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Before the Trumpet: Young Franklin Roosevelt, 1882-1905
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432 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1985
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About the author
Geoffrey C. Ward
113 books138 followersGeoffrey Champion Ward is an author and screenwriter of various documentary presentations of American history. He graduated from Oberlin College in 1962.
He was an editor of American Heritage magazine early in his career. He wrote the television mini-series The Civil War with its director Ken Burns and has collaborated with Burns on every documentary he has made since, including Jazz and Baseball. This work won him five Emmy Awards. The most recent Burns/Ward collaboration, The War, premiered on PBS in September 2007. In addition he co-wrote The West, of which Ken Burns was an executive producer, with fellow historian Dayton Duncan.
He was an editor of American Heritage magazine early in his career. He wrote the television mini-series The Civil War with its director Ken Burns and has collaborated with Burns on every documentary he has made since, including Jazz and Baseball. This work won him five Emmy Awards. The most recent Burns/Ward collaboration, The War, premiered on PBS in September 2007. In addition he co-wrote The West, of which Ken Burns was an executive producer, with fellow historian Dayton Duncan.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
July 11, 2016
https://bestpresidentialbios.com/2016...
Geoffrey Ward’s “Before the Trumpet: Young Franklin Roosevelt, 1882-1905” was published in 1985 and was followed four years later by the award-winning “A First-Class Temperament: The Emergence of Franklin Roosevelt, 1905-1928.” Ward is a historian and author and has written about a wide range of subjects including Mark Twain, jazz and the U.S. Civil War.
This 342 page book provides a detailed look at Franklin Roosevelt’s early years – from his birth to his marriage to Eleanor in 1905 at the age of twenty-three. But it also offers an in-depth look at several generations of FDR’s ancestors, with detail and insight rarely found elsewhere.
Ward’s book proves an easy, fluid read which is supported by careful research and skillful drafting. But this is not a conventional biography, a character study or an exploration of Roosevelt’s (eventual) political philosophy. Instead, it is an absorbing array of stories stitched together to create a colorful tapestry of FDR and his family. And while Franklin is not consistently the center of attention, he is more often than not its spiritual epicenter.
Some readers may be disappointed (if not downright surprised) by the emphasis afforded FDR’s forebears. More than 100 pages pass before Franklin is born. Even then, however, the reader is whisked quickly through Franklin’s first fifteen years. Only when FDR leaves home to attend Groton does the pace slow meaningfully.
But Franklin does not remain the center of attention for long – the book’s final two chapters are largely devoted to Eleanor Roosevelt and her relationship with the future president. These chapters prove exceptionally rewarding and Ward provides the most engaging review of Eleanor’s early life that I’ve ever read. It is almost a more compelling narrative than that provided to Franklin in earlier chapters.
One of the most unique (and unexpected) features of Ward’s book is the way he employs footnotes. Where they are often dry and cumbersome in other books, Ward’s footnotes are often as interesting as the text they support. This is particularly remarkable given the fact that they occasionally take up more of the page than the narrative itself.
Overall, Geoffrey Ward’s “Before the Trumpet: Young Franklin Roosevelt” is a highly readable book which provides a fine if not perfect introduction to the young FDR. Ward provides the most detailed exploration of FDR’s ancestry, and the best review of Eleanor’s troubled early life, that I have encountered. But much about Franklin’s early life, personality and and his eventual proclivity for politics remains a mystery…perhaps to be solved by the Ward’s next installment: “A First-Class Temperament: The Emergence of Franklin Roosevelt.”
Overall rating: 4 stars
Geoffrey Ward’s “Before the Trumpet: Young Franklin Roosevelt, 1882-1905” was published in 1985 and was followed four years later by the award-winning “A First-Class Temperament: The Emergence of Franklin Roosevelt, 1905-1928.” Ward is a historian and author and has written about a wide range of subjects including Mark Twain, jazz and the U.S. Civil War.
This 342 page book provides a detailed look at Franklin Roosevelt’s early years – from his birth to his marriage to Eleanor in 1905 at the age of twenty-three. But it also offers an in-depth look at several generations of FDR’s ancestors, with detail and insight rarely found elsewhere.
