This one volume biography of FDR is probably the best distillate possible, though the task is daunting and the result is less than perfect. At times, the book 'drags' a bit, particularly through the 30s. Explanations of New Deal politics perhaps don't lend themselves to the kind of exciting story-telling that wartime meetings at places such as Tehran and Yalta do. In fact, I sometimes felt the book lapsed into an economics textbook, but it is still mostly quite readable. Freidel does not editorialize much about his subject and so (fortunately) one is left to draw one's own conclusions about FDR.

If one wants to start learning about the life of the 32nd President, this is the book the start. Friedel devoted his life to chronicling the life of this great leader. The book is very readable and covers all the important events in Roosevelt's life. The general reader and historian will be impressed.

The best one volume biography on America's greatest President. As a historian I higly recommend this tome.

OK is the first description that comes to mind. Its nothing special I expect that the next few that are written by Garth Ennis are much better, myself being a fan of his Preacher series. If you are looking to buy this comic I would recomend Lucifer over Hellblazer. Lucifer is dark fantasy while hellblazer is more thriller seems to be in the comic style vain of Se7en. Anyways Lucifer is more intresting definitly a charismatic charicter, I really don't like Constantine I am halfway through this comic I just can't identify with his character.

I've read... 3 hellblazers, this is the best. Guess I'm not much of a fan of Garth, prolly I knew a Gareth once and he hated being called Garth. So, what's to say. John faces demons, fights demons, foils plots left and right, kills off people. It wasn't quite what I expected, but it doesn't rely on shock tactics nearly as much as later volumes. Also he spectacularly fails to evince any powers, save only one. I guess that's sposed to show how skilled he is. Good stuff, don't get later ones. By the by, it's a good deal darker than the John Constantine in the Sandman volumes.

I recently started reading the Hellblazer monthly comic book, and I just had to start collecting the TPBs. John Constantine is a fascinating character that I want to know more about. The only difficulty this collection (Issues 1-9) presents is some crossings with the Swamp Thing. I probably should try to get some Swamp Thing as well for the full picture. I like the horrific tone of this collection, plus the supernatural edge it has.

I first read this book in 1980, when it was probably the best available introduction to the New Deal era. Leuchtenburg is such a stylish writer that the book remains well worth reading. However, some of his arguments, particularly on the economic side, need a little updating. In addition, there are more thorough works these days on Roosevelt's battles with the Supreme Court and the complexities of the court's judgements. Leuchtenburg's real achievement, though, is to bring across the sense of hope and creativity and energy that Roosevelt infused into so many Americans. It is the spirit of the times, as much as any supposed lessons about government activism and demand management, that makes the New Deal era so special. Leuchtenburg captures that spirit extremely well.

William Leuchtenburg is, without doubt, the greatest historian of Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal. His impact has been enormous, both in the field of history (he has trained most of the other New Deal historians) and in the larger world (if you've been to the FDR memorial in D.C., you've seen the quotations carved in stone, which he selected).

Though Leuchtenburg's body of work is impressive, this text stands as his single best work. Though it's nearly forty years old, the text is surprisingly lively and the interpretations quite lucid. This is, without doubt, the single best text on FDR or the New Deal. Simply outstanding.

The New Deal is a era of history which of which I frequently heard but really knew very little about. We knew that it was a very important period of our history in which the Roosevelt administration attacked the depression with an alphabet soup of agencies. The New Deal managed to alter the political balance of the United States for the balance of the century, but which was really unsuccessful in ending the depression until the advent of World War II. It was to learn more about what really went on during the New Deal that I opened William E. Leuchtenburg's "Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal". I was very pleased as I read this book.

At the start of the book I was expecting this to be a propaganda piece for FDR. While the author seems to view the New Deal with favor, I did find the book to seem to be a rather even handed account of this period of history.

