and I was amazed at how much I learned. FDR was a contradiction. A patrician born to old money, established wealth. To get some idea, shortly after he was marriedm, his mother Sara gave the newly weds a beach front cottage at Campabello Island, a cottage with 34 rooms. he was an unlikely candidate to step in to save this country from revolution. The depression was so unlike anything my generation has experienced. Not only malnutrition, un...more

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Dec 26, 2007 Sara rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: serious FDR fans

Shelves: audiobooks, memoir-biography, nonfiction

I am glad I made the time for this nearly 33-hour, 26-disc audiobook, but listeners who don't have a round trip commute of 150 miles may not feel the same way.

First of all, I now know much more about Franklin Delano Roosevelt than I did when I chose it. However, FDR-related events and people received strangely lopsided and minimal treatment. The author, Jean Edward Smith, went into unnecessarily great detail about how WWI began, but the level of detail on events for which FDR was president varie...more

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Apr 20, 2010 Joyce Lagow rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: biography

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was a political genius and arguably the best President of the United States in the 20th century. [return][return]FDR came from a family that could trace its beginnings in the New World back to the early Dutch settlers of New York, making him a member of the "Knickerbocker aristocracy". However, an upbringing surrounded by wealth and privilege did not prevent him, through a combination of circumstances, personal adversity and a compassionate nature, from identifying with...more Franklin Delano Roosevelt was a political genius and arguably the best President of the United States in the 20th century. [return][return]FDR came from a family that could trace its beginnings in the New World back to the early Dutch settlers of New York, making him a member of the "Knickerbocker aristocracy". However, an upbringing surrounded by wealth and privilege did not prevent him, through a combination of circumstances, personal adversity and a compassionate nature, from identifying with the underprivileged--the ill-fed, ill-housed, ill-clothed of Depression America. The series of social programs that he launched in his first term as President to deal in an immediate and pragmatic fashion with the economic collapse and consequent suffering of millions collectively became the New Deal. Some of those programs, such as Social Security, Federal deposit insurance, and others, form the bedrock of what social safety net the US possesses today.[return][return]Yet in their time, many of these programs were predicted to be the end of democracy, the end of society, the beginning of dictatorship and worse. Roosevelt was a controversial president particularly in his second term. Crippled by a major error in attempting to change the composition of the Supreme Court, he faced serious opposition to his social agenda at that time. The outbreak of World War 2 and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor united the country behind him. He was the most effective leader in time of war since Lincoln. When he died on April 12, 1945, the world mourned.[return][return]Roosevelt's life was so rich, so complex that this is but a bare bones synopsis of the book's coverage of just his public life. His private life was no less involved. According to Smith (and others), Roosevelt's life was shaped and influence by four women: his mother, Sara Delano Roosevelt; his wife Eleanor (ER); Lucy Mercer (probably the great love of his life); and Missy LeHand--secretary, devoted companion, and one of the two people in FDR's life who was never afraid to confront him with what they saw as reality.[return][return]Smith is not an exciting writer, but he presents his material well and shows flashes of sardonic humor at times. Given the thorough scholarship and the material itself, that's all that's needed; particularly in the early phases of FDR's political career, including hiis time in albany as state senator and later governor, the book reads like a page-turning thriller, as you race along, marveling at the details of the life of a man who has passed almost into myth. Smith obviously has great affection for Roosevelt; this shows, but does not prevent him from thoroughly exploring Roosevelt's mistakes as well as his successes. Given FDR, those mistakes were not trivial. Some have had negative consequences almost to this day.[return][return]The names associated forever with FDR--Louis Howe, Harry Hopkins, Cordell Hull, Jim Farley, Henry Morgenthau, Jr., Frances Perkins and others--come alive in Smith's treatment. The reader gets a real feel for who these people were and what their contributions were. Through it all, FDR himself stands as a self-confident leader of tremendous vision who had incredible intuitive insight into people, instinctively choosing those of talent and putting them to work in areas perfectly suited to their abilities. This was especially true in wartime--again, he had an uncanny ability to select the right men for the job. Marshall, Eisenhower, Nimitz all appear as they rose to influence and leadership under FDR.[return][return]This is a biography of FDR. Yet, Smith deals extensively with Sara Roosevelt and ER. Both played prominent roles in FDR's career. Smith goes into the affair with Lucy Mercer and shows how that influenced FDR's public and private life for over 40 years. ER's life is documented as appropriate, but Smith rightfully doesn't attempt her biography. Yet, he gives enough detail to give the reader more than a glimpse into an immensely complicated, productive, and influential life.[return][return]Basically, Smith presents FDR's family life as a remarkable political partnership between FDR and ER, but a dismal failure in both the marriage itself and as far as their 5 children were concerned. FDR ahd the interest in his children, but no time; ER is portrayed as having neither, just a sense of duty.[return][return]The run-up to World War 2 and American entry is breathtaking. The tension, as events unfold, is as good as any best-selling mystery thriller, probably better.[return][return]The pace of the book slows down somewhat after American entry into the war. Personally, I think that's due simply to the task of trying to select and condense the enormous amount of relevant material into what was meant to be a one-volume biography of FDR and not a detailed exploration of everything he did as Commander-in-Chief. I believe Smith has suceeded admirably.[return][return]The photos included in the book are excellent. Partiicularly striking are the ones taken in July and August, 1944. Comparing the two, the difference in Roosevelt's appearance is shocking, showing the rapid decline in his physical health. Roosevelt's death was probably preventable, and was due to a combination of medical ignorance and arrogance and incompetence on the part of his personal physician.[return][return]There is one flaw in the book as far as I'm concerned, although it's a very minor one. In the chapter "Heritage", Smith goes into the geneology on both sides of FDR's family. Given the number of ancestors involved, there are a LOT of names. Family trees would have been extremely helpful--can't tell the players without a score card--but unfortunatley there aren't any. However, I consider this lack a trivial annoyance.[return][return] One of the overwhelming impressions a reader takes from the book is Roosevelt's confidence in the American people. When I read possibly the most famous sentence among many he uttered during his career, given towards the end of his first Inaugural Address:[return][return] "So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself--nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance."[return][return]When I asked myself which of today's leading political figures in 2007 has the faith in the American people and the American system to make such a statement, I couldn't think of one.[return][return]There is almost no way to adequately convey the excitement of this book. Suffice it to say that there has to be something engrossing about it if the account of FDR's attempt to pack the Supreme Court and the political battle that followed is gripping enough to keep a reader up past 1 am![return][return]Highly recommended.(less)

