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Great introduction to FDR's efforts at responding to the Great Depression upon his entrance into the presidency. Sometimes a bit too much psychoanalyzing, but there should be no doubt that FDR was the great president of the 20th century, not necessarily for finding a domestic economic cure for the Great Depression, but for helping millions of suffering people and giving them hope. His leadership of WWII would take care of the rest, but that's for another book. Great description of FDR's pre-pres
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If ever a president seemed to come to the office at the perfect moment, it was Franklin Delano Roosevelt. When Roosevelt was inaugurated on March 4, 1933, the country was in the depths of the depression with the banking system at the point of collapse all across the country. While this is suppose to be the story of the First Hundred Days of Roosevelt's first term, the discussion of that period is only about a third of the book. Alter profiles the life of Roosevelt before his election in 1932 and
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This is a gripping biography about FDR that focuses on his first 100 days as president. Fortunately, there is lots of background information about FDR, since I am a moron. The book as a whole, particularly the transition from Hoover to FDR and FDR's first 100 days was quite interesting as a contrast to our current times. Highly recommended!
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Excellent, informative read! Not a page-turner, exactly (and it's probably not supposed to be), but I learned a lot that I didn't know. It went beyond the mythology surrounding FDR, and I drew inspiration from the fact that someone who undeniably had plenty of faults and weaknesses could still be the right person at the right time to do great things and change the course of history. Probably an especially relevant book to read now, given the current economic and political situation.
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Oct 23, 2008
Linda
marked it as to-read
Charlie Rose, Jonathan Alter, Mark Halpern and Eric Foner determined, through the process of elimination, that this is the book Barack Obama referenced in his 60 Minutes (11-16-08) interview that he was reading.
Was a good book. It will be interesting to notice how this book will be seen after the Obama presidency.
Aug 26, 2010
Deedee
marked it as to-read
Aug 08, 2012
Bekah Porter-Sandy
marked it as to-read
Nov 28, 2017
McFly
marked it as to-read
