Franklin D. Roosevelt, consensus choice as one of three great presidents, led the American people through the two major crises of modern times. The first volume of an epic two-part biography, Franklin D. Roosevelt: Road to the New Deal, 1882-1939presents FDR from a privileged Hyde Park childhood through his leadership in the Great Depression to the ominous build-up to global war Roger Daniels revisits the sources and closely examines Roosevelt's own words and deeds to create a twenty-first century analysis of how Roosevelt forged the modern presidency.
Daniels's close analysis yields new insights into the expansion of Roosevelt's economic views; FDR's steady mastery of the complexities of federal administrative practices and possibilities; the ways the press and presidential handlers treated questions surrounding his health; and his genius for channelling the lessons learned from an unprecedented collection of scholars and experts into bold political action Revelatory and nuanced, Franklin D.
Roosevelt: Road to the New Deal, 1882-1939reappraises the rise of a political titan and his impact on the country he remade.
A vigorous, thorough examination of the New Deal programs, pinpointing Franklin Roosevelt's successes and failures and much improvisation. . . . Finely delineated history, authoritative and skillfully fashioned. Kirkus Reviews.
"It hardly seems possible that anything new can be said about Franklin Roosevelt at this date, but Roger Daniels has adopted an innovative approach which succeeds in offering us a fresh perspective on the man and his presidency. This is an astute narrative that forces a rethinking of key interpretations." Ivan R. Dee
"An unparalleled portrait. Written with verve, refreshingly free of jargon, and deftly weaving acute analysis into clear narrative, it manages both to tell the remarkable story of the most influential president since Lincoln while conducting an ongoing conversation with historians and biographers who have come before." Max Paul Friedman, author of Rethinking Anti-Americanism: The History of an Exceptional Concept in American Foreign Relations
"A deeply researched and finely crafted biography and history of the greatest American president of the twentieth century. . . . In these times, when FDR's and our parents' and grandparents' memory and legacy are under siege, we should all read Daniels's new work and consider what we need to do today."--Harvey J. Kaye, author of Thomas Paine and the Promise of America
"This is a huge and important account of FDR's presidency, based on a prodigious amount of work, largely in the public record, in newspapers, memoirs, and related materials, but with close attention to all of the relevant secondary literature." Allan M. Winkler, author of Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Making of Modern America
