FDR

There are few Presidents as revered as FDR. Not only is he our longest-serving President, but he also helped us through some of the most trying times in US History. From the Great Depression to WWII, from the Dust Bowl to the Home Front of weapons manufacturing, FDR had a lot (some may say too much) on his plate. Yet, there are those who would contest that his spending of money and government control was too much for the time, and set a dangerous precedent that the government still has to follow today. The nay-sayers for FDR claim that he single-handedly changed the way the federal government responded to a crisis to not ‘if' they would respond, but when, and to what degree.

It is with all this in mind that I went into FDR by Jean Edward Smith. I wanted to learn more about the President on a personal level, as well as know more about his administration with only details that a book can provide.

This book is perhaps the best single-volume biography of anyone who has served through so much as Roosevelt. Smith traces the birth and personal development of FDR from when he was a child, through his days as President. During that time he explores a host of important people in Roosevelt's life, from political allies, and personal friends to his wife Elenore. What was most surprising to me was the relationship between Franklin and Elenore. As someone who comes from a ‘traditional' family unit, their relationship comes off as strange, but perhaps it is meant to. I get the impression that they simply married for money and social class, which they both eventually found inadequate given the tumultuous times they both faced later in life. This led to affairs confirmed and unconfirmed, for both Franklin and Elanore. Since I knew about FDR and his affair, I was surprised about Elanore and her alleged affairs while FDR was president.

This book also offers a solid account of how Roosevelt was a master politician and how he knew to get work done with almost anyone. This culminated into the assembly of his first cabinet, where he seemed to hire as many Republicans as Democrats, because they were good for the job, and not just his friends or people suggested to him. It is little facts and tidbits like this that I personally liked reading about and challenged my view of FDR.

There are, however, some issues with this text, both of which are inherent to the fact it is a one-volume work, and you should be aware of at any rate.

The first is that we are told much of the information about FDR, as in “first X happened, and Y said the following...after which Z occurred.” This isn't a bad thing, as we have to move at breakneck speed to cover everything Roosevelt did, but those people looking for a more personal portrait of Roosevelt would do well to look elsewhere. (An example would be Goodwin's book No Ordinary Time, about FDR in the Whitehouse in WWII.) This is one of the reasons why it took me so long to get through, as it was like eating a bland steak or overcooked pasta. Yeah, it's fine, but there is no flavor in it.

Another issue with moving so quickly is that many of the more negative topics of Roosevelt's terms are glossed over in this text, or covered very briefly. For example, take when FDR tried to pack the court with Democratic justices, something that, today, could be considered a grab for power. Or the Japanese Internment camps during WWII, where Japanese citizens were forcibly moved from their property and placed into camps for national security. What are moments in time that have whole books written about them, here, are covered in about 5 pages. For both of these negatives, it isn't really a problem for me, it is just something a reader should know when getting into a one-volume biography.

One flaw that is more of a problem is the ending of the text. It simply ends. In 1945, Roosevelt claims he has a headache then he collapses and is pronounced dead. The author then switches the viewpoint to some American POWs who are told FDR died, they bow their heads and that's it. It ends with these POWs marching away into the distance. It isn't that I don't feel for these men or anything, but it is just so unexpected. We have never been introduced to these men before now, and so to have them simply appear seems strange for a book that was so well laid out. Also, many authors cover the funeral of their President, and where they are buried, as well as their legacy in an ‘afterword'. Not here. Either Smith didn't think it was necessary, since it is, you know, FDR, or the publisher said he had to cut the word count and he decided to ax a majority of the ending. Either way, this seems a bit abrupt and random for my taste.

My problem with the ending notwithstanding, I still think this is an excellent book about a man who is tasked to turn around the country after the collapse of the world economy. Whether you love him or hate him, this book makes you re-examine the man and the times he lived in, and what can you ask for more than that? I give it a four out of five.