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His Final Battle: The Last Months of Franklin Roosevelt
“By far the most enigmatic leading figure” of World War II. That’s how the British military historian John Keegan described Franklin D. Roosevelt, who frequently left his contemporaries guessing, never more so than at the end of his life. Here, in a hugely insightful account, a prizewinning author and journalist untangles the narrative threads of Roosevelt’s final months, showing how he juggled the strategic, political, and personal choices he faced as the war, his presidency, and his life raced in tandem to their climax.
The story has been told piecemeal but never like this, with a close focus on Roosevelt himself and his hopes for a stable international order after the war, and how these led him into a prolonged courtship of Joseph Stalin, the Soviet dictator, involving secret, arduous journeys to Tehran and the Crimea. In between, as the war entered its final phase, came the thunderbolt of a dire medical diagnosis, raising urgent questions about the ability of the longest-serving president to stand for a fourth term at a time when he had little choice. Neither his family nor top figures in his administration were informed of his diagnosis, let alone the public or his closest ally, Winston Churchill. With D-Day looming, Roosevelt took a month off on a plantation in the south where he was examined daily by a navy cardiologist, then waited two more months before finally announcing, on the eve of his party’s convention, that he’d be a candidate. A political grand master still, he manipulated the selection of a new running mate, with an eye to a possible succession, displaying some of his old vigor and wit in a winning campaign.
With precision and compassion, Joseph Lelyveld examines the choices Roosevelt faced, shining new light on his state of mind, preoccupations, and motives, both as leader of the wartime alliance and in his personal life. Confronting his own mortality, Roosevelt operated in the belief that he had a duty to see the war through to the end, telling himself he could always resign if he found he couldn’t carry on.
Lelyveld delivers an incisive portrait of this deliberately inscrutable man, a consummate leader to the very last.
From the Hardcover edition.
The story has been told piecemeal but never like this, with a close focus on Roosevelt himself and his hopes for a stable international order after the war, and how these led him into a prolonged courtship of Joseph Stalin, the Soviet dictator, involving secret, arduous journeys to Tehran and the Crimea. In between, as the war entered its final phase, came the thunderbolt of a dire medical diagnosis, raising urgent questions about the ability of the longest-serving president to stand for a fourth term at a time when he had little choice. Neither his family nor top figures in his administration were informed of his diagnosis, let alone the public or his closest ally, Winston Churchill. With D-Day looming, Roosevelt took a month off on a plantation in the south where he was examined daily by a navy cardiologist, then waited two more months before finally announcing, on the eve of his party’s convention, that he’d be a candidate. A political grand master still, he manipulated the selection of a new running mate, with an eye to a possible succession, displaying some of his old vigor and wit in a winning campaign.
With precision and compassion, Joseph Lelyveld examines the choices Roosevelt faced, shining new light on his state of mind, preoccupations, and motives, both as leader of the wartime alliance and in his personal life. Confronting his own mortality, Roosevelt operated in the belief that he had a duty to see the war through to the end, telling himself he could always resign if he found he couldn’t carry on.
Lelyveld delivers an incisive portrait of this deliberately inscrutable man, a consummate leader to the very last.
From the Hardcover edition.
416 pages, Hardcover
First published September 6, 2016
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792 people want to read
About the author
Joseph Lelyveld
12 books22 followersJoseph Lelyveld was executive editor of The New York Times from 1994 to 2001, and interim executive editor in 2003 after the resignation of Howell Raines. He is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author, and a frequent contributor to the New York Review of Books.
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September 22, 2016
A number of years ago historian, Warren Kimball wrote a book entitled THE JUGGLER which seemed an apt description of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s approach to presidential decision making. As the bibliography of Roosevelt’s presidency has grown exponentially over the years Kimball’s argument has stood the test of time as FDR dealt with domestic and war related issues simultaneously. In his new book HIS FINAL BATTLE: THE LAST MONTHS OF FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT, Joseph Lelyveld concentrates on the period leading up to Roosevelt’s death in April, 1945. The key question for many was whether Roosevelt would seek a fourth term in office at a time when the planning for D-Day was in full swing, questions about the post war world and our relationship with the Soviet Union seemed paramount, and strategy decisions in the Pacific needed to be addressed. Lelyveld’s work is highly readable and well researched and reviews much of the domestic and diplomatic aspects of the period that have been mined by others. At a time when the medical history of candidates for the presidency is front page news, Lelyveld’s work stands out in terms of Roosevelt’s medical history and how his health impacted the political process, war time decision making, and his vision for the post war world. The secrecy and manipulation of information surrounding his health comes across as a conspiracy to keep the American public ignorant of his true condition thereby allowing him, after months of political calculations to seek reelection and defeat New York Governor Thomas Dewey in 1944. Roosevelt’s medical records mysteriously have disappeared, but according to Dr. Marvin Moser of Columbia Medical School he was “a textbook case of untreated hypertension progressing to [likely] organ failure and death from stroke.” The question historians have argued since his death was his decision to seek a fourth term in the best interest of the American people and America’s place in the world.
Lelyveld does an exceptional job exploring Roosevelt’s personal motivations for the decisions he made, postponed, and the people and events he manipulated. Always known as a pragmatic political animal Roosevelt had the ability to pit advisors and others against each other in his chaotic approach to decision making. Lelyveld does not see Roosevelt as a committed ideologue as was his political mentor Woodrow Wilson, a man who would rather accept defeat based on his perceived principles, than compromise to achieve most of his goals. Lelyveld reviews the Wilson-Roosevelt relationship dating back to World War I and discusses their many similarities, but concentrates on their different approaches in drawing conclusions. For Roosevelt the key for the post war world was an international organization that would maintain the peace through the influence of the “big four,” Russia, England, China, and the United States. This could only be achieved by gaining the trust of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin and making a series of compromises to win that trust. The author will take the reader through the planning, and decisions made at the Teheran Conference in November, 1943, and Yalta in February, 1945 and the implications of the compromises reached. Lelyveld’s Roosevelt is “the juggler” who would put off decisions, pit people against each other, always keep his options open, and apply his innate political antenna in developing his own viewpoints. This approach is best exemplified with his treatment of Poland’s future. In his heart Roosevelt knew there was little he could do to persuade Stalin to support the Polish government in exile, but that did not stop him from sending hopeful signals to the exiled Poles. Roosevelt would ignore the Katyn Forest massacre of 15,000 Polish officers by the Russian NKVD in his quest to gain Stalin’s support, and in so doing he fostered a pragmatic approach to the Polish issue as Roosevelt and Churchill were not willing to go to war with the Soviet Union over Poland.
While all of these decisions had to be made Roosevelt was being pressured to decide if he would run for reelection. Lelyveld’s analysis stands out in arguing that the president did not have the time and space to make correct decisions. With his health failing, which he was fully aware of, and so much going on around him, he could not contemplate his own mortality in deciding whether to run or not. The problem in 1944 was that Roosevelt would not tell anyone what he was planning. As he approached 1944 “his pattern of thought had grown no less elusive….and the number of subjects he could entertain at one time and his political appetite for fresh political intelligence had both undergone discernible shrinkage.” By 1944, despite not being not being totally informed of his truth health condition by physician Admiral Ross McIntire, Roosevelt believed he was not well. Lelyveld relies a great deal on the diaries of Daisy Suckley, a distant cousin who he felt comfortable with and spent more time with than almost anyone, to discern Roosevelt’s mindset. Lelyveld raises the curtain on the Roosevelt-Suckley relationship and makes greater use of her diaries than previous historians. She describes his moods as well as his health and had unprecedented access to Roosevelt. In so doing we see a man who was both high minded and devious well into 1944 which is highlighted by his approach to the Holocaust, Palestine, and Poland.