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Feb 09, 2009 Martin Lesser rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: general-non-fiction, biography

The period of the great depression and the second world war marks the beginning years of my existence. As a child in this period I only had a vague understanding of what was happening, thus inducing a strong interest in the history of these events. Early on I read the fictional description of the era in the "Lanny Budd" series of Upton Sinclair. Smiths excellent biography has supplied me with both an entertaining and extensive description of what happened from the viewpoint of FDR. The early par...more

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Feb 05, 2009 Bookmarks Magazine added it · review of another edition

The legacy of FDR is safe in the hands of Jean Edward Smith, a renowned academic and author of a dozen books, including the acclaimed biographies Grant (a 2002 Pulitzer Prize finalist), John Marshall: Defender of a Nation (1996), and Lucius D. Clay: An American Life (1990). FDR, which captures the energy, courage, and contradictions of a full life well lived, is considered by many here as the best one-volume biography of that president to date. Several critics comment that in making exhaustive u

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Sep 08, 2012 Carl Rollyson rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"The literature on the Roosevelt era is immense," Jean Edward Smith notes in his preface to "FDR," "there is little that has not been said, somewhere, about the president." So why another biography? Because "Roosevelt himself has become a mythic figure, looming indistinctly out of the mist of the past."

Mr. Smith aims to write not only history but also Plutarchian biography:

The "children's hour" every evening when the president mixed martinis for his guests, the poker games with cabinet cronies,...more "The literature on the Roosevelt era is immense," Jean Edward Smith notes in his preface to "FDR," "there is little that has not been said, somewhere, about the president." So why another biography? Because "Roosevelt himself has become a mythic figure, looming indistinctly out of the mist of the past."

Mr. Smith aims to write not only history but also Plutarchian biography:

The "children's hour" every evening when the president mixed martinis for his guests, the poker games with cabinet cronies, the weekly sojourns on the presidential yacht Potomac, and his personal relations with family and friends warrant extended treatment. Roosevelt enjoyed life to the full, and his unquenchable optimism never faded.

The biographer builds such an intricate network of personal detail that toward the end of the war, when President Franklin Roosevelt asks Eleanor to mix the martinis, we know Roosevelt is about to die. Anecdotes in this biography unmask FDR the man, with his shrewd ability to size up subordinates.

