Reviews for Franklin D. Roosevelt: A Rendezvous with Destiny

The average rating for Franklin D. Roosevelt: A Rendezvous with Destiny based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2008-02-22 00:00:00 Thomas Ferguson Frank Freidel has written a pretty good book about one of our most complex and admired presidents, but it certainly is not exhaustive. Freidel goes a good job explaining the who, what, where and when, but leaves out the all-important "why" in many of FDR's decisions. I would have loved to read more of FDR's thought processes and what went into his various judgments, especially at the all-important "Big 3" meetings at Tehran and Yalta. For instance, in David McCullough's Pulitzer-Prize winning tome, "Truman," we get plenty of meat on Truman's thoughts during the Potsdam conference - words from his diaries, notes to subordinates, etc. McCullough gives readers dozens and dozens of pages on Truman's analysis and thought processes during the critical conference. In contrast, readers really don't get terrific, exhaustive details in Freidel's book, and it's a letdown. These details separate a good presidential biography from a great one. However, this is not a horrible book by any stretch. The author offers readers plenty about the 1932 election, FDR's disastrous attempt to pack the Supreme Court, his thoughts and actions following Pearl Harbor, FDR's wartime strategy on the home front, his four presidential elections and even his death on April 12, 1945. Freidel covers the milestones of FDR's presidency well, but the devil is in the details. While I have not yet read Conrad Black's mammoth 1,200-page bio on FDR, one would hope it goes deeper than Freidel's 600-page tome. This book is recommended as a starter for beginners to understand and study FDR. (Orig. Review - Nov. '04)

Review # 2 was written on 2014-09-15 00:00:00 Sallie Mayer 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.