Lelyveld spends a great deal of time exploring Roosevelt’s medical condition and the secretiveness that surrounds the president’s health was imposed by Roosevelt himself which are consistent with “his character and methods, his customary slyness, his chronic desire to keep his political options open to the last minute.” He was enabled by Admiral McIntire in this process, but once he is forced to have a cardiologist, Dr. Howard G. Bruenn examine him the diagnosis is clear that he suffered from “acute congestive heart failure.” Bruenn’s medical records disappeared after Roosevelt died and they would not reappear until 1970. Roosevelt work load was reduced by half, he would spend two months in the spring of 1944 convalescing, in addition to other changes to his daily routine as Lelyveld states he would now have the hours of a “bank teller.” Despite all of this Roosevelt, believing that only he could create a safe post war world decided to run for reelection. But, what is abundantly clear from Lelyveld’s research is that by the summer of 1944 his doctors agreed that should he win reelection there was no way he would have remained alive to fulfill his term in office.
Since awareness of Roosevelt’s health condition could not be kept totally secret Democratic Party officials were horrified by the prospect that Roosevelt would win reelection and either die or resign his office after the war, making Henry Wallace President. Party officials had never been comfortable with the Iowa progressive and former Republican who was seen as too left leaning and was no match for Stalin. Roosevelt entertained similar doubts, but using his double bind messages convinced Wallace to travel to Siberia and Mongolia over fifty-one days that included the Democratic Convention. Lelyveld explores the dynamic between Roosevelt and Wallace and how the president was able to remove his vice president from the ticket; on the one hand hinting strongly he would remain as his running mate, and at the same time exiling him to the Russian tundra! For Roosevelt, Wallace did not measure up as someone who could guide a postwar organization through the treaty process in the Senate, further, it was uncovered in the 1940 campaign that Wallace had certain occult beliefs, he was also hampered by a number of messy interdepartmental feuds over funding and authority, and lastly, Roosevelt never reached out to him for advice during his four years as Vice-President. The choice of Harry Truman, and the implications of that decision also receive a great deal of attention as the Missouri democrat had no idea of Roosevelt’s medical condition. Lelyveld provides intricate details of the 1944 presidential campaign which reflects Roosevelt’s ability to rally himself when the need arose to defeat the arrogant and at times pompous Dewey. Evidence of Roosevelt’s ability to revive his energy level and focus is also seen in his reaction to the disaster that took place at the outset of the Battle of the Bulge, and finally confronting Stalin over Poland. In addition, the author does not shy away from difficulties with Churchill over the future of the British Empire, the Balkans and other areas of disagreement. In Lelyveld portrayal, Roosevelt seems to be involved through the Yalta Conference until his death in April, 1945.
Lelyveld is correct in pointing out that Roosevelt’s refusal to accept his own mortality had a number of negative consequences, but he does not explain in sufficient detail how important these consequences were. For example, keeping Vice President Truman in the dark about the atomic bomb, Roosevelt’s performance at Yalta, and a number of others that made the transition for Truman more difficult, especially in confronting the Soviet Union. Overall, Lelyveld’s emphasis on Roosevelt’s medical history adds important information that students of Roosevelt can employ and may impact how we evaluate FDR’s role in history.
Lelyveld does an exceptional job exploring Roosevelt’s personal motivations for the decisions he made, postponed, and the people and events he manipulated. Always known as a pragmatic political animal Roosevelt had the ability to pit advisors and others against each other in his chaotic approach to decision making. Lelyveld does not see Roosevelt as a committed ideologue as was his political mentor Woodrow Wilson, a man who would rather accept defeat based on his perceived principles, than compromise to achieve most of his goals. Lelyveld reviews the Wilson-Roosevelt relationship dating back to World War I and discusses their many similarities, but concentrates on their different approaches in drawing conclusions. For Roosevelt the key for the post war world was an international organization that would maintain the peace through the influence of the “big four,” Russia, England, China, and the United States. This could only be achieved by gaining the trust of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin and making a series of compromises to win that trust. The author will take the reader through the planning, and decisions made at the Teheran Conference in November, 1943, and Yalta in February, 1945 and the implications of the compromises reached. Lelyveld’s Roosevelt is “the juggler” who would put off decisions, pit people against each other, always keep his options open, and apply his innate political antenna in developing his own viewpoints. This approach is best exemplified with his treatment of Poland’s future. In his heart Roosevelt knew there was little he could do to persuade Stalin to support the Polish government in exile, but that did not stop him from sending hopeful signals to the exiled Poles. Roosevelt would ignore the Katyn Forest massacre of 15,000 Polish officers by the Russian NKVD in his quest to gain Stalin’s support, and in so doing he fostered a pragmatic approach to the Polish issue as Roosevelt and Churchill were not willing to go to war with the Soviet Union over Poland.
While all of these decisions had to be made Roosevelt was being pressured to decide if he would run for reelection. Lelyveld’s analysis stands out in arguing that the president did not have the time and space to make correct decisions. With his health failing, which he was fully aware of, and so much going on around him, he could not contemplate his own mortality in deciding whether to run or not. The problem in 1944 was that Roosevelt would not tell anyone what he was planning. As he approached 1944 “his pattern of thought had grown no less elusive….and the number of subjects he could entertain at one time and his political appetite for fresh political intelligence had both undergone discernible shrinkage.” By 1944, despite not being not being totally informed of his truth health condition by physician Admiral Ross McIntire, Roosevelt believed he was not well. Lelyveld relies a great deal on the diaries of Daisy Suckley, a distant cousin who he felt comfortable with and spent more time with than almost anyone, to discern Roosevelt’s mindset. Lelyveld raises the curtain on the Roosevelt-Suckley relationship and makes greater use of her diaries than previous historians. She describes his moods as well as his health and had unprecedented access to Roosevelt. In so doing we see a man who was both high minded and devious well into 1944 which is highlighted by his approach to the Holocaust, Palestine, and Poland.
Lelyveld spends a great deal of time exploring Roosevelt’s medical condition and the secretiveness that surrounds the president’s health was imposed by Roosevelt himself which are consistent with “his character and methods, his customary slyness, his chronic desire to keep his political options open to the last minute.” He was enabled by Admiral McIntire in this process, but once he is forced to have a cardiologist, Dr. Howard G. Bruenn examine him the diagnosis is clear that he suffered from “acute congestive heart failure.” Bruenn’s medical records disappeared after Roosevelt died and they would not reappear until 1970. Roosevelt work load was reduced by half, he would spend two months in the spring of 1944 convalescing, in addition to other changes to his daily routine as Lelyveld states he would now have the hours of a “bank teller.” Despite all of this Roosevelt, believing that only he could create a safe post war world decided to run for reelection. But, what is abundantly clear from Lelyveld’s research is that by the summer of 1944 his doctors agreed that should he win reelection there was no way he would have remained alive to fulfill his term in office.
Since awareness of Roosevelt’s health condition could not be kept totally secret Democratic Party officials were horrified by the prospect that Roosevelt would win reelection and either die or resign his office after the war, making Henry Wallace President. Party officials had never been comfortable with the Iowa progressive and former Republican who was seen as too left leaning and was no match for Stalin. Roosevelt entertained similar doubts, but using his double bind messages convinced Wallace to travel to Siberia and Mongolia over fifty-one days that included the Democratic Convention. Lelyveld explores the dynamic between Roosevelt and Wallace and how the president was able to remove his vice president from the ticket; on the one hand hinting strongly he would remain as his running mate, and at the same time exiling him to the Russian tundra! For Roosevelt, Wallace did not measure up as someone who could guide a postwar organization through the treaty process in the Senate, further, it was uncovered in the 1940 campaign that Wallace had certain occult beliefs, he was also hampered by a number of messy interdepartmental feuds over funding and authority, and lastly, Roosevelt never reached out to him for advice during his four years as Vice-President. The choice of Harry Truman, and the implications of that decision also receive a great deal of attention as the Missouri democrat had no idea of Roosevelt’s medical condition. Lelyveld provides intricate details of the 1944 presidential campaign which reflects Roosevelt’s ability to rally himself when the need arose to defeat the arrogant and at times pompous Dewey. Evidence of Roosevelt’s ability to revive his energy level and focus is also seen in his reaction to the disaster that took place at the outset of the Battle of the Bulge, and finally confronting Stalin over Poland. In addition, the author does not shy away from difficulties with Churchill over the future of the British Empire, the Balkans and other areas of disagreement. In Lelyveld portrayal, Roosevelt seems to be involved through the Yalta Conference until his death in April, 1945.
