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Conrad Black

Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Champion of Freedom Paperback – International Edition, March 16, 2005

by Conrad Black (Author)

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Franklin Delano Roosevelt stands astride American history like a colossus, having pulled the nation out of the Great Depression and led it to victory in the Second World War. Elected to four terms as president, he transformed an inward-looking country into the greatest superpower the world had ever known. Only Abraham Lincoln did more to save America from destruction. But FDR is such a large figure that historians tend to take him as part of the landscape, focusing on smaller aspects of his achievements or carping about where he ought to have done things differently. Few have tried to assess the totality of FDR's life and career.

Conrad Black rises to the challenge. In this magisterial biography, Black makes the case that FDR was the most important person of the twentieth century, transforming his nation and the world through his unparalleled skill as a domestic politician, war leader, strategist, and global visionary--all of which he accomplished despite a physical infirmity that could easily have ended his public life at age thirty-nine. Black also takes on the great critics of FDR, especially those who accuse him of betraying the West at Yalta. Black opens a new chapter in our understanding of this great man, whose example is even more inspiring as a new generation embarks on its own rendezvous with destiny.

Print length

1328 pages
Language

English
Publisher

PublicAffairs
Publication date

March 16, 2005
Dimensions

5.5 x 2.25 x 8.5 inches
ISBN-10

1586482823
ISBN-13

978-1586482824
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"A sweeping, occasionally sprawling biography...and an engrossing one, thanks to the storytelling and pungency of its judgments." -- Daniel Yergin, Wall Street Journal

"Black... [shows] that FDR is at the origin of our most important political controversies." -- Claremont Review of Books

"Not only the best one-volume life of the 32nd President but the best at any length." -- Publishers Weekly

"One of the best one-volume biographies of Roosevelt yet." -- Historian Alan Brinkley, The New York Times

About the Author

Conrad Black was the chairman and chief executive officer of Hollinger International Inc., among whose newspaper holdings are the Daily and Sunday Telegraph and The Spectator in London, the Chicago Sun-Times, and the Jerusalem Post. He is the author of two previous books published in Canada and became a member of the British House of Lords as Lord Black of Crossharbour in 2001. He divides his time between London, Toronto, and New York.

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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ PublicAffairs; 1st edition (March 16, 2005)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 1328 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1586482823
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1586482824
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 3.6 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 2.25 x 8.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,326,007 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #5,078 in US Presidents
- #6,104 in WWII Biographies
- #22,737 in World War II History (Books)

Customer Reviews:
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5 star		83%
4 star		6%
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1 star		3%

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Tony Meyer

Masterpiece of masterpieces!

Reviewed in the United States on September 27, 2020

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I journeyed through this marvelous book cover to cover triumphantly, and although i occasionally disagreed with the author, i learned an enormous amount from this fantastic historical study. For example, the author mentions "In some respects the best choice for OVERLORD would have been Macarthur" [page 890]. But than Mr Black correctly adds "It should not have taken six months as it did, to get from the liberation of Paris to the crossing of the Rhine." I personally never thought about that, and it is an original thought. Also, i improved my vocabulary by leaps and bounds. Looked up: ogre, Gotterdammerung, Cathaginian, unregenerate, son et lumiere, lissome, Mephistophelean, palsied, sans pareil, roseate, claque, beau geste, sine die, saturnine, ne plus ultra, Demosthenian, senescent, farrago, Ruritanian, renascent, clangorous, fugue, sachem, pro tempore and demimonde. Mr Conrad Black is harsh on Churchill calling it "nonsense", i.e. the invasion of southern Italy as the soft underbelly of Europe [page 1006]. Personally, i agree with historian Rick Atkinson who mentions that an invasion from northern France would have been premature at that particular time. Even if you don't read this great book, it is important to own. One thing is for sure: this magnificent piece of historical literature will never get outdated. Purchase it!

7 people found this helpful

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Robert Bolton

A Phenomenal Work of Revisionist History on FDR

Reviewed in the United States on September 6, 2018

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For many years after I first took an interest in politics, I had a relatively hostile view of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Although my high-school history textbooks portrayed him as the architect of the New Deal and America's leader during World War II, I was equally aware of his foibles, including his infidelities, deceptiveness regarding his health, and my skepticism of the current administrative state in America that emerged out of the Great Depression. It wasn't until I read Conrad Black's biography of him that I finally developed a more nuanced understanding of the man and saw the many wavelengths he operated on as a political leader.

