
Franklin D. Roosevelt
A Political Life
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Narrated by:
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Rick Adamson
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By:
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Robert Dallek
About this listen
A one-volume biography of Roosevelt by the number one New York Times best-selling biographer of JFK, focusing on his career as an incomparable politician, uniter, and deal maker
In an era of such great national divisiveness, there could be no more timely biography of one of our greatest presidents than one that focuses on his unparalleled political ability as a uniter and consensus maker. Robert Dallek's Franklin D. Roosevelt: A Political Life takes a fresh look at the many compelling questions that have attracted all his biographers: How did a man who came from so privileged a background become the greatest presidential champion of the country's needy? How did someone who never won recognition for his intellect foster revolutionary changes in the country's economic and social institutions? How did Roosevelt work such a profound change in the country's foreign relations?
For FDR, politics was a far more interesting and fulfilling pursuit than the management of family fortunes or the indulgence of personal pleasure, and by the time he became president, he had commanded the love and affection of millions of people. While all Roosevelt's biographers agree that the onset of polio at the age of 39 endowed him with a much greater sense of humanity, Dallek sees the affliction as an insufficient explanation for his transformation into a masterful politician who would win an unprecedented four presidential terms, initiate landmark reforms that changed the American industrial system, and transform an isolationist country into an international superpower.
Dallek attributes FDR's success to two remarkable political insights. First, unlike any other president, he understood that effectiveness in the American political system depended on building a national consensus and commanding stable long-term popular support. Second, he made the presidency the central, most influential institution in modern America's political system. In addressing the country's international and domestic problems, Roosevelt recognized the vital importance of remaining closely attentive to the full range of public sentiment around policy-making decisions - perhaps FDR's most enduring lesson in effective leadership.
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Critic reviews
“Meticulously researched and authoritative.... Adequate single-volume biographies about FDR abound. But none are as heroically objective and wide-angled as this fine Dallek effort.... By tapping into the vast correspondence between Churchill and Roosevelt, Dallek discerns a more strained relationship between the leaders than presupposed.... Luckily for us, Roosevelt is with us again in Dallek’s outstanding cradle-to-grave study.” (Douglas Brinkley, The Washington Post)
“[Dallek] believes that FDR was a born politician of ferocious and very nearly infallible instincts, and through a combination of extensive research and first-rate storyteller’s gifts, he makes the reader believe it, too. His Roosevelt is a man of great but always complicated drives, a worrier and second-guesser who nonetheless often believed the intensely stirring things he so often said and wrote.... Dallek relates in fine and compelling detail all the thorniest scandals of the FDR years.... But far more prominent than scandal in these pages - and far more welcome - are Dallek’s frequent examinations of the now-forgotten political opposition FDR faced at every stage of his long tenure as president.... We see FDR afresh, which is an amazing feat in its own right.” (Steve Donoghue, Christian Science Monitor)
“An insightful, incisive and intelligent one-volume work of biography and history - and a pointed primer on how things in Washington get done. In a period defined by division, gridlock and tweet storms, Dallek crafts a pointillist portrait of the four-term president, who knew almost intuitively how to use the power of his office and how to reach consensus.” (Peter M. Gianotti, Newsday)
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Story
Spanning the years of transition, 1944 to 1948, Ascent to Power illuminates Truman’s struggles to emerge as president in his own right. Yet, from a relatively unknown Missouri senator to the most powerful man on Earth, Truman’s legacy transcends. With his come-from-behind campaign in the fall of 1948, his courageous civil rights advocacy, and his role in liberating millions from militarist governments and brutal occupations, Truman’s decisions during these pivotal years changed the course of the world in ways so significant we live with them today.
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Truman defeated Republican use of Dark Psychology
- By sunao mind☯️ heart ❤️ on 01-30-25
By: David L. Roll
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An Unfinished Life
- John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963
- By: Robert Dallek
- Narrated by: Richard McGonagle
- Length: 9 hrs and 15 mins
- Abridged
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An Unfinished Life is the first authoritative single-volume life of John F. Kennedy to be written by a historian in nearly four decades. Drawing upon firsthand sources, freshly unearthed documents, and never-before-opened archives, prizewinning historian Robert Dallek reveals more than we ever knew about Jack Kennedy forever changing the way we think about his life, his presidency, and his legacy.
