The Roosevelt Presence: The Life and Legacy of FDR

by Patrick J. Maney

Franklin D. Roosevelt is the only twentieth-century president consistently ranked by historians with the Founding Fathers and Abraham Lincoln. His leadership in the dark hours of the Depression and the Second World War has endowed him in the eyes of many with an aura of greatness, and his presidency has been the explicit or implicit model for all of his successors, from Truman to Clinton. In this concise biography, Patrick J. Maney provides an original and insightful reexamination of Roosevelt's life and legacy, carefully sifting fact from myth and showing how the Roosevelt legend―for good and for ill―has shaped the modern presidency.

278 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1992

About the author

Patrick Maney is professor of history at Boston College.

Reviews

[Kostas Sarlis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short but dense and not at all dumbed down. Like all political biographies should be.

[Dana Schultz · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was difficult to get into this book...felt the author's writing style was boring with most of the material.