Leuchtenburg begins the book with an analysis of the conditions existing at the beginning of the New Deal. The advancing gloom of 1932 provides the background for the beginning of the story. The progressively desperate measures of the Hoover administration are contrasted with the rising tide of the Roosevelt movement in the Democratic Party. The shadows of despair lengthened in the winter between the November elections and the March inauguration. This section of the book both reinforced and challenged my prior understandings. The fact that the economy deteriorated significantly over the winter was confirmed. My prior readings, presented from President Hoover's point of view, emphasized Roosevelt's unwillingness to endorse any attempts by the administration to deal with the worsening crisis. Rather than illustrating a shallow and indifferent character, Leuchtenburg presents the time as one in which Roosevelt resisted Hoover's attempts to commit the new administration to continue programs favored by the old.

The section on the first 100 days emphasizes the uncritical manner with which the Congress rushed to approve most measures sent to the Hill from the White House. The session of 1934 was another time of accomplishment for the Administration although the front of solidarity began to crack.

The High Tide of the New Deal came with the election of 1936 in which Roosevelt carried all states except Maine and Vermont. In the aftermath of the election, as occurs after so many landslides, Roosevelt over reached his grasp and suffered a major rebuff with the defeat of his court packing bill in 1937. Over this issue, Roosevelt alienated some of his most loyal supporters, including his own vice-president. With that battle, the New Deal had, for the most part, exhausted itself. While domestic challenges remained, the New Deal had run out of answers. The hope of 1933 had given way to a sense of hopelessness as the economy plunged again in 1938. The specter of permanent massive unemployment was seen by more and more as the New Deal initiatives failed to end the depression.

Toward the end of the thirties, the challenges rose on the overseas horizons. Leuchtenburg skillfully narrates the change of focus of the administration from moving the country out of the fear of the depression to one of moving the country to face the dangers looming abroad. Roosevelt's struggles against the strong strain of isolationism are skillfully presented.

There are several things which I learned from this book. The New Deal as a modification to preserve the social order, rather than as a revolution to upend that order is a point well made. The delineation between the steps which Roosevelt would take as opposed to those which he would not consider were interesting. The mention that the main concern of the New Deal was the plight of the farmer came as a surprise to me. I had always thought that it was mainly concerned with industry. The acknowledgment that full employment was not achieved until 1943 says much about the economic effectiveness of the New Deal. I finished the book with a much better understanding of what the New Deal was than I started out with.

As the title indicates, this book is primarily about Franklin Roosevelt. While many other actors in the drama, both within and without the administration, play important roles, the focus is always on Roosevelt. This is proper because, in truth, Roosevelt was the master of the New Deal. The book makes the point that if the gun of Zangara has struck down the Roosevelt, rather than Cermak in Miami, a Gardner administration would have directed history much differently. Truly this was a case in which a great personality did make a great difference.

The treatment of FDR is very good. Stressing his initiatives, which met with both success and failure, Leuchtenburg gives us a view of the influence of Franklin D. Roosevelt on history through his leadership of the New Deal. There is no place in this book for an inquiry into personal lives, so common in modern historical and biographical literature.

This book is an excellent choice for anyone interested in an overview of the New Deal. I would recommend it for teachers at the high school or collegiate level for class assignments, students looking for materials for book reports, or anyone wishing to acquaint himself with a fascinating and influential period in our history. It fulfilled all of the hopes with which I opened the book.

This graphic novel had some good art in it at times, but sadly the way they depicted batman didn't appeal to me. The story to this graphice novel was all wrong. Through out the story they made Batman think he was above the law, made him look like a fool, and he went against his morals at one point and time. ... I do not recomend purchasing this graphic novel. If you are a true Batman fan it would just be a waste of your money. Obviously the authors of this book didn't know enough about batman and were more interested in the art than the story.

This is the only graphic novel I've seen where the artwork on the inside is just as good as the cover artwork.

Purchasing this book by cover only, I was prepared for a typical "child" reading of a comic book favorite. I was WRONG. This mature reading and graphic art by Jamie Delano and John Bolton, kept me in utter suspense and shock. This truly adult depiction of Manbat is a "Real life encounter with the way Manbat would really be if he existed today." The art work is truly dark and in-depth, while being stunning...totally complimenting the solid story. Any Batman fan or Manbat fan should not pass this Dark story up.