When the preening Douglas MacArthur kept Roosevelt waiting during the President's trip to Pearl Harbor, FDR mildly asked the senior military advisers, "Where's Douglas?" MacArthur then arrived seated in a very long, open touring car with sirens screaming and a motorcycle phalanx. "Hello, Doug," Roosevelt said. "What are you doing with that leather jacket on? It's darn hot today."

Every Roosevelt biographer has to come to terms with how FDR's polio affected the man and his policies. As Mr. Smith notes, for the last 23 years of his life FDR could not stand unassisted, let alone walk even a brief distance without the aid of heavy leg braces. How is it that this "Hudson River aristocrat, a son of privilege who never depended on a paycheck, became the champion of the common man"? The conventional explanation, Mr. Smith notes, is that overcoming personal adversity gave Roosevelt "insight into the nature of suffering." True enough, but that analysis hardly explains the specific nature of FDR's politics. Mr. Smith contends that the decisive influence was FDR's exposure to the "brutal reality of rural poverty" in Warm Springs, GA., an experience that prompted him to help that third of the nation that was "ill-housed, ill-clad, ill-nourished," to quote one of his most famous speeches.

It seems to me after reading Mr. Smith's deeply moving biography that there is yet another reason for FDR's empathy for the less fortunate: Here was a man with a powerful physique (massive shoulders, arms, and chest) who could not propel himself upward or forward, and who risked falling as he stood to greet world figures such as Stalin and Churchill. He expended more energy getting up than most people did in an entire day. He had the money to disguise his disability, to create the illusion that he could walk. But what of most other people who did not have his resources? That was the question that dominated Roosevelt's politics and the reason he believed government had a role in providing equal opportunity for all.

Mr. Smith ranks Roosevelt with Presidents Washington and Lincoln as among this country's greatest leaders. FDR's creation of programs such as social security and the G.I. Bill have ensured his high position among presidents. But Roosevelt was also a great wartime leader. Mr. Smith credits FDR's eight years as second-in-command in the Navy Department during the Wilson administration for FDR's understanding of military organization, allowing him to make key decisions quickly and effectively. Better yet, he had taken the measure of figures such as George Marshall, Dwight Eisenhower, and Douglas MacArthur. By the time of the Pearl Harbor attack, FDR knew that these three men were indispensable, even though many other commanders outranked Marshall and Eisenhower.

Although FDR's greatness is an indisputable theme in Mr. Smith's book, this is no hagiography. If FDR did not invite the attack on Pearl Harbor, he certainly neglected the Pacific theater and pursued policies that, in retrospect, made the Japanese attack all too feasible, Mr. Smith argues. And about FDR's court packing scheme — his attempt to add members to a recalcitrant Supreme Court that declared many New Deal measures unconstitutional — Mr. Smith is scathing. The issue was not a reactionary court, not a group of nine old men not up to the job, but a power-grab by a president who had overreached himself. Similarly, Mr. Smith is in no mood to exonerate FDR from the deplorable decision to intern Japanese residents during wartime.

FDR's flaws notwithstanding, the epigraph to Mr. Smith's biography, taken from Governor Cuomo's keynote address to the 1984 Democratic National Convention, beautifully captures the greatness of the man and the leader: "He lifted himself from his wheelchair to lift this nation from its knees."(less)

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Nov 25, 2011 Jeremy Perron rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Franklin D. Roosevelt was the most important person of the twentieth century, he helped the United States shake off bonds of the nineteenth century and prepared the nation to accept it's new role as a global superpower. When he came to power of March 4, 1933 after the stunning November 1932 election, the nation was at its weakest point since the dark days of the Civil War. The nation had been crippled by the devastation of the 1929 crash, and a man, who was himself disabled, was going to show th...more

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Sep 01, 2011 Lisa rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is the only biography of FDR I have read (there apparently are very many), and I highly recommend it. WOW. I knew very little about FDR before reading this. I was very surprised to learn of his patrician background (the Delano and Roosevelt families were both very wealthy, old money families) and that Eleanor Roosevelt was his cousin. I felt this was a balanced portrait of the man who became president in 1932, continuing to service in office until his death in 1945. FDR certainly had an ind...more

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Jun 22, 2009 Rich DiSilvio rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

FDR is a titanic figure that some reviewers of this book believe should have been more thoroughly dissected and ripped apart. Others just seek to tarnish and degrade this godlike icon for his human faults, while overlooking his immense contributions to our nation and Western civilization.

