Maney, The Roosevelt Presence - The Life And Legacy Of FDR

Abstract

I commend Patrick J. Maney's work to the teacher who is looking for a compact yet thorough treatment of Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal. The Roosevelt Presence is clear, lively, penetrating, and a pleasure to read. It presents a judicious blend of narrative, anecdotes, and analysis, and moves skillfully from personal details to the larger picture and back again. A well-conceived organizational structure and deft transitions--as from the effects of Roosevelt's polio to his resumption of a political career--also show that Maney is a writer of uncommon ability.

Moreover, Maney's book is filled with thought-provoking asides (had the voters foreseen the onset of the Great Depression, they probably would have found Herbert Hoover even more appealing}, finely drawn vignettes of key players (Harry Hopkins and Oliver Wendell Holmes), and a recognition that today's readers are far removed from those of Roosevelt's time (identifying Molotov with the "cocktail" that bears his name and noting that the Pan Am Clipper landed on water). More to the point, Maney provides balanced and perceptive analyses of some rather complicated issues, ranging from the nature of Roosevelt's administrative style to the strategic considerations surrounding when and where to open a second front during World War II.