Ward’s book proves an easy, fluid read which is supported by careful research and skillful drafting. But this is not a conventional biography, a character study or an exploration of Roosevelt’s (eventual) political philosophy. Instead, it is an absorbing array of stories stitched together to create a colorful tapestry of FDR and his family. And while Franklin is not consistently the center of attention, he is more often than not its spiritual epicenter.
Some readers may be disappointed (if not downright surprised) by the emphasis afforded FDR’s forebears. More than 100 pages pass before Franklin is born. Even then, however, the reader is whisked quickly through Franklin’s first fifteen years. Only when FDR leaves home to attend Groton does the pace slow meaningfully.
But Franklin does not remain the center of attention for long – the book’s final two chapters are largely devoted to Eleanor Roosevelt and her relationship with the future president. These chapters prove exceptionally rewarding and Ward provides the most engaging review of Eleanor’s early life that I’ve ever read. It is almost a more compelling narrative than that provided to Franklin in earlier chapters.
One of the most unique (and unexpected) features of Ward’s book is the way he employs footnotes. Where they are often dry and cumbersome in other books, Ward’s footnotes are often as interesting as the text they support. This is particularly remarkable given the fact that they occasionally take up more of the page than the narrative itself.
Overall, Geoffrey Ward’s “Before the Trumpet: Young Franklin Roosevelt” is a highly readable book which provides a fine if not perfect introduction to the young FDR. Ward provides the most detailed exploration of FDR’s ancestry, and the best review of Eleanor’s troubled early life, that I have encountered. But much about Franklin’s early life, personality and and his eventual proclivity for politics remains a mystery…perhaps to be solved by the Ward’s next installment: “A First-Class Temperament: The Emergence of Franklin Roosevelt.”
Overall rating: 4 stars
August 28, 2021
This is an incredible book based on history in diaries and personal correspondence. The book traces the influences on family and life on the formative years of Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt. The book ends with their marriage on March 17, 1905. I feel certain that no historian alive today knows Franklin Roosevelt better than Geoffrey Ward. His books are thoroughly researched and very entertaining. If you want to dig deep on Franklin and Eleanor, this book is a great place to start. I have a place for this book on my shelf. Very well done. JIM.
October 16, 2020
I had read this some years ago and liked it -- liked it again, but maybe a little less so. I think Ward does some amateur psychoanalysis that might or might not be justified, and he certainly spends quite a bit of time on family background for both Franklin and Eleanor -- stories that are interesting but maybe not pertinent to FDR, in my opinion. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in him, but I'm not sure it'd be my first choice...
July 12, 2016
Detailed look at the birth, childhood, and adolescence of Franklin Roosevelt, culminating with his marriage to his fifth cousin Eleanor in 1905. Ward actually begins the story way before Roosevelt was born, tracing in detail his grandparents' paths to wealth, and then the lives of his parents. The first one-third of the book takes place mainly prior to his 1882 birth.
His parents both loomed large in his early life. Indeed, his mother, Sara, remained in his life almost until he himself died, as she predeceased him only by four years. She was smothering and quietly controlling - rarely allowing him out of her sight, and then not for very long. She even wanted to move to Boston while he was a student at Harvard! His father, Mr. James as he was known to everyone, was much older and was held up to Franklin - and many others - as the ideal gentleman. Unfortunately, he began experiencing a series of heart attacks throughout the 1890s that steadily weakened him. As he grew weaker, his influence on Franklin likewise waned. He died in 1900, when FDR was 18.
Ward then reviews FDR's time at both Groton (a boys' preparatory school north of Boston) and Harvard. Roosevelt never really fit in at either place - coming across to many as an insincere person (this charge would be leveled at him throughout his time as President - and with good reason). His rejection by the Porcellian Club seemed to scar him for the remainder of his life - an odd thing, yet perhaps it was because he was used to getting everything he wanted, and yet here was something that he could not buy.
The last one-third of the book deals with Eleanor Roosevelt's troubled and sad childhood - thanks mainly to her father Elliott's weakness for alcohol and women. She was really not wanted by anyone and was bounced around from place to place, relative to relative. Thus she grew up to have very little self-worth - and this is before her marriage to Franklin turned sour. Ward does a really good job of dissecting how her childhood affected her so much later on. Refreshingly, he does not try to play psychoanalyst, but interpolates the facts for what they are. And he repeatedly says that some things can only be surmised at.