Lelyveld is correct in pointing out that Roosevelt’s refusal to accept his own mortality had a number of negative consequences, but he does not explain in sufficient detail how important these consequences were. For example, keeping Vice President Truman in the dark about the atomic bomb, Roosevelt’s performance at Yalta, and a number of others that made the transition for Truman more difficult, especially in confronting the Soviet Union. Overall, Lelyveld’s emphasis on Roosevelt’s medical history adds important information that students of Roosevelt can employ and may impact how we evaluate FDR’s role in history.
February 22, 2017
With his look at the last 15 months or so of FDRs life, Mr. Lelyveld looks at the many cross currents that were affecting that life. They include his medical state and care, his goals for the post war world, finishing the war, whether or not to run for the presidency one more time, his changing relationship with Churchill and Stalin among other topics.
His look at the quality of health care that Roosevelt received is especially damning. His personal physician's, Navy Rear Admiral Ross McIntire who was also the Navy’s Surgeon General, idea of a physical checkup was to drop in on FDR as he was going through his morning rituals and casually talk about the topic of the day. No blood pressure was taken, he didn’t listen to his heart or lungs and explained away FDR's obvious physical decline as the after effects of bronchitis or the flu. When he was finally convinced to bring in a cardiologist, Dr Harold Bruenn, the state of the president’s health was beyond alarming. He had extremely high blood pressure (240+/120) and an enlarged heart. The President was given a special diet and ordered to slow down. He basically became a part time president, lots of “working” vacations, and a very limited schedule while he was in Washington. By following this regimen, he was able to reverse his enlarged heart to a certain extent, but was never able to get this blood pressure under control.
In exploring the FDR’s health, the author also looks at the security and secrecy that surrounding him. His health was treated as a state secret and very few people knew the extent of his problems – including his wife. To the modern reader this is almost unfathomable! Mr. Lelyveld also looks at the secrecy that surrounded his movements. With the cooperation of the White House Press Corps all of his movements were kept from the public until well after they had occurred. Some of this can be excused because of war time needs, but it was definitely a different world.
Another topic that is explored in the way FDR conducted business. He prided himself on not letting his right hand know what his left hand was doing. His leadership style was definitely not linear. It seemed he was always juggling 5 or 6 major decisions and he kept everyone around him in the dark as to what his end goals were. To say he was Machiavellian is an understatement! Some of this is illustrated in his decision whether or not to run for a fourth term and who would be his vice presidential running mate.
His relationship with the other two members of the Big Three, Stalin and Churchill, is also explored. By this time Stalin had risen in importance, eclipsing Churchill. This is made abundantly clear with the discussions at Yalta and the fate of Eastern Europe.
His postwar war aims are not given short shrift. His desire for a super League of Nations is explored and how that affected his diplomacy. This is especially true with his relationship with Stalin. He thought that if he could just get to know him, he could charm him like he had everyone else that he came into contract with. He felt that the USSR was so vitally important to his UN project that he would forgive almost anything Stalin did.
In addition to the big picture, Mr. Lelyveld give us some nice anecdotes from his last year of life. These include his visiting wounded servicemen in Hawaii in his wheel chair during the Fall of 1944. He felt that they needed to know that if he could overcome his physical shortcomings and become president, they could overcome theirs to become what they wanted to be. His last days at Warm Springs are also well done.
All in all, this is a well-researched and written look at one of the greatest of American Presidents, in my opinion the greatest of the twentieth century. I would rate this 4.25 stars if Good Reads allowed, so I rounded down
His look at the quality of health care that Roosevelt received is especially damning. His personal physician's, Navy Rear Admiral Ross McIntire who was also the Navy’s Surgeon General, idea of a physical checkup was to drop in on FDR as he was going through his morning rituals and casually talk about the topic of the day. No blood pressure was taken, he didn’t listen to his heart or lungs and explained away FDR's obvious physical decline as the after effects of bronchitis or the flu. When he was finally convinced to bring in a cardiologist, Dr Harold Bruenn, the state of the president’s health was beyond alarming. He had extremely high blood pressure (240+/120) and an enlarged heart. The President was given a special diet and ordered to slow down. He basically became a part time president, lots of “working” vacations, and a very limited schedule while he was in Washington. By following this regimen, he was able to reverse his enlarged heart to a certain extent, but was never able to get this blood pressure under control.
In exploring the FDR’s health, the author also looks at the security and secrecy that surrounding him. His health was treated as a state secret and very few people knew the extent of his problems – including his wife. To the modern reader this is almost unfathomable! Mr. Lelyveld also looks at the secrecy that surrounded his movements. With the cooperation of the White House Press Corps all of his movements were kept from the public until well after they had occurred. Some of this can be excused because of war time needs, but it was definitely a different world.
Another topic that is explored in the way FDR conducted business. He prided himself on not letting his right hand know what his left hand was doing. His leadership style was definitely not linear. It seemed he was always juggling 5 or 6 major decisions and he kept everyone around him in the dark as to what his end goals were. To say he was Machiavellian is an understatement! Some of this is illustrated in his decision whether or not to run for a fourth term and who would be his vice presidential running mate.
His relationship with the other two members of the Big Three, Stalin and Churchill, is also explored. By this time Stalin had risen in importance, eclipsing Churchill. This is made abundantly clear with the discussions at Yalta and the fate of Eastern Europe.
His postwar war aims are not given short shrift. His desire for a super League of Nations is explored and how that affected his diplomacy. This is especially true with his relationship with Stalin. He thought that if he could just get to know him, he could charm him like he had everyone else that he came into contract with. He felt that the USSR was so vitally important to his UN project that he would forgive almost anything Stalin did.
In addition to the big picture, Mr. Lelyveld give us some nice anecdotes from his last year of life. These include his visiting wounded servicemen in Hawaii in his wheel chair during the Fall of 1944. He felt that they needed to know that if he could overcome his physical shortcomings and become president, they could overcome theirs to become what they wanted to be. His last days at Warm Springs are also well done.
All in all, this is a well-researched and written look at one of the greatest of American Presidents, in my opinion the greatest of the twentieth century. I would rate this 4.25 stars if Good Reads allowed, so I rounded down
September 16, 2016
Never got to say this on Goodreads, but - FIRST!
It was impossible for me to read this book during the run-up to the 2016 US election without thinking of the unbelievable scrutiny the press has put on every minutiae of Hillary Clinton's health. She coughs twice, stumbles once, all of a sudden she is physically unfit to be president. Compare this to one of our greatest presidents ever, confined to a wheelchair for the last several years of his term, who everyone in Washington knew was dying BEFORE he rain for president his final time in 1944 - yet who knew he just had to make it one more year to make progress toward winning the war and securing the White House for his party.
Washington in the 1940s was basically a one man show - and had been for the last several years. FDR ran domestic and foreign affairs personally. His cabinet members were mere figureheads, his opposition toothless, and his New Deal advisers aging as fast as he was. It must have been terrifying to live and work in government in those days, watching the Dumbledore of DC slowly dying with no Harry Potter to look for future leadership.
FDR's "Final Battle" may have been with his health, but in another real sense his final battle was with Joseph Stalin and attempting to limit Soviet influence as a superpower after the war. One could argue he lost both final battles - and that had a more vigorous FDR engaged Stalin in 1944 and drew redlines in Poland, the Cold war might never have happened. I guess we'll never know. What I do know is this book is a fascinating exploration of a lion in winter.
It was impossible for me to read this book during the run-up to the 2016 US election without thinking of the unbelievable scrutiny the press has put on every minutiae of Hillary Clinton's health. She coughs twice, stumbles once, all of a sudden she is physically unfit to be president. Compare this to one of our greatest presidents ever, confined to a wheelchair for the last several years of his term, who everyone in Washington knew was dying BEFORE he rain for president his final time in 1944 - yet who knew he just had to make it one more year to make progress toward winning the war and securing the White House for his party.
Washington in the 1940s was basically a one man show - and had been for the last several years. FDR ran domestic and foreign affairs personally. His cabinet members were mere figureheads, his opposition toothless, and his New Deal advisers aging as fast as he was. It must have been terrifying to live and work in government in those days, watching the Dumbledore of DC slowly dying with no Harry Potter to look for future leadership.