We're all aware of Lucy Mercer and that burning question that many raise...how could a rich dandy be the man of the common people? As such, they assume that FDR was a poser or cheap politician. Well, one only ne...more

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Mar 02, 2013 Caroline rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: american-history, biography, world-war-2

I'm such a big fan of Teddy Roosevelt that for me FDR has always been 'the other Roosevelt' - although I'm very aware for most people the Roosevelts are very much reversed and Teddy is the other lesser Roosevelt. It's no coincidence, after all, that FDR is generally ranked in the top five of all America's presidents.

American often seems quite fortunate in its Presidents; when the situation is really desperate the right man seems to present himself. They were fortunate indeed with Washington duri...more I'm such a big fan of Teddy Roosevelt that for me FDR has always been 'the other Roosevelt' - although I'm very aware for most people the Roosevelts are very much reversed and Teddy is the other lesser Roosevelt. It's no coincidence, after all, that FDR is generally ranked in the top five of all America's presidents.

American often seems quite fortunate in its Presidents; when the situation is really desperate the right man seems to present himself. They were fortunate indeed with Washington during the Revolution, with Lincoln during the Civil War, and with FDR during the Depression and Second World War. Of course, it's easy to say such things with the benefit of hindsight, and very much an academic exercise in historical what-ifs to wonder how the war might have progressed with another man at the helm, or how the Depression might have deepened. And it's impossible to say how much was the situation and how much was the man.

That said, it cannot be denied that Roosevelt faced more in his four terms as President that most of his predecessors. Pulling the country out of the Depression alone would have ranked as a great achievement; that he used the occasion to propel the country on an almost-revolutionary path of welfare, social security, banking reform, government spending - the legacies of which are still felt to this day. It was FDR who pulled the Democrats from their reactionary, racist Southern roots and made it the party of the common man, the party of the poor, the down-trodden, the excluded - an almost complete U-turn. It was because of FDR that African-Americans abandoned the Republic party, the party of Lincoln, and they've never gone back since.

And it was FDR who did all he could to help the Allies short of joining the war, well aware that the attitude of the American people was not ready for war yet. The Lend-Lease Act gave an almost-bankrupt Britain the means to continue fighting, and the knowledge that he had a kindred spirit in the White House gave Churchill the morale to keep the country fighting. And once the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbour FDR was secure enough not to interfere with his military chiefs, to appoint the right men for the task, men like Eisenhower, and let them do their jobs.

My own criticism of this biography is that I never once felt like it revealed anything new about Roosevelt. I never felt that it got under his skin or explored his thoughts and feelings in any great depth. His family is little touched upon beyond his early years, and his fascinating relationship with Eleanor is little-plumbed. As a recital of Roosevelt's actions as a politician and President it is an excellent biography, but I can't say I've come away from it with any greater understanding of the man.(less)

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Mar 08, 2013 Daniel rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: history

If you're a political buff in America, then reading a biography of FDR for the first timeis a bit like watching Casablanca for the first time--maybe you don't know the story entirely, but you could quote all the memorable lines (even the one that isn't even in the movie). And given the breadth and depth of FDR's influence on America, any single volume, no matter how long, is going to struggle to give any particular accomplishment more than cursory attention.

So how does Jean Edward Smith fare, wi...more If you're a political buff in America, then reading a biography of FDR for the first timeis a bit like watching Casablanca for the first time--maybe you don't know the story entirely, but you could quote all the memorable lines (even the one that isn't even in the movie). And given the breadth and depth of FDR's influence on America, any single volume, no matter how long, is going to struggle to give any particular accomplishment more than cursory attention.

So how does Jean Edward Smith fare, with those challenges in mind? On the New Deal, Smith's account struck me as generally solid but conventional, and this was somewhat disappointing. He generally minimizes the role of race in the New Deal, and his concession that Roosevelt was no hero on civil rights struck me as a little inadequate. Roosevelt needed the cooperation of committee chairmen from the Jim Crow South, who supported his New Deal programs so long as they buttressed white supremacy.

The result was an emphasis on 'local control' where local administrators (like Strom Thurmond in South Carolina) would steer aid largely to struggling white families. The income disparity between white workers and black workers grow markedly until the civil rights era thirty years later. The irony is that Roosevelt's symbolic, rhetorical support for the black population helped encourage a later generation of liberals to embrace civil rights more fully.

