James Srodes

A fine history of the first half of the 20th Century, tracing the lives and careers of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, Herbert Hoover and various other lesser-known figures such as Walter Lippmann, Felix Frankfurter, William Bullitt, Sumner Welles, the Dulles brothers and a range of others. Not really a scholarly history, at times gossipy and fun to read, this book sheds light on the meaning of "progressive" to a generation of progressives that is much more diverse and idealistic than what the term suggests today. I'd recommend it to fans of non-fiction, popular history and those who would like to understand more about the diplomatic history of the United States. It also helps to explain how the world we know came into being.… (más)

A historian and biographer argues that without Ben Franklin we would still be British subjects. In "Franklin, " Srodes tells Franklin's incredible life story making full use of the previously neglected papers to provide the most riveting account yet of the journalist, scientist, politician and unlikely adventurer. Franklin, 1706-1790, American Compiler of Poor Richard's Almanac; established the first U.S. lending library (1731); founded an academy which later became the University of Pennsylvania (1751); appointed postmaster for the Colonies (1753-1774); through his kite experiment, demonstrated lightning as an electrical discharge (1752); invented bifocal reading glasses (1760); spent his later years in Europe Politician; Scientist; Printer; Inventor.… (más)