FDR's "Final Battle" may have been with his health, but in another real sense his final battle was with Joseph Stalin and attempting to limit Soviet influence as a superpower after the war. One could argue he lost both final battles - and that had a more vigorous FDR engaged Stalin in 1944 and drew redlines in Poland, the Cold war might never have happened. I guess we'll never know. What I do know is this book is a fascinating exploration of a lion in winter.
January 19, 2021
Pretty good book on the last year of Mr. Roosevelt's life. Mr. Lelyveld sometimes got to caught up in the medical details, but overall was a good summary of his life. I loved his analysis of the events from his final year and what it meant, and still means, for the world today. A nice read and a great recap of his life.
April 6, 2024
An outstanding, meticulously researched book about the last few months of FDR, where he carefully threaded the needle of concluding World War II with the establishment of the United Nations, attempted to negotiate with Joseph Stalin on the future of Poland (and many other issues) and conducted other very impactful work -- all while running for re-election while he was, as we know now, quite plainly dying. I would not expect any less from a former editor of the New York Times (Lelyveld) who himself died earlier this year. Lelyveld's book is particularly germane in 2024, when we have two elderly candidates for president whose physical condition is nowhere near as dire of that of FDR in 1944 -- so far as we know! -- yet which we are scrutinizing intently despite that. Of course, in the middle of a war, FDR's true medical condition was hidden behind layers of censorship, a press corps much more deferential to the White House than they are today, and a completely different media environment with no citizen journalists, social media, 24-hour news cycle, or any of that. One imagines that FDR would never have been re-elected if his true condition was known to the American public, and there would never be another president serving four terms: the "FDR rule", codified in the Twenty-Second Amendment to the Constitution, set in place the presidential term limits we know today. Perhaps that is an anti-parliamentarian over-reaction to the manner and place in which FDR died, but we are stuck with it now.
Lelyveld skillfully makes the case that a) despite FDR's serious medical problems, he was largely mentally cogent until the very end, and nothing about his condition was likely to have changed his decision-making; b) despite his denials and stated reluctance to consider his own mortality, the fact that he replaced his Vice President (Wallace) on his re-election ticket was intended to anoint a torch-bearer (Truman) less likely to repudiate FDR's views upon his death; c) FDR's hanging on to at least the beginning of a fourth term was a major contributor to the ultimate success of World War II in favor of the Allies, something that might not have been true if Republicans had been elected.
Lelyveld also manages to make what could have been a boring academic analysis vibrant and compelling, driving forward the timeline by juxtaposing both world events and material events in Roosevelt's health. In some cases, these influenced one another: FDR was known to have high blood pressure, worsened by exposure to stress. For such a niche subject and small audience, Lelyveld writes a very accessible book. I wouldn't say the subject matter is the most interesting, but it is timely, so on that basis it is interesting to contrast how the press corps & public of the wartime 1940's regarded a clearly ailing president in his 60's versus how octogenarian presidential candidates in a peacetime environment are treated today.
Lelyveld skillfully makes the case that a) despite FDR's serious medical problems, he was largely mentally cogent until the very end, and nothing about his condition was likely to have changed his decision-making; b) despite his denials and stated reluctance to consider his own mortality, the fact that he replaced his Vice President (Wallace) on his re-election ticket was intended to anoint a torch-bearer (Truman) less likely to repudiate FDR's views upon his death; c) FDR's hanging on to at least the beginning of a fourth term was a major contributor to the ultimate success of World War II in favor of the Allies, something that might not have been true if Republicans had been elected.
Lelyveld also manages to make what could have been a boring academic analysis vibrant and compelling, driving forward the timeline by juxtaposing both world events and material events in Roosevelt's health. In some cases, these influenced one another: FDR was known to have high blood pressure, worsened by exposure to stress. For such a niche subject and small audience, Lelyveld writes a very accessible book. I wouldn't say the subject matter is the most interesting, but it is timely, so on that basis it is interesting to contrast how the press corps & public of the wartime 1940's regarded a clearly ailing president in his 60's versus how octogenarian presidential candidates in a peacetime environment are treated today.
November 23, 2020
This study of FDR's final year or so provides a very thorough examination of the political and personal life of our longest-serving president as he struggled with the question of a fourth term and the challenges of managing the Grand Alliance in the closing stages of World War II. The author had access to a wealth of material documenting the intricate details of the Roosevelt's diplomacy, health challenges, and political struggles, and thus the book contains many details with which I was not previously familiar. For me, the strongest parts of the book were the sections that dealt with FDR's handling of the war, most notably his conferences with Churchill and Stalin. The questions about how well he handled the questions about the future of Poland during the Yalta conference are give a lot of attention, and the consensus verdict of history (rather than the verdict of his political opponents) is upheld- that Roosevelt did about as well as he could considering the lack of influence that he had over Stalin's actions at that stage of the war. Having read a ton of books about FDR and the New Deal for one of my grad school projects, I found the Roosevelt presented by this book to be less admirable than the earlier edition, the man who led the nation through the Great Depression. His vanity was on clear display, as was his incredibly ill-advised decision to keep his health issues a secret as he ran for reelection in 1944. (My biggest complaint about the book is how much excruciating detail the author provides about FDR's doctors' findings. Just because one has access to this material doesn't necessitate putting it into a book. My eyes sometimes glossed over while reading these sections.) The book reminded me again of the lack of integrity that Roosevelt showed while dismissing Henry Wallace as his '44 Vice Presidential running mate and leading Jimmy Byrnes to believe that that job was his, all the while planning on running with Truman. The man hated confrontation and could speak out of both sides of his mouth about any question. My advice for a potential reader of this book is to first read a more complete examination of Roosevelt's presidency, as his ranking near the top of presidential ratings lists is well deserved. But this particular study, while showing FDR valiantly attempting to finish the war before he leaves the national stage, examines the period when he was, in fact, dying and thus was not as the peak of his powers.
January 18, 2019
As an avid history buff and lover of Presidential and White House history (of all our former presidents except for our current embarrassment), FDR is by far my favorite President. His unprecedented four terms as well as his New Deal and leadership during WWII has always made him one of the most fascinating former leaders of our country. I even wrote my senior thesis on FDR and the intricate and unique relationships that he had with his family and friends. That being said, I have never focused closely on the nitty gritty details behind the politics of his presidency. While somewhat grim at times, I enjoyed the many little known (at least to me) details that guided the final months of FDR's presidency. The U.S.'s involvement with the Soviet Union and "Uncle Joe" Stalin was especially enlightening. Also fascinating was the aspects of FDR's personality and decision making that not only played into his interpersonal relationships but also his political relationships and decisions. The author did a fine job of showing us that FDR worked tirelessly for the American people as well as the rest of the world up until his very end.
March 4, 2018
Lelyveld's history of FDR covers in great detail the intersection of FDR's health conditions and his policy making. This is not the story of a man's physical decline alone, but the story of how a man in physical decline steered a new empire toward victory, while playing the political game at home with his usual aplomb. This is FDR the embodied man. It's a revelatory perspective on the age.
FDR was a master of misdirection and concealment. Politically, many people left his presence thinking he was in agreement with them and had been persuaded by their arguments, only to discover later that this was not the case. But medically, the deceptions were of a different kind. The world little knew that he could not walk, and he was able to persuade the press to keep his secret, and use the powers of his office to evade observation, even while sitting in the most prominent position. But even more deeply, due to the lies of his physicians, his cardiac condition was completely hidden. The deceptions were aided because for great stretches of his late Presidency he was on the road, traveling by train in his private rail car, traveling by ship, at Warm Springs, Georgia, and otherwise unavailable. In the pre-television age, he could run the government through cables, and through the offices of highly competent statesmen and generals. The details of his location and travels remained buried in a miasma of "war time security" considerations, enabling him and his retinue to conceal both his life-long post-polio disability and his slow cardiac decline.
Only as he met wounded troops in a Navy hospital in 1944, did he publicly appear (with no cameras present) in his wheelchair. And only in his final speech to Congress in 1945 did he finally choose to be publicly wheeled in to Congress, and to publicly acknowledge in words that he would not stand for this speech (for the first time) due to the discomfort of 10 pounds of steel braces on his legs. Closer to the truth would have been that he barely had the strength to stand for any length of time at that late date. About his cardiac condition nothing was said, and it is not even certain how much his physicians told him, beyond prescribing rest and early bed-times. The medical file itself was destroyed, probably by his attending physician.
