Franklin Delano Roosevelt

by Alan Brinkley

"No president since the founders has done more to shape the character of American government," notes Alan Brinkley in this magnificent biography of America's thirty-second president. "And no president since Lincoln has served through darker or more difficult times. Roosevelt thrived in crisis. It brought out his greatness, and his guile. It triggered his almost uncanny ability to communicate effectively with people of all kinds. And at times, it helped him excoriate his enemies, and to revel in doing so."
This brilliant, compact biography chronicles Franklin Delano Roosevelt's rise from a childhood of privilege to a presidency that forever changed the face of international diplomacy, the American party system, and the government's role in global and domestic policy. Brinkley, the National Book Award-winning New Deal historian, provides a clear, concise introduction to Roosevelt's sphinx-like character and remarkable achievements. In a vivid narrative packed with telling anecdotes, the book moves swiftly from Roosevelt's youth in upstate New York--characterized by an aristocratic lifestyle of trips to Europe and private tutoring--to his schooling at Harvard, his brief law career, and his initial entry into politics. From there, Brinkley chronicles Roosevelt's rise to the presidency, a position in which FDR remained until death, through an unparalleled three-plus terms in office. Throughout the book, Brinkley elegantly blends FDR's personal life with his professional one, providing a lens into the President's struggles with polio and his somewhat distant relationship with the first lady.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt led the United States through the worst economic crisis in the nation's history and through the greatest and most terrible war ever recorded. His extraordinary legacy remains alive in our own troubled new century as a reminder of what bravery and strong leadership can accomplish.

Genres: Biography, History, Nonfiction, American History, Presidents, Politics, Book Club

116 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Alan Brinkley was an American political historian who has taught for over 20 years at Columbia University. He was the Allan Nevins Professor of History until his death. From 2003 to 2009, he was University Provost.

Reviews

[Ex Ell · Rating 1 out of 5]

Junk.

Empty sentences that you will learn nothing from. The Wikipedia page about the man will provide you with 100 times more insightful and interesting information. The more appropriate title would have "FDR for pre-schoolers". Just painfully bad and truly pointless.

[Maggie Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

great short little bio on FDR 10/10

[Barbara Mahoney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recently saw the movie "Hyde Park" which was about Roosevelt. I wanted to learn more. I am not a history buff and this book was especially appealing to me since it was only about 100 pages long.

Alan Brinkley, a historian, did an admirable job in providing a concise overview of FDR's administration. He described the social, politicial and economic and international challenges of this era.

I learned a lot reading this book and I'm glad I read it. It does not describe in detail FDR's personal life - it is more of a "history book" re: FDR's administration and accomplishments. There are other books out there that delve into his personal life in greater detail.

There is an excellent bibliography at the end of the book.

[Jack · Rating 2 out of 5]

Short and sweet and ultimately unsatisfying. The sparknotes of FDR's presidency, with a spartan just the facts accounting of major accomplishments and historical landmarks, it reads like a collection of uninspired narration paragraphs that would annotate the exhibits of the Roosevelt presidential library.

[Bruno Cunha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Na historiografia dos presidentes americanos há quase que um consenso sobre um verdadeiro triunvirato de grandes líderes da nação: Washington, Lincoln e Franklin Delano Roosevelt. De fato, os três presidentes, cada qual à sua maneira, podem ser vistos até os dias atuais como os grandes definidores da estrutura da nação americana em termos políticos e administrativos.

No ponto, "Franklin Delano Roosevelt: o presidente que tirou os Estados Unidos do Buraco", de Alan Brinkley, traz uma sólida e breve biografia daquele que pode ser visto como o maior líder americano do século XX. Como bem colocado pelo New York Times um dia após sua morte, "a história irá honrar esse homem por muitas coisas, não importando o quanto muitos de seus compatriotas discordem de algumas de suas políticas e ações".

Depois de uma infância bastante tranquila em um lar de ricos proprietários de terra no Estado de NY, Roosevelt seguiu a herança política da família (seu pai era primo distante do presidente Theodore Roosevelt) e, após o College em Harvard e a Law School em Columbia, acabou se envolvendo na política em seu Estado (foi do Senado estadual e governador). Alçou voo à presidência dos EUA no auge da maior crise econômica da história (1929) e, lá chegando em 1933, foi rápido ao implementar o seu famoso New Deal.