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It’s abridged!!
- By Brad on 02-17-18
By: Robert Dallek
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No Ordinary Time
- Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II
- By: Doris Kearns Goodwin
- Narrated by: Nelson Runger
- Length: 39 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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No Ordinary Time describes how the isolationist and divided United States of 1940 was unified under the extraordinary leadership of Franklin Roosevelt to become the preeminent economic and military power in the world.
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Great at 1.5 speed
- By Brett on 01-04-13
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America First
- Roosevelt vs. Lindbergh in the Shadow of War
- By: H. W. Brands
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 14 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Bestselling historian and Pulitzer Prize finalist H. W. Brands narrates the fierce debate over America's role in the world in the runup to World War II through its two most important figures: President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who advocated intervention, and his isolationist nemesis, aviator and popular hero Charles Lindbergh.
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Throw back in time
- By jimmie l brown on 04-24-25
By: H. W. Brands
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How Did We Get Here?
- From Theodore Roosevelt to Donald Trump
- By: Robert Dallek
- Narrated by: Rick Adamson
- Length: 8 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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In How Did We Get Here?, Robert Dallek considers a century of modern administrations, from Teddy Roosevelt to today, shining a light on the personalities behind the politics and the voters who elected each. His cautionary tale reminds us that the only constant in history is change, but whether for good or ill the choice is Americans’ to make.
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Great historical review, but…
- By Alan on 09-28-24
By: Robert Dallek
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The Age of Eisenhower
- America and the World in the 1950s
- By: William I. Hitchcock
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 25 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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In a 2017 survey, presidential historians ranked Dwight D. Eisenhower fifth on the list of great presidents, behind the perennial top four: Lincoln, Washington, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Teddy Roosevelt. Historian William Hitchcock shows that this high ranking is justified. Eisenhower's accomplishments were enormous and loom ever larger from the vantage point of our own tumultuous times.
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A Very Thorough and Balanced Biography
- By John on 05-28-18
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Lost Peace
- Leadership in a Time of Horror and Hope: 1945-1953
- By: Robert Dallek
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 15 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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In a striking reinterpretation of the postwar years, Robert Dallek examines what drove the leaders of the most powerful and populous nations around the globe - Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin, Mao, de Gaulle, and Truman - to rely on traditional power politics despite the catastrophic violence their nations had endured. The decisions of these men, for better and often for worse, had profound consequences for decades to come.
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A Solid Overview and Summary, Clearly Read
- By Frank Donnelly on 04-19-20
By: Robert Dallek
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The Supreme Commander
- The War Years of Dwight D. Eisenhower
- By: Stephen E. Ambrose
- Narrated by: Richard Ferrone
- Length: 32 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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In this classic portrait of Dwight D. Eisenhower the soldier, best-selling historian Stephen E. Ambrose examines the Allied commander's leadership during World War II. Ambrose brings Eisenhower's experience of the Second World War to life, showing in vivid detail how the general's skill as a diplomat and a military strategist contributed to Allied successes in North Africa and in Europe and established him as one of the greatest military leaders in the world.
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Very Interesting of the politics of war
- By Timothy on 06-28-17
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Grover Cleveland
- By: Henry F. Graff
- Narrated by: Ira Claffey
- Length: 4 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Though often overlooked, Grover Cleveland was a significant figure in American presidential history. Having run for President three times and gaining the popular vote majority each time, Cleveland was unique in the line of nineteenth-century Chief Executives. Presidential historian Henry F. Graff revives Cleveland's fame, explaining how he fought to restore stature to the office in the wake of several weak administrations.
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Unexceptional Book about unexceptional President
- By jake_gibbs on 07-06-22
By: Henry F. Graff
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Camelot's Court
- Inside the Kennedy White House
- By: Robert Dallek
- Narrated by: James Lurie
- Length: 16 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Fifty years after John F. Kennedy's assassination, presidential historian Robert Dallek, whom The New York Times calls "Kennedy's leading biographer", delivers a riveting new portrait of this president and his inner circle of advisors, their rivalries, personality clashes, and political battles. In Camelot's Court, Dallek analyzes the brain trust whose contributions to the successes and failures of Kennedy's administration - including the Bay of Pigs, civil rights, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and Vietnam - were indelible.