Then, the secret of his re-established relationship with Lady Rutherford, and his recruitment of his entire retinue to keep this secret from Eleanor, probably deserves consideration in this context too. This was not an age in which everyone knew everything. It was an age that still believed that information could be controlled and limited, and Roosevelt was a master of the art.
FDR was a master of misdirection and concealment. Politically, many people left his presence thinking he was in agreement with them and had been persuaded by their arguments, only to discover later that this was not the case. But medically, the deceptions were of a different kind. The world little knew that he could not walk, and he was able to persuade the press to keep his secret, and use the powers of his office to evade observation, even while sitting in the most prominent position. But even more deeply, due to the lies of his physicians, his cardiac condition was completely hidden. The deceptions were aided because for great stretches of his late Presidency he was on the road, traveling by train in his private rail car, traveling by ship, at Warm Springs, Georgia, and otherwise unavailable. In the pre-television age, he could run the government through cables, and through the offices of highly competent statesmen and generals. The details of his location and travels remained buried in a miasma of "war time security" considerations, enabling him and his retinue to conceal both his life-long post-polio disability and his slow cardiac decline.
Only as he met wounded troops in a Navy hospital in 1944, did he publicly appear (with no cameras present) in his wheelchair. And only in his final speech to Congress in 1945 did he finally choose to be publicly wheeled in to Congress, and to publicly acknowledge in words that he would not stand for this speech (for the first time) due to the discomfort of 10 pounds of steel braces on his legs. Closer to the truth would have been that he barely had the strength to stand for any length of time at that late date. About his cardiac condition nothing was said, and it is not even certain how much his physicians told him, beyond prescribing rest and early bed-times. The medical file itself was destroyed, probably by his attending physician.
Then, the secret of his re-established relationship with Lady Rutherford, and his recruitment of his entire retinue to keep this secret from Eleanor, probably deserves consideration in this context too. This was not an age in which everyone knew everything. It was an age that still believed that information could be controlled and limited, and Roosevelt was a master of the art.
February 20, 2018
This is a compelling -- and heartbreaking -- look at FDR's final year. And as always, Roosevelt is much too complex and elusive to remain bound in any book, regardless of its time frame. Even though we obviously already know the ending, it still delivers a gut punch. Losing this greatest of great men, however flawed, is to me one of history's sorrows. And this book offers a good timeline, some bright encounters, and a good sense of FDR's sparkle and that sparkle's dimming. But the author cannot trust his subject, or I guess his readers, to grasp the inevitable. We get it: it's right there in the subtitle -- these are FDR's last months. He is dying. Cue the "dunh dunh DUNH" sound effect, because Lelyveld must remind us every few pages that things are headed south. Conversations are wrapped up with "he didn't realize it, but this was their last meeting" to a maddening degree. Not once but twice Lelyveld muses that FDR is pondering "the intimation of his own mortality". We read that "nothing in [a speech] suggests it was intended as a final testament", but Lelyveld pops up to suggest it nevertheless. This drumbeat of the ominous serves to drain some of the real pain, the utter weight of his life and death. It's natural to wrestle with what this brave man knew or denied, what his circle sensed or didn't, how different the outcome had his doctors not been so shockingly opaque, but I wish the author had let us wrestle with it without being nudged constantly with another Countdown of Doom. My real problem is Lelyveld's inexplicable hostility toward Eleanor. She is mentioned only rarely, and always with disdain. Her complexity, her great heart, her driving passion, the eyes and ears and feet of the President she became at his request -- all this is nonexistent. The Eleanor of "His Final Battle" might as well be an absent shrew leafing through movie magazines. Quenching her spirit, erasing that fire, is so baffling as to be a real impediment to Lelyveld's story.
October 23, 2016
A Requiem for a Dying Leader
This chronicle of the last year of Franklin Roosevelt's life offers a remarkable amount of insight into a period that is often treated lightly in histories of the war and other biographies of the man. In the year of his last election, of D-Day, and of then final battles of the European war, FDR was a dying man, his health nearly broken but his spirit largely intact.
It's interesting to consider the burdens of the Presidency upon its holder. The author is clearly sympathetic to Roosevelt - as am I - but it does seem to me that they are not willing to go quite far enough in questioning whether Roosevelt was right to carry on as he did as he was fading. The performance attributed to the man is heroic, but it seems questionable to me whether it was desirable in wartime to leave such power entrusted in a man for whom simply getting out of bed was practically a act of courage.
Still, the book does make one admire and understand Roosevelt the man a little bit better. One cannot help, as the author surely does, but feel for a man who held on until the last and died in the saddle.
This chronicle of the last year of Franklin Roosevelt's life offers a remarkable amount of insight into a period that is often treated lightly in histories of the war and other biographies of the man. In the year of his last election, of D-Day, and of then final battles of the European war, FDR was a dying man, his health nearly broken but his spirit largely intact.
It's interesting to consider the burdens of the Presidency upon its holder. The author is clearly sympathetic to Roosevelt - as am I - but it does seem to me that they are not willing to go quite far enough in questioning whether Roosevelt was right to carry on as he did as he was fading. The performance attributed to the man is heroic, but it seems questionable to me whether it was desirable in wartime to leave such power entrusted in a man for whom simply getting out of bed was practically a act of courage.
Still, the book does make one admire and understand Roosevelt the man a little bit better. One cannot help, as the author surely does, but feel for a man who held on until the last and died in the saddle.
November 21, 2016
Excellent history. This book is not just about FDR but about the fallacy of seeing history from the future when you know the outcome of events and the contradictory nature of recollections and interpretation. Much more in-depth and nuanced than No Ordinary Time.
November 6, 2019
I read this book on the recommendation of a good friend. It is my first book by the author, Joseph Lelyveld. I think highly of Franklin Roosevelt as a leader, and President in our country’s’ most trying times. I’ve always been intrigued by the 1930’s and 1940’s —and about all of the weighty issues and decisions that the world’s great leaders made at that time. The decisive end of WWII was just part of what was going on when this books subject matter is written. Lelyveld writes in great detail about the final months of FDR’s life, when some of the most historic moments of the recent century are playing out. He writes at length about FDR’s deteriorating health and how this was covered up, and ignored when heavy decisions such as netting other world leaders abroad or his own fourth Presidential term were considered. I’d rate this book very high fir its research and subject matter ... I learned a lot more than I had about the winding down of the war and of our Presidential politics of the time. I’d rate the Lelyveld writing style as average ... he was a little long winded and for some of the time periods when not much was happening from an FDR standpoint, he went on and on about trite White House matters, because he was relying on diaries and journals of the staff. I still am pleased that I read this compelling account of the final days of one of America’s great leaders.
December 23, 2021
Fascinating read on FDR and how very poor his health was already when he ran in 1944. Extreme hypertension, heart failure and cancer. Raises some questions about whether running in 1944 was really an ethical decision by FDR.
May 29, 2017
Not a lot of new information. Repeating the information from Robert Ferrell 's 2008 book Dying President. 1944 - 1945 The narrative was better but not much new. Really a rating of 2 1/2
February 16, 2017
Lelyveld, a former New York Times editor, disappoints with a book that might have shone light on the final year of FDR's life. It's main contribution is confirming how very sick he was - he had dangerously high blood pressure before that was treatable and, as a result, congestive heart failure. If not for fear that the Democrats would lose the presidency and that this symbol of patriotism would be lost at a time when the war was still hard fought, he should never have run. He was that sick. There are few other revelations in the book, not about policy or his relationships with Churchill and Stalin. And Eleanor is nearly absent from the book. They may have long been estranged, but their relationship should have been highlighted.
September 12, 2017
Master poker player! - one of the new aspects I learned here.
A biography in an unusual format, reveals greatness achieved by real human being.
First book I read about FDR, not an easy beginner read to digest all the facts, people, memories, assumptions, ideologies, politics... condensed into such a short time period, certainly gained me comprehensive knowledge in an pivotal era and its origin, and more important its impact on future till now and beyond.
