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Title details for The Defining Moment by Jonathan Alter - Available

The Defining Moment

FDR's Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope

by Jonathan Alter
Grover Gardner
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available

In this dramatic and fascinating account, Newsweek columnist Jonathan Alter shows how Franklin Delano Roosevelt used his first one hundred days in office to lift the country from the despair and paralysis of the Great Depression and trasform the American presidency. Instead of becoming the dictator so many wanted in those first days, FDR rescued banks, put men to work immediately, and laid the groundwork for his most ambitious achievements, including what eventually became the Social Security Administration. Alter explains how FDR's background and experiences uniquely qualified him to pull off an astonishing conjuring act that saved both democracy and capitalism.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    December 1, 2008

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780792763628
      • File size: 360035 KB
      • Duration: 12:30:04

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      This study of Franklin D. Roosevelt's early life, character, and especially his first 100 days in office could get weighed down by facts, but with the combination of sprightly writing, a choice of lively details, and Grover Gardner's gifts for pacing and emphasis, it never does. Gardner lets no nuance of sense or emotion slip by; if there's irony, for instance, however slight, he expresses it, without belaboring the text. Perhaps one can fully appreciate his work only after hearing a poor reader, but Gardner's crisp reading is admirable without comparisons. This is one of those books more enjoyable to listen to than to read. W.M. (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      March 20, 2006
      Newsweek
      senior editor Alter attempts to explore FDR's famous first "hundred days" in office, when the president laid the foundation for national recovery from the Great Depression. Eventually, Alter succeeds in providing a brief consideration of those key months. But exposition dominates: the early chapters recite Roosevelt's biography up until his White House candidacy (the well-known tale of privilege, marriage, adultery and polio). Then Alter chronicles the 1932 election and explores the postelection transition. Only about 130 pages deal with the 100 days commencing March 3, 1933, that the title calls FDR's "defining moment." Alter attaches much weight to a few throwaway phrases in a thrown-away draft of an early presidential speech—one that could, through a particular set of glasses, appear to show FDR giving serious consideration to adopting martial law in response to the monetary crisis. Despite this, Alter goes on to document FDR's early programs, pronouncements and maneuvers with succinct accuracy. The book, however, contains misstatements of historical detail (Alter suggests, for instance, that it was Theodore Roosevelt, rather than Ted Jr., who served as a founder of the American Legion).

    • Publisher's Weekly

      May 1, 2006
      Newsweek senior editor Alter attempts to explore FDR's famous first "hundred days" in office, when the president laid the foundation for national recovery from the Great Depression. Eventually, Alter succeeds in providing a brief consideration of those key months. But exposition dominates: the early chapters recite Roosevelt's biography up until his White House candidacy (the well-known tale of privilege, marriage, adultery and polio). Then Alter chronicles the 1932 election and explores the postelection transition. Only about 130 pages deal with the 100 days commencing March 3, 1933, that the title calls FDR's "defining moment." Alter attaches much weight to a few throwaway phrases in a thrown-away draft of an early presidential speech\x97one that could, through a particular set of glasses, appear to show FDR giving serious consideration to adopting martial law in response to the monetary crisis. Despite this, Alter goes on to document FDR's early programs, pronouncements and maneuvers with succinct accuracy. The book, however, contains misstatements of historical detail (Alter suggests, for instance, that it was Theodore Roosevelt, rather than Ted Jr., who served as a founder of the American Legion).

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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