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Well Researched but Critically Flawed
- By brent lloyd on 02-08-22
By: Robert Dallek
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A Man of Iron
- The Turbulent Life and Improbable Presidency of Grover Cleveland
- By: Troy Senik
- Narrated by: Pete Simonelli, Troy Senik
- Length: 12 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Grover Cleveland’s political career—a dizzying journey that saw him rise from obscure lawyer to president of the United States in just three years—was marked by contradictions. A politician of uncharacteristic honesty and principle, he was nevertheless dogged by secrets from his personal life. A believer in limited government, he pushed presidential power to its limits to combat a crippling depression, suppress labor unrest, and resist the forces of American imperialism.
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Worth the Wait!
- By Brian S Cunningham on 09-21-22
By: Troy Senik
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The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt
- By: Edmund Morris
- Narrated by: Mark Deakins
- Length: 26 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Selected by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best nonfiction books of all time. Described by the Chicago Tribune as "a classic", The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt stands as one of the greatest biographies of our time. The publication of The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt on September 14th, 2001 marks the 100th anniversary of Theodore Roosevelt becoming president.
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Very, very good, but very, very long.
- By Mike From Mesa on 03-29-13
By: Edmund Morris
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Crusade in Europe
- A Personal Account of World War II
- By: Dwight D. Eisenhower
- Narrated by: David Colacci
- Length: 22 hrs
- Unabridged
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Five-star General Dwight D. Eisenhower was arguably the single most important military figure of World War II. Crusade in Europe tells the complete story of the war as he planned and executed it. Through Eisenhower's eyes the enormous scope and drama of the war—strategy, battles, moments of great decision—become fully illuminated in all their fateful glory. Penned before his Presidency, this account is deeply human and helped propel him to the highest office.
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Great audiobook, wonderful narration
- By Ed Pegg Jr on 09-19-23
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Lincoln
- By: David Herbert Donald
- Narrated by: Dick Estell
- Length: 30 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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In the best-selling tradition of Truman, two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer David Herbert Donald offers a new classic in American history and biography - a masterly account of how one man's extraordinary political acumen steered the Union to victory in the Civil War, and of how his soaring rhetoric gave meaning to that agonizing struggle for nationhood and equality.
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Lincoln not honest when it comes to his faith?
- By Carpe Diem on 07-19-19
What listeners say about Franklin D. Roosevelt
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- George Reid
- 03-04-18
A good view of FDR as a political person
Having not read any of the biographies of FDR, D K Goodwin et al, I.have a limited view, but one supplemented by several more focused accounts, WWII management, the depression mostly critical accounts. In sum FDR really does come off as the third great president.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 01-02-19
hagiographical account of FDR is peace and in war
Dallek cannot deny that FDR did all he could to manipulate events to get the US into the war, that he did too little to get Great Britain to give up her colonies, and how the depression dragged on throughout the 30s. Yet he praises Roosevelt whenever and however he can. Google the "Greer sinking" for a taste of what he missed.
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2 people found this helpful
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- james m.
- 07-30-22
much more about Roosevelt than i ever knew
As a young child I remember listening to some of Roosevelts fireside chats, and later became an ardent admirer, great book that supplies new information, the world would have been very different had he lived..highly recommend.
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- sandyinolympia
- 07-15-24
Amazing President!!
The narrative was well done. FDR was a remarkable President. His disability did not impede his accomplishments.
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Overall
- B. Ferrier
- 08-18-18
Written by a Roosevelt admirer lacking insight
With the many books written on Roosevelt I feel that this one most likely didn't need to be written. Rather than display the facts and give you a full presentation of Roosevelt's life I feel like the author was a Roosevelt fan boy who wanted to display a full picture but thought that Roosevelt could do no wrong and was justified in some of his shady dealings.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Christopher
- 12-20-17
Not bad but,
Not bad, but has errors in the side stories used to flesh out story.
Most likely a research assistant errors not caught by the author.
Example: Authors states Lindbergh crossed the Atlantic in 1925, it was 1927.
Authors says that all the Doolittle raiders shot down in China died in captivity. 4 survived at POW's thru the war.
These only 2 of 5 caught reading the book. These are "side" story that don't impact the FDR story line, But I would expect an author of this caliber not to make these errors.
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15 people found this helpful