This is a solid effort, and Ward clearly did his research on it. I enjoyed the book. If anything, I would have preferred a little less background on some of Roosevelt's ancestors, but Ward was not excessive by any means.
Grade: A-
His parents both loomed large in his early life. Indeed, his mother, Sara, remained in his life almost until he himself died, as she predeceased him only by four years. She was smothering and quietly controlling - rarely allowing him out of her sight, and then not for very long. She even wanted to move to Boston while he was a student at Harvard! His father, Mr. James as he was known to everyone, was much older and was held up to Franklin - and many others - as the ideal gentleman. Unfortunately, he began experiencing a series of heart attacks throughout the 1890s that steadily weakened him. As he grew weaker, his influence on Franklin likewise waned. He died in 1900, when FDR was 18.
Ward then reviews FDR's time at both Groton (a boys' preparatory school north of Boston) and Harvard. Roosevelt never really fit in at either place - coming across to many as an insincere person (this charge would be leveled at him throughout his time as President - and with good reason). His rejection by the Porcellian Club seemed to scar him for the remainder of his life - an odd thing, yet perhaps it was because he was used to getting everything he wanted, and yet here was something that he could not buy.
The last one-third of the book deals with Eleanor Roosevelt's troubled and sad childhood - thanks mainly to her father Elliott's weakness for alcohol and women. She was really not wanted by anyone and was bounced around from place to place, relative to relative. Thus she grew up to have very little self-worth - and this is before her marriage to Franklin turned sour. Ward does a really good job of dissecting how her childhood affected her so much later on. Refreshingly, he does not try to play psychoanalyst, but interpolates the facts for what they are. And he repeatedly says that some things can only be surmised at.
This is a solid effort, and Ward clearly did his research on it. I enjoyed the book. If anything, I would have preferred a little less background on some of Roosevelt's ancestors, but Ward was not excessive by any means.
Grade: A-
June 19, 2009
This is quite a fine book - difficult to appreciate. Geoffrey Ward does a masterful bit of writing, recreating the childhood, youth, even birth of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. It is obvious quite early that this boy is no ordinary or average boy. It is obvious this boy is receiving an extraordinary education, along with exceptional learning experiences, guided (especially) by a remarkable mother. The thing difficult to appreciate is this boy only as a boy - here, now - without anticipating that all this is prelude, "Before the Trumpet," that this is the fledgling Pres. Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
July 11, 2015
This book goes into much greater detail than the currently published: The Roosevelts: An Intimate History.
Both are formatted to give background on all three Roosevelts, but this book gives much greater detail about the lineage of the entire Roosevelt line. I read both at the same time though, as the newer book provides a lot of photo documentation that this earlier book did not offer. Well written and researched, I learned a lot about this family I did not know. I'm now planning to start the second installment that Geoffrey Ward wrote.
Both are formatted to give background on all three Roosevelts, but this book gives much greater detail about the lineage of the entire Roosevelt line. I read both at the same time though, as the newer book provides a lot of photo documentation that this earlier book did not offer. Well written and researched, I learned a lot about this family I did not know. I'm now planning to start the second installment that Geoffrey Ward wrote.
September 12, 2009
Very interesting biography because it tells the story of FDR before he became a famous politican and president. Tells of his parents and his years as a student and young husband
August 21, 2010
I thought this was a great description of the life of the American elite during the 19th century, and a great exploration of what made Roosevelt Roosevelt.
January 15, 2025
I thought the book was a fascinating look at someone who history and the culture has elevated into a King Arthur type legend. Before reading it, I would have said I knew FDR and yet I knew very little about anything prior to his presidency. The took takes us through a tour of his family history and its rise to wealth and prominence from which FDR spring. Also a very detailed investigation into his relationship with his parents which I quite liked.
It raised a series of interesting questions for me which I had not previously considered: primarily, how did an American blue blood with all rights to belief in laissez faire economics and low-touch government break from that upbringing and culture to lead the New Deal and transformation of the American way of life. This book gets at something I think largely forgotten, which is how much that culture disliked what he did and even him personally and considered him a traitor.
