A First-Class Temperament: The Emergence of Franklin Roosevelt - Hardcover

Ward, Geoffrey C.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060160667 ISBN 13: 9780060160661

Publisher: Harper & Row, 1989

Synopsis

Looks at Roosevelt's career as a young lawyer, his marriage to Eleanor, and his efforts to return to politics after his bout with polio

About this title

Reviews

This notable biography, following the author's Before the Trumpet: Young Franklin Roosevelt, 1882-1905 , concentrates on character and personality rather than politics or policymaking. Beginning in 1905, with Franklin and Eleanor's honeymoon, it covers FDR's years as New York state senator, assistant secretary of the Navy, his early struggle to overcome the ravages of polio and ends with his election as governor of New York in 1928. Ward not only traces the development of Roosevelt's "first-class temperament" but provides dimensional characterizations of friends, enemies and family members, gallantly defending FDR's often-maligned mother, Sara, and revealing the effect on the Roosevelt children of the tensions between Franklin and Eleanor. FDR's jaunty, fun-loving nature and his "breezy duplicity" are brought into focus in the early sections, but the tone deepens in the moving account of the future president's valiant but hopeless attempt to regain the use of his legs. Going against the accepted legend, Ward maintains that "the Roosevelt who could not walk was in most respects very like the one who could." Photos.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

This eagerly awaited second volume of Ward's work on FDR's early years is not a full-scale political biography, but more a human portrait of his character and personality. (Volume 1 is Before the Trumpet: Young Franklin Roosevelt 1882-1905, LJ 6/1/85.) Ward, an expert storyteller, begins with Roosevelt's honeymoon and concludes with his return to public life after his ordeal with infantile paralysis. While studies by Burns, Davis, and Freidel remain authoritative, Ward offers new insights into FDR's human side, especially the view that his life can be divided into two parts: before and after his tragic illness. Here too emerges a vivid portrait of Roosevelt's extraordinary family, friends, and enemies. There is excellent documentation and comprehensive analysis. The result is a fascinating, well-balanced, scholarly treatment and a significant contribution to the understanding of FDR. Public and academic libraries will want this.
- Charles E. Kratz, Hofstra Univ. Lib., Hempstead,
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Harper & Row
• Publication date: 1989
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0060160667
• ISBN 13: 9780060160661
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 889