I was excited when I first saw this book advertised. Anyone who has studied the Roosevelts knows the fundamental emotional foundation this island provided the family. However, when I began to read the book, I quickly became disgruntled. There was little to no new information, insight or perspective offered. The author seems to mainly cover the same formulaic roads covered before-- early marriage, polio, governor, president, & Eleanor on her own. The only difference was this books focuses on those same paths through the lens of Campobello. The problem, besides offering little new, is this lens is restrictive, rather than encompassing. If you're looking for an introduction to the Roosevelts, this may be a good selection. However, if you have studied this couple with any kind of attention, nothing profound or enlightning is likely to be found here.

This is a well-researched and well-written glimpse of one of the most famous and influential couples of the 20th Century. It reads extremely well while casting new light on two already-much studied lives but from an entirely new perspective. Jonas Klein proposes that FDR and Eleanor were in some measure defined by the Campobello experience and makes a credible case for it.

Before picking up Beloved Island I had just finished reading one more of Stephen AmbroseÕ books on World War II and, quite frankly, had tired a little of the rhythm and predictability in his technique of stringing together many individual Òoral historiesÓ to create a coherent whole. He does it very well, of course, but Jonas Klein does it better. Working mostly from snapshot detail in correspondence, I presume, Klein succeeds in portraying the larger portraits of personality, emotion, relationships, and other intangibles that make figures from history what they really are.

Though not quite a Òone sittingÓ experience, this little book leads us gently to further thought and deeper understanding about Franklin and Eleanor. ItÕs a good book.

Beloved Island: Franklin & Eleanor And The Legacy Of Campobello examines how the Roosevelt summer home on New Brunswick's Campobello Island (a remote Canadian location) had a significant physical and emotional influence on their lives and the events of their day. While acknowledging the Roosevelt's' traditions and background, Jonas Klein presents a fresh perspective on their public trials and triumphs as well as their personal frustrations and private disappointments as showcased by their Campobello residency. It was at Campobello that Franklin was stricken with polio, that Eleanor found peace and refuge from a demanding and unsympathetic world, and that their personal and political relationship as formed in a manner that would serve them both to the end of their lives. Exceptionally well researched, well-written, insightful, informative, and totally engaging biography.

The point of Franklin Roosevelt's brilliant fireside chats and other seminal speeches was that the listener could hear his voice and experience his charisma. This is impossible with this book which is merely lifeless words on the printed page. Of course some of FDR's speeches make interesting reading, but the entire thrust of his message is lost without the resonant voice and the indefinable "something" he brought to the microphone.

Just yesterday I was listening on CD to FDR's incomparable Pearl Harbor speech from December 8, 1941. Even though this was long before I was born, I always get goosebumps listening to his intonations, the cheering from the Representatives and Senators and the feeling that you are actually witnessing history. There is none of this in this book, where reading speeches is a paltry substitute (at best) for listening to FDR, who was perhaps the most effective Presidential orator of the 20th century. Those who extol Reagan as an effective and charismatic communicator need to listen to Roosevelt.

My advice is to buy a CD with the collected speeches of FDR and ignore this book. The idea is good but the premise flawed. You need to hear Roosevelt's voice, not merely read his words.

First - I hate political books that make it seem that you have to have an MBA to read it. But this book is intelligent, a reference guide, and a great book to which you will read great works of speeches. FDR, is a great idealist and essentially a great man. This is a great book, in which to read his thoughts.

The Essential Franklin Delano Roosevelt is by far the most comprehensive collection of that President's major works. Each and every piece presented in this book is historically relevant. Formatted in chronological order, Hunt takes his reader on a journey from Roosevelt's First Gubernatorial Inaugural Address to remarks Roosevelt gave to congress on the Yalta Conference days before his death. The Essential FDR is the perfect book for anyone from a Roosevelt scholar or research-paper-writing high school student. Almost 350 pages of anything quotable by one of history's greatest men. As an aside, John Gabriel Hunt's introduction is also quite informative and gives great background information. If you want FDR, you want this book!

In the beginning of the war, Roosevelt sensed that Churchill even before he became Prime Minister would be important to the war effort. As time went on these men united by a fear of Hitler these men became friends as well as comrades in arms. This book explores there relationship though a rather unique perspective their intelligence departments. It explores how they got their intelligence and what they did with the knowledge that they gained from it. Despite their friendship the used it to advance the agenda of what they wanted for their own countries. At times their intelligence departments actually came into conflict as they both had different hopes and ambitions. As the war progressed these difference became more important.

I found the book very easy to read. Full of information that although I am a WW2 fanatic I have never seen before. I can recommend this book if you want to learn about the relationship of between these two men.

An enjoyable account of the circumstances that brought the two men together, and the relationship that they forged.

Often political friendships form out of necessity and mutual self interest. And that is obvious in this case.

But the fact that the two most remarkable and influential men (in a positive sense) were to forge such an important relationship makes for great reading.

Not until this new study has anyone examined tthe Roosevelt near-assassination as a criminal case that holds up American jurisprudence and American medicine to embarrassing scrutiny. Not until this new book has any writer delved deeply into the background, motivations and psyche of the assassin. Because of the importance of Zangara's intended victim, who ranks as one of the great men of history, this obscure episode clearly deserves the "sober analysis" that Blaise Picchi has given it. Future FDR biographers: Take note.

"Franklin D. Roosevelt: A Photo-Illustrated Biography" by Steve Potts is a brief biography of the 32nd President of the United States intended for younger readers. Potts begins by contrasting the fact that Roosevelt served longer than any other president with his being confined to a wheelchair. The format is quite simple: a full page black & white photograph on the left-side of each two-page spread with three or four paragraphs of text under appropriate headings from "School Years" and "Franklin and Eleanor" to "The Great Depression" and "World War II." The point here is clearly to introduce very young readers to the main elements of FDR's life. Consequently, it is short of details but long on highlights. The back of the book includes a couple of famous Words spoken by FDR, Important Dates in his life, Words to Know, and a list of books, addresses and Internet sites for additional information. There are lots of more detailed juvenile histories of Roosevelt available, but this is a good place to start for those who want to find out more about the face on the dime.

I was struck by the fact that even though with the story of Franklin D. Roosevelt we are talking about a man elected to the Presidency for four terms that author Alice Osinski only devotes half of the ten chapters in this volume of the Encyclopedia of Presidents to his time in the White House. The opening chapter, following the format of this series, focuses on a pivotal moment in the life of its subject. In FDR's case it would be the day he took the oath of office on March 4, 1933, when the nation was hoping that a man who had fought against the crippling effects of a disease and learned to walk ago could help bring the country to its feet as well.

Roosevelt's life and political career makes for a solid organizational structure for this volume. Early chapters cover his privileged life as the scion of a wealthy family, his education, and his marriage to his (fifth) cousin Eleanor. Roosevelt's early political career is seen as "Following in the Footsteps of Cousin Teddy" and young readers will probably be surprised to learn that FDR was on the Democratic ticket in 1920 as the running mate of James M. Cox. Osinski makes an interesting strategic choice by labelling FDR's attack of polio as "A Minor Setback"; certainly, in retrospective it constiuted such, but clearly at the time it had to look like the end of any and all political ambitions for Roosevelt (Note: The chapter is only 3 pages long, which explains why there are only a "few" chapter on the Presidency--they are longer chapters).

After a chapter looking at Roosevelt's political comeback, being elected governor of New York in 1928, and then President four years later. The chapters devoted to FDR's presidency are not defined by his terms, but rather by the issues with which he dealt: the New Deal as a response to the Great Depression, establishing the Arsenal of Democracy as preparation for World War II, American involvement in World II (going past FDR's death in 1945), and a final chapter looking at Roosevelt's political legacy. The strength of this volume is that it provides not only the biographical details of FDR's life, but tries to give young readers a good sense of his important accomplishments in transforming the role of government in the United States.

In the end Osinksi claims that for better or worse, no other president has had a deeper or more lasting impact on life in the United States. Abraham Lincoln saved the union, but Franklin D. Roosevelt changed the relationship between the people and their government. The institutions created by FDR to prevent another Great Depression exist today, as do other social programs. The book is illustrated with black & white photographs from FDR's personal and political life, including a couple of nice political cartoons by Berryman (you can never have too many of those). Granted, these books do not look modern (you would swear they were printed in the 1950s), but they are quite informative, which is the desired goal.