Given the format of the Our Presidents series author Melissa Maupin was going to face a challenge telling the story of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Usually these books devote a chapter to each term of office served by a president and since Roosevelt was elected to the White House four times this was going to present a problem. But Maupin goes with the best approach and divides the Roosevelt presidency into two halves, the first dominated by the Great Depression and the second by World War II. The opening chapter looks at Roosevelt's early life ending with his marriage to his fifth cousin, Eleanor Roosevelt, while the second looks at his political career, his paralysis from polio, and his election as governor of New York. Then Maupin focuses on the New Deal as FDR's response to the Great Depression and World War II as the Fight for a Free World. From the former young readers will get an appreciation for the ways in which Roosevelt changed the relationship between the government and the people, while from the latter they will understand how he was ahead of the nation in terms of being prepared for America to enter the war.

For the main part Maupin focuses on covering the biographical details of Roosevelt's life, but she also manages to provide some evaluation of the key ideas and events of the period as well. The result is a solid introduction to Franklin D. Roosevelt for young readers. This volume is illustrated with black & white photographs from FDR's personal and political life, there are informative sidebars on daily life during the Depression and Eleanor Roosevelt as a new kind of first lady, and the margins are filled with Interesting Facts (e.g., FDR graduated from Harvard in three years), As with the rest of the series the back of the volume has a Time Line that stretches from FDR's birth in 1882 to Eleanor's death in 1962, a glossary of over a dozen terms, a page of presidential facts, Internet sites and books for Further Information, and an index.

Definitely one of the better books out there about President Roosevelt for young people, although the volume is so well organized and well written that it will appeal to most general adult readers as well. The emphasis on Roosevelt's handicap is also highly informative and enlightening.

Most of us who remember the American Heritage Junior Library from our youths have fond memories of it and this volume on "Franklin Delano Roosevelt" by Wilson Sullivan shows why. Opposite the Foreword there is a page showing postage stamps commemorating FDR from Monaco, El Salvador, and the United States; Roosevelt was a dedicated philatelist from his youth. This represents the sort of details that are found through this informative volume. Just in terms of the photographs you have FDR playing Uncle Bopaddy in his senior year at Groton, about to lift himself out of a car in 1932, the edited first page of his first inaugural address, a bottle celebrating the TVA with Roosevelt's head as the cork, and FDR driving around Fala, the infamous Scotch terrier. There are also the most famous pictures of FDR's political career: standing on a street talking with a voter during the Depression and the tear stained face of Chief Petty Officer Graham Jackson playing "Going Home" after the President's death. Add to this a few choice cartoons about both Franklin (A young boy write "ROOSEVELT" on the sidewalk and his sister reports "Mother, Wilfred wrote a bad word") and Eleanor (one amazed miner deep underground tells the other, "For gosh sakes, here comes Mrs. Roosevelt).

The Editors of "American Heritage" magazine set the tone for this look at FDR by making it clear that it was not until the summer of 1921 when Roosevelt was struck down by polio that his character turned into that of a great politician (and political leader, since those are not the same thing). The key quote is Roosevelt's political philosophy that "Government has a final responsibility for the well-being of its citizenship." Within that context Sullivan tells the story of FDR's life and political career as emphasizing action rather than talk and experimentation rather that theory, both of which are exemplified as the guiding principles behind his legislative New Deal. Within these pages Sullivan tries to reconcile the scion of Hyde Park with the diplomat of Casablanca, Teheran, and Yalta. However, it must be noted that you will not find any mention of Lucy Mercer, the woman with whom FDR had an affair in 1918 and in whose presence he died in 1945. Still, it is easy to see what that sort of detail would not be deemed important in a juvenile biography published in 1970; today, such things have considerably more salience, as I am sure most young students are painfully aware.

One advantage of this volume is that it focuses primarily on Roosevelt's years in the White House. The first chapter deals with his life before being stricken with polio while FDR is elected president by the end of the second. Chapters are then devoted to the New Deal, FDR's reinvention of government, his efforts to prepare the nation for World War II, and his tenure as Commander in Chief for most of the war. Young readers will get a sense of exactly why FDR was the first 20th century President to get his visage on a coin and understand why the Republicans passed through a Constitutional Amendment limiting Presidents to two terms of office as soon as they controlled Congress. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the most significant President of the 20th century (Richard Nixon comes in second because of detente and Watergate) and this book certainly helps you appreciate that particular judgment of history.