Conrad Black has developed a reputation of redeeming unexpected characters. Starting with the Quebecois leader Maurice Duplessis and later Richard Nixon, the only American president to resign from office, he approaches his subjects from unexpected, often sympathetic angles, and throws at the reader huge amounts of archival research. In the case of this book, Black spent millions on the purchase of original documents from FDR and his administration, which likely cost far more than he could ever expect returned in the profits of book sales.

The biography itself is relatively traditional as it advances in chronological order, but Black writes in a quirky, refreshing style and posits a few unexpected revisions to the traditional narrative of FDR's presidency. For example, Black argues that rather than a single or bifurcated New Deal, in reality there were multiple eras in his attempt to pull America out of the Great Depression. Despite being portrayed by modern progressives as a traitor to his class and hostile to business, FDR actually felt quite the opposite. It was large corporate interests had backed the fascist takeovers of Germany, Italy, and other European countries, and he viewed the Soviet Union's attempts at building a communist society as equally inimical to a free government controlled by the people. In managing the New Deal, FDR wanted to soften the worst excesses of a cyclical economy, but still preserve free enterprise by the average American. In addition, Black notes that certain programs of FDR, such as Social Security, were intended as temporary measures, rather than lifetime sinecures.

Some of the weakest areas of the book are in covering World War II. Black is more forgiving of FDR's relations with Stalin than I am, but a bigger weakness to me is in describing the managing of the war's operations. Leading figures on the field of battle are often judged by resources (or lack thereof), rather than independently off their character, and I wish we received more insight into FDR's views as a war leader.

The area Black writes most convincingly, however, and which caused me to soften my view of the man, was in describing FDR's struggle with polio. He went from a vigorous young man who seemed on the cusp of supreme power when nominated for the vice presidency, and then was stricken with a disease which would lack a cure for another three decades. Nonetheless, FDR continually worked to improve his body and sought treatment. While he was deceitful with the public regarding the degree to which it affected his health, Black fairly points out he still got the job done and you almost have to be duplicitous if you wanted to survive in politics.

On the whole, at over a thousand pages, this is a book that would take many nights to finish reading, but Black has achieved a masterpiece. While I enjoyed his biography of Nixon even more, Conrad Black proves that FDR was an truly exceptional man in exceptional times.

12 people found this helpful

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David Tooke

Excellent book that attempts the difficult task of understanding FDR's policy and motivations

Reviewed in the United States on September 16, 2016

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This book is well worth reading for anyone seriously interested in mid-century America and the allies in World War II. Black is delightful writer and manages to integrate an enormous amount of information about different aspects of FDR's life in a well-constructed narrative that is consistently illuminated by Black's subjective but fascinating judgments.
It must be remembered that FDR is an extremely difficult subject for a biographer. He left no diary, few letters, and had no real confidants who could understand him, or who wrote memoirs. (He relaxed with women friends, but it is doubtful he really shared his political and diplomatic/strategic thoughts with them.) So a biographer must go on his public speeches, his deeds and the occasional apparently insightful comments by acquaintances. Churchill is a perfect, almost too easy subject for a biographer; without making a moral equivalence argument, FDR is much more like Stalin or Hitler in his essential impenetrability (though probably Hirohito takes the cake among WWII heads of state/government on this point.)
Black's work here reminds me a bit of AJP Taylor -- he just SAYS things, without argument or proof, but the things he says are often persuasive and at the very least thought-provoking. This is particularly true about aspects of history as opposed to the facts of FDR's life. Example: Black explains that Hitler's decision to invade Russia in 1941 was driven by Hitler's view that Russia had to be knocked out of the war before the USA could arm itself and join with Russia to destroy Germany. This is refreshingly provocative, since most writers say that Hitler believed the US to be a permanently second-rate military power; and it doesn't acknowledge the several other highly important reasons which made a 1941 attack on Russia
an easy strategic call. But, like one of Taylor's aphoristic sentences, it makes you think.