Em breve síntese, o programa representou um crescimento gigantesco da burocracia estatal em áreas que até então não haviam sido uma responsabilidade federal. Com isso, o papel do governo federal na vida dos americanos foi aumentado de forma colossal: de assistência social a programas de emprego, de proteção trabalhista à regulação bancária, de subsídios agrícolas a programas de habitação, etc.

No plano internacional, foi o presidente que guiou os EUA na Segunda Guerra Mundial em uma aliança profícua com Churchill e moldou, para o futuro, a Guerra Fria com a União Soviética.

FDR foi eleito quatro vezes consecutivas presidente (um recorde que não será batido em virtude da vedação trazida pela 22nd Amendment). Como bem finaliza Brinkley, FDR se tornou um mito: "um homem para todas as épocas, todos os partidos e todas as ideologias". Leitura leve e interessante.

[Carlos Ribeiro · Rating 4 out of 5]

FDR, como ficou conhecido, foi um dos mais importantes presidentes dos EUA e, considerado por muitos, o mais importante do século XX.

FDR subiu na política americana a pulso e sempre tentando distanciar-se da família. Muito astuto e inteligente e também muito reservado e orgulhoso.
Teve 3 mandatos (inédito) e começou um quarto durante o qual viria a falecer após uma violenta trombose.

Governou durante muitos anos os EUA, ao mesmo tempo lutando contra a poliomielite que contraiu ainda bastante jovem. Herdou uma herança pesada ao ser nomeado presidente durante a Grande Depressão, implementou enumeras reformas que, de início suavizaram a enorme crise financeira que herdou, mas que só viria a terminar com a Segunda Guerra Mundial.

A primeira mulher a fazer parte de um governo foi eleita pela mão de FDR, também algo semelhante à segurança social, ordenado mínimo, subsídio de desemprego , apoio aos idosos e inválidos foram todas medidas implementadas por ele. Começou, ainda que timidamente, a implementar medidas para igualdade racial e de género, nas quais a sua esposa já era acérrima defensora. Lentamente persuadiu o congresso a entrar na guerra o que se tornaria mais fácil depois do ataque a Pearl Harbor.
Foi ele que convocou também uma conferência de onde viria a ser criado o FMI.
Também foi ele que deu luz verde ao Projeto Manhattan, que mais tarde daria origem às duas bombas lançadas em Hiroshima e Nagasaki, ja não era vivo então, sendo o seu vice Harry Truman, responsável por tal hediondo feito.

Gostei da biografia, mas é muito centrada na vida política e explora pouco a vida privada, embora fique bastante patente a sua pouca organização da vida pessoal em contraste com a vida política.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two quotes from this book are interesting to me. The first was published in the New York Times the day after FDR died in 1945.

“Men will thank God on their knees, a hundred years from now, that Franklin D. Roosevelt was in the White House.”

The second is from a message that FDR sent to Churchill in 1941.

“It is fun to be in the same decade with you.”

Giants live life on a larger scale.

This book is an overview of FDR. Written in 2010 and on the shoulders of a great deal of historic and scholarly work by others. This is not the definitely Roosevelt book. Several others have done that.

This is a very good high level overview of why this man, born 140 years ago, is worth our continued interest, study and appreciation. JIM

[Paul Duke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short (100 pages?) history of FDR by a great historian, well worth reading for those with little history or a need to, ahem, brush up on an important period of American history which is about to become even more important. In short, FDR was a pragmatist, not an ideologue, and the economic suffering of the 30s required a lot of experimentation. FDR saved capitalism, then saved Europe from Hitler, but he didn’t have the vision to take on America’s racial problem, despite the fact his wife was a visionary in this regard.

[Mark Ackermann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read that this was one of the best biographies of FDR, and it really didn’t disappoint. This is the perfect book for gaining more detailed knowledge about FDR’s life and presidency. This book offers very little detail when it comes to his New Deal programs and other initiatives, so I am offsetting it with another book all about the New Deal. Regardless, this is a great read about a very respected President.

[Roberta Havel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Possibly the shortest book ever written about FDR (99 pages). It is a concise historical compilation of all of his accomplishments, and failures as President. I.will keep this book for times when I want a quick lookup about an action taken by this late great President.