"The Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial," by Anne Phillips, tells the story behind the monument to one of the United States' most important presidents. The book combines a straightforward text with a wealth of photographs (both color photos and historic black-and-white photos). There is also a map of the memorial.

The book contains a brief biography of FDR and tells the historical story of the memorial from the early planning stage to its dedication in 1997. Philips discusses the contributions of architect Lawrence Halprin and the other creative people who helped give life to the memorial. There are many images of the statues and inscriptions at the memorial. I especially liked the statue of FDR's Scottish terrier, Fala, and the inscription of his Four Freedoms. Phillips also discusses the controversy over whether or not to depict FDR's disability in the memorial.

This book is very educational, and also inspiring. I've never seen the FDR memorial, and this book makes me want to visit it. And that's probably the best compliment I can pay to a book of this nature.

A very good and readable book that details the friendship between two of the greatest leaders in the twentieth century. Both the President and the Prime Minister had huge egos, and were known to be difficult, but the friendship that developed between them helped the Allies win the war with Germany, Italy, and Japan. Many interesting stories of the personal lives of both Roosevelt and Churchill. The friendship that developed between these two great men helped in the post war world.

These early stories of John Constantine are the best. Delano greatly defined and "fleshed out" Constantine. This work is very underrated. The writing is subtle and operates more on a psychological level. Constantine here was the most sly and cunning. I highly recommend.

Having discovered the Off the Beaten Path series while planning a vacation to South Dakota, I didn't hesitate to pick up the Missouri copy to see what I was missing in my backyard. I'm really glad I did! Even though I've discovered many things since moving to Missouri, this book has helped me discover quite a few new places to explore. The book has broken Missouri into concise geographical sections, so when planning a trip, you only have to look at the section of the state where you'll be travelling. The usual topics of lodging shopping, and restaurants are covered very well, but what I find most interesting are the little-known cultural artifacts highlighted in the book. If you're planning a trip to Missouri, or live here and want to discover more of your home state, this book is highly recommended. One warning though: you'll never look at any interstate, especially I-70, the same again!!

This history of the life of F. D. Roosevelt is excellent if only because it is like having a video of the life without having to run it through your VCR. If you are a student of history or of the time in history, this volume is perfect and should be read for its authenticity and historical content.

A wonderful book in which Franklin D. Roosevelt emerges as a pragmatic and astute politician who manages the government with coordinating regional interests. The book conveys Roosevelt's adaptability to use federalism-a division of power between the federal government and local autonomy or grass roots movements-while implementing a massive restructuring of government to alleviate the Depression. Although Roosevelt had much help from advisers, he enforced the New Deal to reform banking, the Agricultural Adjustment Act to aid farmers, the unconstitutional National Recovery Administration, the Public Works Administration, the National Labor Relations Board and many others. Additionally, the author uses the term pluralism to describe Roosevelt's networking of various interest groups in an attempt to coalesce a coherent fiscal policy. Moreover, this book recognizes that competing interests sometimes precluded a successful outcome for New Deal legislation. Nonetheless, the author gives F.D.R. praise for his cautious approach in conducting foreign affairs and, especially, the United States' entry in World War II. The chapter about Eleanor Roosevelt gives the reader a glimpse into her humanitarian concerns for women and African Americans. The excellent bibliography adds a detailed essay about finding out more on this complex historical figure. This book made me feel as if I actually experienced the years during F.D.R.'s presidency and the outstanding writing added to my reading enjoyment.

This book is often read as a biography, but it is more than that. It is in large part the story of Franklin Roosevelt's politics and policies,as he moved to the right after 1937 and especially mid-way through W.W. II, that shift reflected in the appointment of Leo Crowley, a conservative Democrat whose Irish heritage and banking background tended to protect him against charges of being pro-British. But there is more. The reader will learn that there was an economic war with the British during the armed war against the Axis in the 40s.