FDR's Deadly Secret - Hardcover

Fettmann, Eric; Lomazow, Steven

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1586487442 ISBN 13: 9781586487447

Publisher: PublicAffairs, 2010

Synopsis

The death of Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1945 sent shock waves around the world. His lifelong physician swore that the president had always been a picture of health. Later, in 1970, Roosevelt's cardiologist admitted he had been suffering from uncontrolled hypertension and that his death—from a cerebral hemorrhage—was “a cataclysmic event waiting to happen.” But even this was a carefully constructed deceit, one that began in the 1930s and became acutely necessary as America approached war.

In this great medical detective story and narrative of a presidential cover-up, an exhaustive study of all available reports of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's health, and a comprehensive review of thousands of photographs, an intrepid physician-journalist team reveals that Roosevelt at his death suffered from melanoma, a skin cancer that had spread to his brain and abdomen. Roosevelt's condition was not only physically disabling, but also could have affected substantially his mental function and his ability to make decisions in the days when the nation was imperiled by World War II.

About this title

About the Author

Steven Lomazow, M.D. is a board-certified neurologist in practice for more than twenty-five years. He is assistant professor of neurology at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, a member of the New Jersey State Board of Medical Examiners and former president of the Neurological Association of New Jersey. A frequent lecturer on U.S. periodical history, he is a consultant to the Freedom Forum Newseum.

Eric Fettmann is associate editorial-page editor of the New York Post, where he has spent most of his thirty-plus-year journalism career. He is the former managing editor of The Jerusalem Post and has written for New York, The Nation, National Review and USA Today. A journalism historian, he has contributed to numerous encyclopedias and has been a history consultant on documentary projects for the BBC and PBS.

Reviews

Despite the lurid title, this is a superior addition to the diseases-of-famous-men genre. Journalist Fettmann and neurologist Lomazow assert that they've discovered the true cause of FDR's 1945 death, building on a 1979 medical paper by Dr. Harry Goldsmith and revelations in the 1995 publication of the diary of FDR's cousin Daisy Suckley. A lifetime smoker, Roosevelt suffered from extremely high blood pressure. In 1944, a cardiologist found him in severe heart failure. Although historians blame these for his fatal stroke at the age of 63, the authors point out that photographs show a dark spot over his left eyebrow that grew throughout the 1930s. Experts nowadays agree it resembles a melanoma, a highly malignant skin cancer that often spreads to the brain. Metastatic cancer, not heart disease, may have produced the increasing frailty, weight loss, and confusion that alarmed observers during his final year. We will never know the truth, but the authors make a reasonable case. As a bonus, they recount Roosevelt's numerous medical problems and questionable care at the hands of a personal physician who relentlessly assured the public of the president's excellent health and possibly destroyed FDR's medical records after his death. (Jan.)
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Edition details

• Publisher: PublicAffairs
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1586487442
• ISBN 13: 9781586487447
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 296