Smith is generally better when it comes to Roosevelt's wartime leadership. He seems much more energized by the material. The chapter about the deterioration of Japanese-American relations leading up to the bombing at Pearl Harbor is probably the most compelling material in the book. I was struck by how Roosevelt's relative indifference allowed relatively minor figures to play crucial roles. Smith's account was sufficiently intriguing to me that I'd like to read a book that explores the subject in more depth.

In general, I think this is a good book if you're looking for a straightforward narrative of Roosevelt's life and his importance in American history. I often found myself wishing that he had devoted more space to particular subjects, but to a large extent that's inherent in the subject matter.(less)

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Jul 23, 2011 Jordan Gomez rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: politics-and-history

I have had the pleasure of reading two single volume biographies of FDR back to back, so my views on one was affected by how I contrast it with the other. Any student of political history would be well served by reading either of these books. They are FDR by Jean Edward Smith and Traitor to His Class: The Privileged Life and Radical Presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt by H.W. Brands. They are both of a similar length but the emphasis of the two books felt different, probably more different f...more

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Sep 08, 2009 Richard rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Jean Edward Smith acknowledges that there is no lack of biographies of Franklin Delano Roosevelt or histories of the time period in which he lived, but he wanted to bring something new to current readers who have not realized the importance of this president who led the nation in times of the worst economic catastrophe and most momentous war in history. Smith attributes this hazy memory of FDR not only to the passage of time since the Roosevelt era, but to the efforts of conservative leaders fro...more

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Mar 04, 2013 Aaron rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a well-balanced, thoroughly researched biography of FDR. The notes section is excellent - there is so much more information contained in both the footnotes and the end notes that I followed along with the end notes as I finished each corresponding chapter. Smith does an admirable job of balancing the strengths and weaknesses, flaws and virtues, that made FDR such a complex person. Smith details certain instances of FDR's ruthlessness (1938 congressional elections, for example), while als...more This is a well-balanced, thoroughly researched biography of FDR. The notes section is excellent - there is so much more information contained in both the footnotes and the end notes that I followed along with the end notes as I finished each corresponding chapter. Smith does an admirable job of balancing the strengths and weaknesses, flaws and virtues, that made FDR such a complex person. Smith details certain instances of FDR's ruthlessness (1938 congressional elections, for example), while also showing how FDR changed his will to give half of his estate to Missy LeHand in exchange for her years of loyal service to him.

FDR was a truly incredible man and leader, and one of my favorite Presidents. However, he certainly did many things that were not upstanding. Smith does a good job of detailing FDR's time as Assistant Secretary of the Navy under Woodrow Wilson during WWI. I did not think that Smith devoted much attention to FDR's tenure as Governor of New York, but then again, FDR seemed to have his sights set on the presidency by that point.

I also do not think that Smith talked a great deal of Eleanor's impact during the White House years. Once the affair with Lucy Mercer was revealed, she seemed to fade more or less into the background. Which, perhaps, is what happened from FDR's point of view. And the book ends abruptly - FDR dies on the final page. So, there is no Epilogue to talk about some of the many lasting legacies that FDR left us with, and nothing much of reaction in the way of his death. For example, FDR kept Truman at arm's length and didn't share any information with him. This while knowing that he was in ill heath. It seems to me that he did a great disservice to Truman personally, and the country and war effort in general, by keeping Truman in the dark. Again, maybe Smith ended the book in this fashion to signify the abruptness of FDR's death and the shock that it caused to the country.

One final comment: Smith structured the book in a manner where almost all of the chapters read all the wat through, with no breaks contained within the chapters themselves when he switches to a different subject. I prefer books that have some breaks - more for the reason that I can read a few quick pages here and there. Whereas with a book like Smith's, once I started a chapter I wanted to try to finish it so that I am not picking it up in the middle of something later. But that does not detract from the quality of the book. (less)

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Apr 25, 2013 Mary rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"By far the best biography of FDR I have read -- and I have read about a dozen -- thorough without being dull, fair without being either worshipful or catty, and very readable, even riveting in sections (though some people have suggested I rivet easily!) I especially appreciated the depth it went to show his political development and to chronicle both his raging successes and his abysmal mistakes. Like most human beings, he was subject to more than a fair share of hubris, but he was also blessed...more