[Sam Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. If you want a detailed description of FDR’s life, policies, and successes or failures with intricacy, this is not for you. But if you’re looking for a quick read to gain historical understanding, you can do so in a couple hours.

[Arden Wheless · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

[Peter Mayeux · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a tightly-written and well-edited essay on FDR's political life.

[Marc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is it possible to write a useful biography of the longest-serving and most consequential US president of the 20th century in only 99 pages? Brinkley, a Columbia University historian, rises to the challenge and produces a study of his subject that is both minimalistic and masterful.

He focuses on the New Deal and World War II, of course, but also gives attention to FDR's youth, his personal life, and his four elections to the presidency. Well-balanced and highly readable throughout, the book maintains an objective perspective on its subject and serves as an ideal introduction to FDR for the novice, or as a useful quick refresher for those whose knowledge of FDR may contain gaps.

Includes detailed notes and a useful bibliography but, inexplicably, no index.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brinkley's Franklin Delano Roosevelt is more a précis than a book. Only 90 pages, it clearly highlights the reason that FDR ranks high in the Parthenon of American Presidents. He reshaped the American government, transformed the Democratic Party, successfully led the nation through the hugest war in history and refined liberalism. Two of his greatest errors of judgment are also discussed though with little detail: the failure to rescue and provide safe haven from the Holocaust for European Jews, and the blackest mark for the interment camps for Japanese American citizens. He also did very little for American Negroes, at first even failing to give them equality in Social Security benefits.

A wealth of information for a précis!

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like the book I just read about Theodore Roosevelt, this one was a great, succinct overview of FDR's life. Several years ago I read Jean Edward Smith's 800-plus page biography of FDR, and whenever I read a non-fiction book that long, I worry that I do not actually learn very much about the book's subject, simply because of the enormous amount of information that I take in while reading such a massive tome. As I read Brinkley's much shorter account, however, I realized that I did in fact remember most of the major events of FDR's life.

[Seth Granberry]

After reading this book i was very influenced by what FDR has done in his life. He showed lot of perseverance and loyalty to his country to be able to server as US President during the second World War. Also he was diagnosed with polio in 1928. With all of his personal complication he still pulled through until he died in 1945. In my personal opinion he was one of the best Presidents till this day.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This very short biography hits the main points and seems judiciously balanced in its description of FDR's life, times, political activity, and war-time leadership. Leaves you wanting to tackle some of the Big Books on Roosevelt but tells the story well enough to let you wait a while to do so . . . .

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this biography. It's quite short and to the point (could easily be several hundred pages longer) but it works well here. I needed a quick overview of Roosevelt's presidency and this was it. What it lacks in FDR's emotional depth and motivations it makes up with clarity and conciseness. I recommended this to anyone interested in or curious about our 32nd president.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

You wouldn't think a sub-100 page bio on FDR could be written and effective, but this one is an incredibly quick read that still provides some new material. Many, many topics are treated far too cautiously, but the summaries of New Deal agencies and early Roosevelt accomplishments are done well.

[Bryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a hard and fast bio of FDR this guy works but many of my book club members preferred Roy Jenkins' entry in the American Presidents series. We all wanted more and we ended up talking about Eleanor a lot.

[Emily Betz · Rating 3 out of 5]

As the other reviews say, this is a very quick and well-written overview, primarily of FDR's political history. I found it to be a little bit dry for my taste, but definitely serves a purpose and sums up three action-packed terms as concisely as possible.

[Blake Maddux · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars. A 100-page text that serves as a useful reminder or introduction to the 32nd president. Like I said of the short bio that I read of Theodore Roosevelt, it was well worth the $0.99 that I paid for the Kindle edition.

[Clayton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very informative but very dry at the same time. Packed full of interesting facts one sentence at a time. The author seems to have a difficult time sticking on one subject but what should you expect from a book that is only 100 pages long.

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

As fine a biography as one can write in about 100 pages. Could have delved a little bit more into the unsavory aspects of FDR's leadership, but Brinkley did hit on those aspects.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short book that covers only his political life, policies and influence on the world. Nice book for an introduction to this great man.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good overview of one of our great presidents.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good review of the facts of his life and how he shaped American history. Reads like a textbook. A little too rosy and eager to gloss over major flaws, however.