It raised a series of interesting questions for me which I had not previously considered: primarily, how did an American blue blood with all rights to belief in laissez faire economics and low-touch government break from that upbringing and culture to lead the New Deal and transformation of the American way of life. This book gets at something I think largely forgotten, which is how much that culture disliked what he did and even him personally and considered him a traitor.
February 21, 2025
The Roosevelts are such an interesting family and reading about Eleanor and Franklin when they were young was a first for me. I've read several books about them when he was President and about her after his death so this was new information. The more American history I read as an adult, and as someone who minored in history in college, I strongly suggest that you read biographies and autobiographies of important personages in our history. It gives you an entirely different perspective on our history as a nation.
June 30, 2024
This was required reading for work, but it was decent! I enjoyed the early chapters about Mr. James and Rebecca, and the bit about Warren Delano’s time in China was quite exciting. The writing style wasn’t bad, but this just failed to hold my attention overall. I’m not driven to read a Roosevelt biography in my free-time, but that’s not the book’s fault. Not bad!
March 26, 2020
3 1/2 stars FDR bio that is about the history of his parents, and his youth up until when he marries Eleanor. Not bad, I learned a few things, especially about his parents. But it did get a little dry at times.
June 7, 2017
I loved this book! Well-written and read like a novel.
October 13, 2024
A revealing biography of the young Roosevelt which is well-written and brings him to live as a personality. There was not the emphasis on politics which for me tends to make some of the books about statesmen unreadable. Cannot recommend highly enough. I have yet to come across the second part.
June 29, 2014
This is a story of three extremely wealthy families---the Roosevelts, the Delanos and the Roosevelts---that repeatedly came close to becoming ultra rich (with one marrying an Astor but never touching the money). It's basically what you'd imagine a book about the one-percent to be like, save, as it takes place in the nineteenth century, it has a fair number of dead children in it. (The main upshot of this is that unlike a lot of books about famous people in earlier periods, the families thought themselves important enough to keep tremendous amount of information about themselves.) The book itself has a stuffy Victorian quality to it, which makes it like reading a classic novel.
The back flap suggests that this story would be interesting even if it weren't about the future FDR. I disagree. The young Roosevelt was very pragmatic (in this book at any rate) and doesn't seem to have an especial use of inner turmoil that might have made him more intriguing in a strictly literally sense. So the appeal is mainly historical.
If you read this book, it's best to read it in as close to one sitting as you can manage. This book traces the paternal and maternal families of FDR, families that tended to alternate pairs of names every other generation. If that doesn't get confusing enough, FDR married a cousin whose last name was already Roosevelt! And the author tends to circle back and forth with flashbacks and flash forwards. The result demands substantial concentration and leaves you pining for family trees.
The back flap suggests that this story would be interesting even if it weren't about the future FDR. I disagree. The young Roosevelt was very pragmatic (in this book at any rate) and doesn't seem to have an especial use of inner turmoil that might have made him more intriguing in a strictly literally sense. So the appeal is mainly historical.
If you read this book, it's best to read it in as close to one sitting as you can manage. This book traces the paternal and maternal families of FDR, families that tended to alternate pairs of names every other generation. If that doesn't get confusing enough, FDR married a cousin whose last name was already Roosevelt! And the author tends to circle back and forth with flashbacks and flash forwards. The result demands substantial concentration and leaves you pining for family trees.
January 7, 2025
Before the Trumpet by Geoffrey C. Ward is a well-crafted and insightful look into the early years of Franklin D. Roosevelt, from his privileged childhood to his formative years before entering the political spotlight. I read this as required reading for a college class, and it provided a thorough and engaging exploration of how his upbringing and family background shaped the future president.
Ward’s detailed research and storytelling make this a compelling biography, offering a glimpse into the influences and events that would later guide FDR’s leadership. While it leans heavily on historical context, it remains accessible and intriguing. Overall, a great read for anyone interested in Roosevelt’s early life or American political history.
Ward’s detailed research and storytelling make this a compelling biography, offering a glimpse into the influences and events that would later guide FDR’s leadership. While it leans heavily on historical context, it remains accessible and intriguing. Overall, a great read for anyone interested in Roosevelt’s early life or American political history.
May 31, 2013
Great. I wish he'd write #3.
March 31, 2014
Excellent book of FDR's younger years in Hyde Park and New York City.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews