Frank Freidel (1916–1993)

In the 1950s Frank Freidel was the first historian to write a biography of Franklin Roosevelt using the resources at the FDR Presidential Library at Hyde Park. Though the four volumes he completed remain valuable for their detail and analysis, they ended at the very start of Roosevelt's presidency. Though this book is a single-volume summary of FDR's life and career, in many ways it reads like an effort by Freidel to wrap up his unfinished work, as he spends the first 107 pages covering the ground of his earlier volumes and the remaining 500 pages of text on the rest of Roosevelt's presidency. Freidel's focus throughout the book is on Roosevelt's political career; while he does address FDR's personal life, this takes backstage to Roosevelt's efforts to address the problems of economic depression and war. His prose is plain and straightforward, and gives the reader a sense of being led through the developments of Roosevelt's life by a sure guide familiar with the details. As a result, Freidel’s book endures as one of the best single-volume treatments of FDR's life and achievements, one that will enlighten anyone seeking to learn more about one of the most important presidents in American history.… (más)

My parents bought this for me when I was in second grade, visiting the White House with them. While I have pulled it off the shelf many times over the years (it is quite battered), it was usually as a reference or to browse through it. So I have finally read it. It's pretty funny the way the author is fine with bashing past president's mistakes, but the ones that are (were) still alive get much sweeter treatment. Anyway, pretty concise, and easier to lie on the couch with than a Wikipedia page. Good souvenir all in all, I would say. PS - Since it was published in 1990, George Bush has no end year on his term dates. But when Clinton won, I wrote it in in pen.… (más)