It may be the best option for one who wants an efficient and enjoyable way to read similar topics.
A biography in an unusual format, reveals greatness achieved by real human being.
First book I read about FDR, not an easy beginner read to digest all the facts, people, memories, assumptions, ideologies, politics... condensed into such a short time period, certainly gained me comprehensive knowledge in an pivotal era and its origin, and more important its impact on future till now and beyond.
It may be the best option for one who wants an efficient and enjoyable way to read similar topics.
October 8, 2020
This elegantly written volume is a must have addition to one's shelf of books about FDR. It focuses not only on the foreign policy challenges of FDR's last year-his last election year, but the President's precarious health hover constantly over these pages. To read now about the team of Presidential doctors being less than honest with the press, the American people, probably FDR's family and possibly the patient himself-well that history has special meaning for out times.
January 9, 2017
A riveting account of how FDR could sustain a multidimensional, global acumen during the final year of his life when he was suffering from untreated congestive heart failure and the world remained divided by a great war. Would I wish that his book become required reading for our President-elect?
If only.
If only.
February 17, 2017
Author does a good glimpse into FDR's final year or so. His disdain for Dewey and grudging respect for Wendell Willkie. His health issues contributing to failures with Stalin. His maneuvering to ensure Henry Wallace was kicked off the democratic ticket.
January 12, 2017
Favorite Quote = "Let us move forward, with a firm and active faith" - FDR
September 16, 2021
I watched a show on PBS about the Norwegian royals who stayed in Maryland during World War II and were friends with Franklin Roosevelt. I've been a Roosevelt fan most of my life, but watching that made me wonder just how incapacitated FDR was toward the end of his life, so I picked up this book. The answer is...it varies.
Lelyveld examines Roosevelt's life from the Tehran conference in late November/early December 1943 to his death on April 12, 1945, delving into both policy and personal. Lelyveld spends a lot of time analyzing FDR's actions and mindset, all the while cognizant of and emphatic about FDR's inscrutability. He admires FDR, but isn't afraid to criticize; the way FDR handled potential running mates in 1944 particularly comes up as just not cool at all. (FDR would tell one set of advisers that various candidates aren't going to work, but when those actual potential running mates come to him, Franklin's all, "You definitely should still go for it!")
A lot of the book is spent weighing in on the debate about how involved FDR was in various debates, discussions, and decisions. How checked out was he? Lelyveld argues convincingly that FDR remained pretty darn involved right to the end--though he was, indeed, a very sick man. Lelyveld includes how various people described FDR's appearance and presence, showing that impressions varied wildly. He also points out people describing FDR in hindsight; when you know that someone died shortly after you saw him, you're more likely to see him as sickly.
Lelyveld also goes into a lot of policy; I confess that I have never given much thought to the status of Poland in late WWII. It never really occurred to me to wonder about its independence, despite the fact that the war literally started because of Poland. But it was a recurring, important issue as FDR met with Stalin. The relationship between these two and between FDR and Churchill (and Churchill's continuing imperialism vs. FDR's more clear-eyed vision of the future) comes into discussion as the Big Three meet twice in these 16 months. There's a lot of description of FDR as a realist, and Lelyveld frequently reminds the reader to place FDR's decisions in context; it's easy to judge with the knowledge of what the next 50, 75 years hold. But knowing what they knew, dealing with that war that was ongoing, Lelyveld asks, What better could have been done?
FDR's personal life, mostly in the frequent presence of his one-time affair partner Lucy Mercer Rutherford, also gets a good amount of attention. As does contemplation of how FDR regarded his own mortality. And descriptions of his health and his sleeping habits. Lelyveld provides an in-depth portrait of a man at the end of his life. I feel like I know a lot more about FDR as a person and as a President, as well as about the world in the mid-1940s than I did before.
Lelyveld examines Roosevelt's life from the Tehran conference in late November/early December 1943 to his death on April 12, 1945, delving into both policy and personal. Lelyveld spends a lot of time analyzing FDR's actions and mindset, all the while cognizant of and emphatic about FDR's inscrutability. He admires FDR, but isn't afraid to criticize; the way FDR handled potential running mates in 1944 particularly comes up as just not cool at all. (FDR would tell one set of advisers that various candidates aren't going to work, but when those actual potential running mates come to him, Franklin's all, "You definitely should still go for it!")
A lot of the book is spent weighing in on the debate about how involved FDR was in various debates, discussions, and decisions. How checked out was he? Lelyveld argues convincingly that FDR remained pretty darn involved right to the end--though he was, indeed, a very sick man. Lelyveld includes how various people described FDR's appearance and presence, showing that impressions varied wildly. He also points out people describing FDR in hindsight; when you know that someone died shortly after you saw him, you're more likely to see him as sickly.
Lelyveld also goes into a lot of policy; I confess that I have never given much thought to the status of Poland in late WWII. It never really occurred to me to wonder about its independence, despite the fact that the war literally started because of Poland. But it was a recurring, important issue as FDR met with Stalin. The relationship between these two and between FDR and Churchill (and Churchill's continuing imperialism vs. FDR's more clear-eyed vision of the future) comes into discussion as the Big Three meet twice in these 16 months. There's a lot of description of FDR as a realist, and Lelyveld frequently reminds the reader to place FDR's decisions in context; it's easy to judge with the knowledge of what the next 50, 75 years hold. But knowing what they knew, dealing with that war that was ongoing, Lelyveld asks, What better could have been done?
FDR's personal life, mostly in the frequent presence of his one-time affair partner Lucy Mercer Rutherford, also gets a good amount of attention. As does contemplation of how FDR regarded his own mortality. And descriptions of his health and his sleeping habits. Lelyveld provides an in-depth portrait of a man at the end of his life. I feel like I know a lot more about FDR as a person and as a President, as well as about the world in the mid-1940s than I did before.
May 21, 2017
"The Leader in a democracy has to keep the people entertained." - FDR to George Marshall.
Being the leader of the free world has a lot of benefits. But as we can see it also ages you prematurely. The stresses of the job, the things you have to do...google a picture of Obama in 2008 and then 2016 and he looks to have aged 20 years. When does someone not want to be President? When they know that they are dying. And that's what this book gets into FDR and his final year. The same FDR who died 12 weeks after being elected in a landslide that he didn't want to take part in.
- FDR had already been President for 12 years when he was up to stand for election again. And as the pictures show and the recollections of his aides and people who met him knew...he was worn down and tired. But he also had HUGE obligations. He was running the Allied portion of the war. He was drawing up invasion plans for Europe. He was trying to make a partnership with Stalin. Managing the US economy and labor. He was trying to bring forward and create an international organization so that world war would never happen again (which eventually became the UN). He was supervising the Manhattan Project which brought us into the atomic age.
- Looking around at the political landscape at that time NO ONE was versed in the issues and could manage the issues in depth like him. And everything he was working on was coming to crucial points where he really felt that there was nobody else who could do the job. He had to stay at the helm.
- His family started to visit him more though & they became concerned. He started having tremors with his hands, He was easily winded and more exhausted. After doctors looked at him (as the family pestered them) they found he had suffered minor strokes and had an enlarged heart. At one point he was bedridden for 21 days confined to seeing no one but his family.
- For national security reasons they never showed FDR in a wheelchair so that he could project strength. He did use braces to walk but because he was losing so much weight they didn't fit him very well. At one speech where he did use them he almost passed out because he was in such pain.
This book reads like a train speeding up because its astonishing how much he had to do, what he was able to get done and how he managed it as doctors and his family slowly made every effort to scale back his work so that they could prolong his life. This book has some pictures of him in it and you can see in the pictures him falling apart as he races against time to finish everything he felt he needed to do...
Being the leader of the free world has a lot of benefits. But as we can see it also ages you prematurely. The stresses of the job, the things you have to do...google a picture of Obama in 2008 and then 2016 and he looks to have aged 20 years. When does someone not want to be President? When they know that they are dying. And that's what this book gets into FDR and his final year. The same FDR who died 12 weeks after being elected in a landslide that he didn't want to take part in.