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Dec 01, 2008 Amy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was a really interesting look at Franklin Delano Roosevelt. We all assume we know this president, but this book makes clear that there were essentially three Roosevelt presidencies: the Depression president, the Court-packing screw up, and the war president. He was a person who grew tremendously from his days in the state assembly of New York, started testing his Depression fighting ideas as New York governor, and then served as our only four-term president. In a time when we just elected o...more

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Apr 07, 2013 John Hibbs rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A single volume biography of FDR, written from the perspective of an admirer.
The price for briefness is, unavoidably, superficiality. Great Depression, New Deal, World War 2 are hard stories to squeeze into 600 pages, when family stories must also be told, including various infidelities with secretaries or body guards. What I miss most in this bio is an attempt to go inside the man's brains. We don't see FDR's intellectual development. His New Deal comes out of nowhere, as far as this book is co...more

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Feb 23, 2009 Jeff rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009

A well-balanced and informative biography of FDR, this book focused both on his triumphs and failures. I learned a lot I didn't know - about his political aspirations to be president early in life, about the 15 pieces of legislation passed in his first 100 days to bring the country out of the Great Depression, about the 'Roosevelt' recession caused by him cutting federal spending after the country rebounded from the first recession, about his reluctance and preparedness for getting into WWII and...more

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Dec 29, 2012 Stephen Tow rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book ends upon FDR's death. I found myself choking up as I finished the last page, nearly 70 years after Roosevelt's demise. After getting through the early Franklin and Eleanor drivel, Smith brings to life a powerful historical figure who accomplished more in the first 100 days of his presidency than most do in their entire term. Without World War II, however, FDR would have likely been viewed as a slightly better than average president. Regardless, the extraordinary humanity of this giant...more

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Mar 31, 2013 Swvinson rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: biography

I have a personal goal of reading a biography of each President of the United States - in hope of better understanding the challenges of the office and unique personal history each person brought to the office. I am about half way through my goal and have enjoyed reading a

This was an interesting and insightful introduction to FDR. At times the detail of the various projects that the President worked on overwhelmed me a bit....but generally I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to someone in...more

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Jan 22, 2012 Gary Schroeder rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Walking through FDR'S estate in Hyde Park, New York, I was intrigued by the exhibits that I saw there, particularly a display of letters written by desperate Americans petitioning the White House for support in light of extreme hardship. These letters were posted in a room dedicated to explaining the origins of the social security program. I needed to know more. I went in search of a well-rated FDR biography and this is the one I chose.

Jean Edward Smith's biography covers every period of Rooseve...more Walking through FDR'S estate in Hyde Park, New York, I was intrigued by the exhibits that I saw there, particularly a display of letters written by desperate Americans petitioning the White House for support in light of extreme hardship. These letters were posted in a room dedicated to explaining the origins of the social security program. I needed to know more. I went in search of a well-rated FDR biography and this is the one I chose.

Jean Edward Smith's biography covers every period of Roosevelt's life, from childhood through his fourth term as president of the United States. The account is well paced and very accessible, but I felt it suffered a bit from trying to fit too much in a small space. Even though it clocks in at over 600 pages, it seems to leave much out by necessity. Roosevelt's life was so full and spanned so many years in American politics that any book which aims for anything less than a fully comprehensive account must be selective in what it documents. Either that, or you wind up with a three volume tome that many readers would find too daunting to to approach.

So, given all of that, I rate Smith's biography as a competent overview for the interested casual reader. This account is certainly complete enough to provide the reader with a good understanding of the facts. From the influence of FDR's overbearing mother in his early life, to his governorship in New York, his adult-onset polio and terms as president through the Great Depression and World War II.

What's missing is a lot of backstory and context-setting. While Smith relates details surrounding each major historical point, the background is often missing. By that I mean, for example, I didn't get a good explanation of one of the programs that originally inspired me to pick up the book: the origins of social security. Smith doesn't cover much of the mood of the country or how such a monumental program came about. Smith gives a lot of the what, but not so much of the why. I could have used a bit more of that.(less)

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Apr 25, 2011 Tori rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: for-genj-book-club-2010, biographies, non-fiction

Many people might think that a biography is a biography; they all contain facts about someone’s life. They might think that the only thing important is the quantity and credibility of the facts contained in the biography. To a point, yes, the facts that back up a biography are important. But there are several other factors that can make even a well researched book a not so good one; writing style, the author’s bias (while it is pretty much inevitable for a biography to have a bias, there is a po...more Many people might think that a biography is a biography; they all contain facts about someone’s life. They might think that the only thing important is the quantity and credibility of the facts contained in the biography. To a point, yes, the facts that back up a biography are important. But there are several other factors that can make even a well researched book a not so good one; writing style, the author’s bias (while it is pretty much inevitable for a biography to have a bias, there is a point where it can get in the way of the story) and the way the author presents the facts, to name a few.
The reason for the preamble? I needed it to explain my opinion of Jean Edward Smith’s FDR. The book had a lot of good facts that helped to give a picture of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and as someone who knew little about him before I learned quite a bit about our 32nd president, but it missed on so many other notes that in my opinion the book failed.
For starters, the writing style was one that I really didn’t care for. Smith broke one of the principle rules of writing, which is not to use a cliché phrase while writing narrative. FDR was filled with them, and once or twice I stumbled over his words because I was trying to take what he said literally when he didn’t mean it that way. Also, he used some language in his narrative, which I disliked completely. It made it almost unprofessional.
Also, his bias was overpowering. Even when you admire a man, which obviously Smith had deep admiration for FDR, you can still show the side of him that has his flaws. Yet any flaws FDR had I had to read between the lines of the narrative. And major flaws that the author couldn’t avoid he didn’t condemn; it felt like he either justified them or termed them “mistakes”.
I have trouble respecting Franklin Roosevelt as much as the author did. Yes, FDR helped the country through some hard times (whether his choices have helped us in the long term is a different discussion), but he had some deep character flaws. Roosevelt would put the votes he needed for reelection over important issues that should have been resolved (i.e. not trying to institute anti-lynching legislation in the South to protect people because he would loose votes there), or how he was consistently being disloyal to his wife and was never sorry for it.
So it really only boils down to this: is the book worth reading, and would I recommend it? My answer on both accounts is no, I really wouldn’t. Yes the book had plenty of facts, but none that you probably couldn’t find in other biographies. If you really want to learn about Franklin Roosevelt, I would recommend you try to find another biography besides Jean Edward Smith’s FDR. It just had more issues than I could handle.
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Jun 20, 2010 Mike rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Overall, this was an excellent read. Smith ably rises to the challenge of producing a comprehensive biography that also manages to be (relatively) brief. At close to 900 pages including the very interesting end notes, it’s as brief as a single-volume biography can be about a person with such a long and storied career. Smith lays plenty of groundwork for the emergence of FDR the president, detailing his crucial relationship with his mother, with his famous cousin Theodore Roosevelt, and his years...more Overall, this was an excellent read. Smith ably rises to the challenge of producing a comprehensive biography that also manages to be (relatively) brief. At close to 900 pages including the very interesting end notes, it’s as brief as a single-volume biography can be about a person with such a long and storied career. Smith lays plenty of groundwork for the emergence of FDR the president, detailing his crucial relationship with his mother, with his famous cousin Theodore Roosevelt, and his years as Assistant Secretary of the Navy before and during the First World War: in all of these experiences, we can see traits and attitudes emerging that will serve Roosevelt well during the crisis years of his presidency. But this is no hagiography- FDR is presented warts and all, as an adulterer and distant parent and a ruthless, sometimes petty partisan politician. Nonetheless, FDR became the indispensable man during the worst years of the Great Depression and the Second World War, personally shaping and overseeing the United States’ response to these two existential threats.
FDR’s tenure with the Navy, his Depression/New Deal presidency, and his World War Two leadership each merit (and have received) independent biographical treatment. Smith’s book balances all of these phases of FDR’s career-and more- in a way that maintains an even narrative, while providing plenty of references for the curious reader to pursue further.
It’s difficult, with such a subject, to limit the scope of a biography- context is always needed. Smith provides useful and informative background in detailing the legislative battles over various New Deal programs, and I found the details of the pre- WWII diplomacy fascinating. However, I could have done without the extensive play-by-play treatment of FDR’s early political races and the various Presidential nominating conventions. But, it is from details like these that Smith crafts a complete portrait of FDR… I can’t imagine how our nation would have fared without his leadership during those critical years.
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Mar 10, 2011 Steve Van Slyke rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Those wanting a comprehensive look at FDR

Shelves: history

This was my second book by the author, the first being John Marshall: Definer of a Nation, which I enjoyed a great deal. I think FDR received a fair and balanced appraisal. His mistakes in both his personal and political lives are not overlooked. And at the same time we see that he was the right man, at the right place at the right time. The parallels between the Hoover-Roosevelt and Bush-Obama transitions are interesting, although Roosevelt clearly had more serious problems to deal with and les...more

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Jun 06, 2008 Paul rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: american-history

This is a very abbreviated bio (I was sure I had an abridged copy and looked more than once on the dust jacket for some indication). From the beginning of FDR’s 3rd term until his death spans roughly 100 pages. His death is discussed in the closing paragraphs. After reading the last sentence, I just scratched my head and thought, “well, I guess that’s that.” In dealing with the War, I can appreciate Smith placing a greater emphasis on Roosevelt, rather than bogging the reader down with yet anoth...more

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Mar 24, 2011 Nick rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

In this account, Roosevelt rose to the occasion in the two most important periods of his presidency. First, immediately after taking office, Roosevelt’s administration acted with incredible speed in drafting legislation and making decisions which stopped the slide into disorder. Second, prior to U.S. participation in the war, Roosevelt stretched his authority to provide aid to the allies and secure Atlantic shipping while steadily steering public opinion behind him. He acted with discretion and...more

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Mar 22, 2008 Brian rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: U.S. history buffs

I've read several books on Eleanor Roosevelt and one book about both Franklin and Eleanor (No Ordinary Time by Doris Kearns Goodwin - a phenomenal book, by the way), but I had never read a book about Franklin Roosevelt. FDR was certainly one of the greatest, if not the greatest, American president (even though some of my diseased relatives would probably roll over in their graves at my statement of this!).

I enjoyed the author Smith's perspective on FDR's role as Commander-in-Chief during World...more I've read several books on Eleanor Roosevelt and one book about both Franklin and Eleanor (No Ordinary Time by Doris Kearns Goodwin - a phenomenal book, by the way), but I had never read a book about Franklin Roosevelt. FDR was certainly one of the greatest, if not the greatest, American president (even though some of my diseased relatives would probably roll over in their graves at my statement of this!).

I enjoyed the author Smith's perspective on FDR's role as Commander-in-Chief during World War II. FDR's shrewd judge of character served him well in his selections of George Marshall as Army Chief of Staff, Eisenhower as Supreme Allied Commander, and Admiral Nimitz as head of the Naval Forces in the Pacific. In making all of these selections, these three military men leaped over dozens and dozens of similar or more highly ranked officers with years and years of more seniority. But these picks proved worthy and lived up to FDR's confidence in them.

Smith was clearly enamored of FDR (and not nearly as impressed with ER). Nevertheless he did not pull any punches in pointing out and criticizing FDR for his mistakes, including the Court-packing scheme and attempting to balance the budget in 1938 (thereby creating the depression within a depression). He was also critical of FDR in delegating the negotiations with the Japanese in 1941 to his cabinet officers, who were biased by feelings of racial superiority in the dealings with the Japanese. FDR's greater attention to the European theatre and the naval skirmishes in the North Atlantic with German submarines were largely responsible for his lack of attention to the Japanese negotiations.

I was a bit surprised that Smith was not very critical of FDR and ER as parents of their children. As grown adults, most of the Roosevelt children seemed quick to take advantage of their father's position as President and not as responsible with their own lives and families as they could have been.

I was also quite surprised to read of how much FDR patterned his early career after that of his famous cousin Teddy Roosevelt. I had known about how they were each NY State Assemblymen, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, and Governor of New York state. I did not know that FDR pursued these positions simply because his cousin had held them previously.

I learned a lot about FDR by reading this book. I have always been interested in FDR's life. My wife and I have visited and greatly enjoyed the FDR homestead at Hyde Park and to the FDR Presidential Library and Museum several times. We also made it to the Roosevelt summer cottage in Campabello, which is also a treat. Someday we'll make it to Warm Springs, GA, where FDR tried valiantly to regain the strength in his legs lost from his bout with polio.(less)

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About Jean Edward Smith

Currently he is the John Marshall Professor of Political Science at Marshall University and professor emeritus at the University of Toronto after having served as professor of political economy there for thirty-five years. Smith also currently serves as professor of history and government at Ashland University.

A graduate of McKinley High School in Washington, D.C., Smith received an A.B. from Prin...more

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