8 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

A massive but interesting Bio

Reviewed in the United States on January 9, 2022

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Conrad Black has written a magisterial biography of Franklin D Roosevelt. This massive title should be enjoyed slowly; at over 1000 pages, that's practically a necessity. As with his History of Canada, Black's prose is informative, authoritative, and stylish. Whether your own political views lean left, or right, you'll find much to ponder and admire about FDR. But this isn't hagiography by any stretch; although clearly admiring, Black is also intentional about expounding on FDR's mistakes, personal weaknesses, and political chicanery. Savor this title like a fine wine.

One person found this helpful

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Robert Craven

A tour-de-force

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 30, 2014

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FDRCF, is a wonderful read; at times inspiring in the eloquence of Roosevelt’s overcoming the many problems that beset him in life, but also unafraid in portraying his human weaknesses. Where Black excels is his gradual, but clear development of the twelve years where Roosevelt, ably assisted by astute appointments takes America from the brink of collapse to the world’s superpower.

Where I think Black is let down is by his unbridled admiration of Churchill, no doubt the man of the hour in the face of Nazism in Europe, but glosses over at times, the old imperialist agenda he tried to impose along with the poor tactical decisions he insisted on.

That aside, this is an incredible read, incisive, at times witty in the footnotes (notably Mountbatten’s demonstration of an aircraft carrier made of ice being indestructable using his side arm in Quebec) and in control of the many threads from so big a character who lived his life to the full.

The morass of the 1930’s, appeasement, war and invasion, notably the treatment of Czechoslovakia by her neighbours, who in turn fell under the panzers, reads like a thriller and even weighing in at a hefty 1193 pages, FDRCF is a compelling read.

One person found this helpful

Jude Sebastien Ryan

Detailed, and thoroughly researched, although lacking important aspects of his life

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 31, 2021

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Overall an enjoyable read even if, as a non-American, I got a bit lost (and bored) as regards the domestic political aspects of the 1930ies. I found, as is often the case the depiction of FDR by Ken Burns in his excellent the Roosevelt documentary more rounded and insightful. Unfortunately the author seems to let his infatuation with FDR, and thinly veiled chauvinism, get the better of him, relegating Eleanor to a peripheral, and often maligned, role which is a shame seeing as this was without doubt she had a strong influence on FDR, in particular as regards his social policies and his deep morals.

Lindsey Clare Gee-Turner

I must say I'm in awe of someone who can write such a huge, admiring book...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 2, 2015

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What I'm finding amazing are the events around FDR & the World Wars are so similar to what I've learnt - History 'O' level (Surigao Straits) & self-taught - I suppose I have imbibed a lot of Churchill! The Canada-isms are also easier to appreciate than if an American were writing the book (& I have worked for American international lawyers in London). "leaving the fine Vanderbilt home of the German ambassador almost empty"? - where's that? (I'm the only one in my family who hasn't been to America yet). (Suckleys decamped to Chateau d'Oex where we lived & Allsops to near Epsom racecourse near where we lived & at Wimbledon High!). See also The Autobiography by Eleanor Roosevelt elsewhere on my Profile page!

One person found this helpful

HBH

A Very Good Biography of One of the most Influential Presidents

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 11, 2013

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FDR- Champion of Freedom by Conrad Black is a very good biography of the one and only four-term President of the United States. This is a work about FDR in the round, it is both an examination of his private life and his public career, and even though it is obvious that the author is sympathetic towards his subject he is not afraid to be critical and pass judgement on some of Roosevelt's decisions and actions. It is well-written, informative and opinionated, and although it is of a considerable length it is well worth the effort. All in all a very good book about the President who defined American politics for a generation and played a pivotal role in saving the world from tyranny.

One person found this helpful

A. Perry

A Heavy Weight in Every Respect

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 6, 2011

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This is a big book in every respect, and gives a thorough and balanced assessment of the man who was, arguably, the greatest of the American Presidents. Equally welcome is the light it shines on his formidable wife, Eleanor Roosevelt. Together, they took the United States from the depths of the Depression to the heights of world power. Understanding the ways that was actually achieved remains relevant to our current circumstances. I would have rated it with 5 Stars, but it is the sort of book that needs to be consumed bite-by-bite. I for one could not manage it at one sitting!

One person found this helpful

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