- FDR had already been President for 12 years when he was up to stand for election again. And as the pictures show and the recollections of his aides and people who met him knew...he was worn down and tired. But he also had HUGE obligations. He was running the Allied portion of the war. He was drawing up invasion plans for Europe. He was trying to make a partnership with Stalin. Managing the US economy and labor. He was trying to bring forward and create an international organization so that world war would never happen again (which eventually became the UN). He was supervising the Manhattan Project which brought us into the atomic age.
- Looking around at the political landscape at that time NO ONE was versed in the issues and could manage the issues in depth like him. And everything he was working on was coming to crucial points where he really felt that there was nobody else who could do the job. He had to stay at the helm.
- His family started to visit him more though & they became concerned. He started having tremors with his hands, He was easily winded and more exhausted. After doctors looked at him (as the family pestered them) they found he had suffered minor strokes and had an enlarged heart. At one point he was bedridden for 21 days confined to seeing no one but his family.
- For national security reasons they never showed FDR in a wheelchair so that he could project strength. He did use braces to walk but because he was losing so much weight they didn't fit him very well. At one speech where he did use them he almost passed out because he was in such pain.
This book reads like a train speeding up because its astonishing how much he had to do, what he was able to get done and how he managed it as doctors and his family slowly made every effort to scale back his work so that they could prolong his life. This book has some pictures of him in it and you can see in the pictures him falling apart as he races against time to finish everything he felt he needed to do...
September 4, 2017
Scholarly and readable book about the last year of Roosevelt's life, when the war was drawing to an end, and his health was a source of constant concern.
Much has been made by historians of the last conferences between the Allied powers. Many felt that the ill Roosevelt was off his game. He valiantly but futilely parried with Stalin over the future of Poland, seemed unmoved by the increasing reality of Soviet aggression in eastern Europe and clung to the notion that the Russian dictator could be negotiated with, long past the time when an exasperated Winston Churchill thought that possible.
Lelyveld doesn't feel these were failings made by an fading leader. Instead, he makes a good case for the fact that the politically astute Roosevelt was playing for time in the fervent hope that Stalin would come to share his dream for the United Nations and an official, structured means of keeping peace in the postwar world.
Time, unfortunately, was something Roosevelt wasn't granted.
The book also explores the complex relationship Roosevelt had with the many women in his life - wife, daughter, relatives, lifelong friends and a lifelong love - and how these relationships colored his final year. There may never again be a president with so tangled and secretive an emotional life.
Perhaps the most remarkable thing about the last year of FDR's life is not what transpired on the international stage, but his subtle and remarkable control of his final campaign. He both encouraged and thwarted the aspirations of several would-be vice presidential candidates, and manipulated the democratic party and the convention to assure the selection of Harry Truman as his running mate.
Even with a weakened heart, a blood pressure reading that was terrifying, little appetite and continual fatigue, FDR, in the last year of his life, could still play a political hand to the hilt.
Much has been made by historians of the last conferences between the Allied powers. Many felt that the ill Roosevelt was off his game. He valiantly but futilely parried with Stalin over the future of Poland, seemed unmoved by the increasing reality of Soviet aggression in eastern Europe and clung to the notion that the Russian dictator could be negotiated with, long past the time when an exasperated Winston Churchill thought that possible.
Lelyveld doesn't feel these were failings made by an fading leader. Instead, he makes a good case for the fact that the politically astute Roosevelt was playing for time in the fervent hope that Stalin would come to share his dream for the United Nations and an official, structured means of keeping peace in the postwar world.
Time, unfortunately, was something Roosevelt wasn't granted.
The book also explores the complex relationship Roosevelt had with the many women in his life - wife, daughter, relatives, lifelong friends and a lifelong love - and how these relationships colored his final year. There may never again be a president with so tangled and secretive an emotional life.
Perhaps the most remarkable thing about the last year of FDR's life is not what transpired on the international stage, but his subtle and remarkable control of his final campaign. He both encouraged and thwarted the aspirations of several would-be vice presidential candidates, and manipulated the democratic party and the convention to assure the selection of Harry Truman as his running mate.
Even with a weakened heart, a blood pressure reading that was terrifying, little appetite and continual fatigue, FDR, in the last year of his life, could still play a political hand to the hilt.
April 30, 2021
This was an interesting look into the last few months of FDR’s life and presidency, particularly examining his health and physical appearance as well as his stamina and policies and actions. We are often told how resilient and stalwart FDR was in his life and presidency. It was nice to see a more vulnerable side to him, including well-researched peculiarities he was privy to. (Well-researched in so far as from the sound of it, as I do not have the book for information on the first hand documents and books on the subject.) FDR has long been a favorite president of mine for a multitude of reasons. To see this side has reframed some of my thoughts on him, giving more insight and depth to what I had already known.
My only criticism is that at times, and they were very few really, it felt a bit sparse in that certain topics I felt could have been examined with a bit more depth without harming the pacing or effectiveness of the book. Now, I will recognize that, having not researched this myself, the information may be lacking to expand on those areas.
The audiobook was captivating (1.5x speed - approx. 10hrs down from 15hrs) and well read. My only issue was sometimes the caricature (stereotypical) accents the read did for Stalin - who sounded a little Boris and Natasha from Rocky and Bulwinkle, the original cartoons - and other figures in the book. His FDR impersonation was good but bordered caricature as well. I did slow these parts to regular speed to hear them properly. But again, a minor issue with the audiobook not the book itself.
Overall, if you like FDR or want to explore illness (including the early days of cardiovascular medicine - just the general perceptions and beliefs peppered in) or the last days of WWII from an American politics and Allied Forces perspective, then this is a truly great book. Seeing not only FDR but the struggles between he and Stalin and the end of the war and such, was very interesting. I recommend this highly.
My only criticism is that at times, and they were very few really, it felt a bit sparse in that certain topics I felt could have been examined with a bit more depth without harming the pacing or effectiveness of the book. Now, I will recognize that, having not researched this myself, the information may be lacking to expand on those areas.
The audiobook was captivating (1.5x speed - approx. 10hrs down from 15hrs) and well read. My only issue was sometimes the caricature (stereotypical) accents the read did for Stalin - who sounded a little Boris and Natasha from Rocky and Bulwinkle, the original cartoons - and other figures in the book. His FDR impersonation was good but bordered caricature as well. I did slow these parts to regular speed to hear them properly. But again, a minor issue with the audiobook not the book itself.
Overall, if you like FDR or want to explore illness (including the early days of cardiovascular medicine - just the general perceptions and beliefs peppered in) or the last days of WWII from an American politics and Allied Forces perspective, then this is a truly great book. Seeing not only FDR but the struggles between he and Stalin and the end of the war and such, was very interesting. I recommend this highly.
May 7, 2017
Joseph Lelyveld has presented us with a dramatic portrait of a dying president and his efforts to conceal the true scope of his illness from the American public.
Mr. Lelyveld, a journalist and former executive editor of the N.Y. Times, has managed to compile an impressive list of sources to document the final months of FDR. While many reviewers have concentrated on the author's portrayal of the significant decisions made during these years in terms of the post World War II world, I was more impressed with the conspiracy to keep FDR's health a secret. It is amazing to learn from Lelyveld's research that many people close to FDR, including his physicians, knew full well that FDR would not survive a fourth term and yet joined in a massive conspiracy to deceive the American public during the election.
Also surprising is how willing the American media outlets were to go along with this conspiracy when several prominent reporters suspected the truth. It was during the war, and censorship rules actually enabled FDR and his staff to mask the president's movements as he left Washington on many occasions to seek rest and recuperation from his soon-to-be-fatal illness.
There are many lessons to be learned from this excellent book. Had FDR not run for a fourth term, Harry Truman, his new vice president, would probably never have been president and that certainly would have changed the course of American history.
Another lesson may be the dangers inherent in a largely self-censored press. Perhaps the American public would have re-elected FDR to a fourth term had they known of his dire health. We will never know because of a basic failure of the system of a free press to disclose that information to the American public.
Mr. Lelyveld, a journalist and former executive editor of the N.Y. Times, has managed to compile an impressive list of sources to document the final months of FDR. While many reviewers have concentrated on the author's portrayal of the significant decisions made during these years in terms of the post World War II world, I was more impressed with the conspiracy to keep FDR's health a secret. It is amazing to learn from Lelyveld's research that many people close to FDR, including his physicians, knew full well that FDR would not survive a fourth term and yet joined in a massive conspiracy to deceive the American public during the election.
Also surprising is how willing the American media outlets were to go along with this conspiracy when several prominent reporters suspected the truth. It was during the war, and censorship rules actually enabled FDR and his staff to mask the president's movements as he left Washington on many occasions to seek rest and recuperation from his soon-to-be-fatal illness.
There are many lessons to be learned from this excellent book. Had FDR not run for a fourth term, Harry Truman, his new vice president, would probably never have been president and that certainly would have changed the course of American history.
Another lesson may be the dangers inherent in a largely self-censored press. Perhaps the American public would have re-elected FDR to a fourth term had they known of his dire health. We will never know because of a basic failure of the system of a free press to disclose that information to the American public.
May 29, 2017
While clearly a pro-FDR book, Lelyveld does a nice job depicting the personal side of FDR and trying to dig into his decisions and motivations, and the author admits that understanding how FDR thought was difficult, and that some of his actions were indecipherable.
FDR's primary motivations seemed to be to keep his options open, so he avoided firm commitments, and he also avoided letting even his closest advisers know what he was thinking. Lelyveld lauds FDR for be able to prioritize and understanding that winning the war was paramount, and preserving a peace, however fragile, after the war was essential. This focus on the big picture allowed FDR to be willing to give on other issues, like the freedom of Poland (and most of Eastern Europe).
Lelyveld describes FDR as "an agile thinker, not a deep one," but who was able to think in 3 dimensions and relate various issues to each other.
Interesting episode in American politics. When Dewey ran against FDR in 1944, he used the claim that FDR should have known about Pearl Harbor and stopped the attacks as a criticism. George Marshall went in person to speak with Dewey as the US had indeed broken a Japanese code that provided some warning about Pearl Harbor, but the Japanese did not know that 3 years later, and the US was still benefiting from the broken code. Dewey, after significant protest, finally agreed to not use the information against FDR.
Lelyveld is unclear, despite spending a significant portion of the book on the topic, whether FDR really believed that he could influence Stalin and that the US and USSR could be partners post-war, or whether he was just pretending (or deceiving himself and others) in order to win the war at hand, and just hoping that things would work out for the best.
FDR's primary motivations seemed to be to keep his options open, so he avoided firm commitments, and he also avoided letting even his closest advisers know what he was thinking. Lelyveld lauds FDR for be able to prioritize and understanding that winning the war was paramount, and preserving a peace, however fragile, after the war was essential. This focus on the big picture allowed FDR to be willing to give on other issues, like the freedom of Poland (and most of Eastern Europe).
Lelyveld describes FDR as "an agile thinker, not a deep one," but who was able to think in 3 dimensions and relate various issues to each other.
Interesting episode in American politics. When Dewey ran against FDR in 1944, he used the claim that FDR should have known about Pearl Harbor and stopped the attacks as a criticism. George Marshall went in person to speak with Dewey as the US had indeed broken a Japanese code that provided some warning about Pearl Harbor, but the Japanese did not know that 3 years later, and the US was still benefiting from the broken code. Dewey, after significant protest, finally agreed to not use the information against FDR.
Lelyveld is unclear, despite spending a significant portion of the book on the topic, whether FDR really believed that he could influence Stalin and that the US and USSR could be partners post-war, or whether he was just pretending (or deceiving himself and others) in order to win the war at hand, and just hoping that things would work out for the best.
January 23, 2024
I approached this book hoping for insights into what can be learned from history in reference to the 2024 election. I honestly (and stupidly) kind of thought what more can I learn about Yalta or FDR having read numerous books on the two topics? Yet this book highlights and stresses the often overlooked significance of Wilson's ailments towards the end of his own presidency, Poland's role in WW2 and shortly after, whether FDR would have actually dropped the atomic bombs, and relatedly how/if the Cold War would have played out. Once we broach that last topic, so goes entire alternate timelines which are fascinating (and tragic) to imagine and discuss. So if you have a nonfiction book club full of history or international relations "nerds" this is a perfect book to study! I struggle to understand the modern "cult of personality" around 45, but despite all FDR's numerous flaws and shortcomings (civil rights, internment camps, packing the court... the list goes on... ), as my grandfather born in 1916 told me once as a clueless child who couldn't begin to comprehend, "he [FDR] really was the greatest president America could have ever hoped for." Going back to my original objective about finding solace for the 2024 election, I didn't really, in fact I might be even more freaked out, but at least I am now more informed about past great presidents before the book burnings start. Kidding.. hopefully! In short, amazing piece of non-fiction that needs to be on any historian's bookshelf.
December 5, 2016
Very good review of the last 18 months or so of FDR's life. It seemed a little disorganized at first, but settles in nicely once the author completes his discussion of FDR's service during the Wilson administration. That discussion is valuable, as it introduces the book's major themes and draws some interesting parallels with the Wilson years. The bulk of the book concentrates on two issues. The first involves Roosevelt's efforts to forge an enduring alliance with Stalin's Soviet Union in order to succeed where Wilson had failed, to establish an international organization, dominated by the world's major powers, to keep the peace after the end of World War II. The second was FDR's health, as he fought to stay healthy, vital and alive long enough to see that dream realized. The book moves along quickly, with many insights into FDR's character and manner of governing. There is a good discussion of the Yalta conference and the issue of whether Roosevelt was too ill at that time to stand up to Stalin, leading to Soviet domination of Eastern Europe for most of the remainder of the 2oth Century.
It is an absorbing, readable book, and well worth reading.
It is an absorbing, readable book, and well worth reading.
January 8, 2018
After reading Baime’s “Accidental President” about Truman’s first four months as president, I came across this quite good book about FDR’s last 18 months as president. Maybe reading this one first makes more sense?
So much has been written about FDR that one might feel this book just goes over old ground. Lelyveld does a great job of making this fresh and adding in newly available information that adds context and color to FDR’s last months. What is clear about this period is that FDR was very sick (tragically suffering from conditions easily treatable today). FDR knew this, his doctors knew this, others knew this. Maybe he shouldn’t have run for his fourth term. FDR’s failure to bring Truman up to speed is really bad news. Yes, FDR kept decisions close. Yes, he kept all options open. Yes, he believed only he could win over Stalin. Yes, historically Vice Presidents were held at arms length. But, knowing how sick he was, with WWII still raging, FDR should have gotten closer with Truman.
So much has been written about FDR that one might feel this book just goes over old ground. Lelyveld does a great job of making this fresh and adding in newly available information that adds context and color to FDR’s last months. What is clear about this period is that FDR was very sick (tragically suffering from conditions easily treatable today). FDR knew this, his doctors knew this, others knew this. Maybe he shouldn’t have run for his fourth term. FDR’s failure to bring Truman up to speed is really bad news. Yes, FDR kept decisions close. Yes, he kept all options open. Yes, he believed only he could win over Stalin. Yes, historically Vice Presidents were held at arms length. But, knowing how sick he was, with WWII still raging, FDR should have gotten closer with Truman.
July 2, 2017
His Final Battle is a fascinating and insightful portrait of President Franklin D. Roosevelt as he faced worsening health issues while trying to simultaneously keep together his coalition on a domestic front, win the fight on the foreign front, deal with leaders like Churchill and Stalin, and everything else in-between as the world was undergoing its most dramatic realigning in some time.
Lelyveld offers some new information that gives a better picture of what obstacles FDR had to overcome to keep going on a daily basis. Unfortunately, a lot of the information provided has been covered elsewhere and I would have enjoyed more of a focus on a variety of topics with the last two years or so of his life.
Overall though, His Final Battle is a great read for anyone who has not really read anything on FDR's later years. Even those who have read numerous books about FDR will find something to take away from this book.
Lelyveld offers some new information that gives a better picture of what obstacles FDR had to overcome to keep going on a daily basis. Unfortunately, a lot of the information provided has been covered elsewhere and I would have enjoyed more of a focus on a variety of topics with the last two years or so of his life.
Overall though, His Final Battle is a great read for anyone who has not really read anything on FDR's later years. Even those who have read numerous books about FDR will find something to take away from this book.
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