Awards

• Short-listed for Pulitzer Prize 2009

Overview

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A brilliant evocation of one of the greatest presidents in American history by the two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, bestselling historian, and author of Our First Civil War ""It may well be the best general biography of Franklin Roosevelt we will see for many years to come.” —The Christian Science Monitor Drawing on archival material, public speeches, correspondence and accounts by those closest to Roosevelt early in his career and during his presidency, H. W. Brands shows how Roosevelt transformed American government during the Depression with his New Deal legislation, and carefully managed the country's prelude to war. Brands shows how Roosevelt's friendship and regard for Winston Churchill helped to forge one of the greatest alliances in history, as Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin maneuvered to defeat Germany and prepare for post-war Europe. Look for H.W. Brands's other biographies: THE FIRST AMERICAN (Benjamin Franklin), ANDREW JACKSON, THE MAN WHO SAVED THE UNION (Ulysses S. Grant), and REAGAN.

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9780307277947

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Reviews

Wonderful. . . . Rich in insights and fresh perspectives. . . . Brands is something of a rare breed. . . . This volume shows the precision and attention to detail that one would expect from a scholar and, at the same time, reads like a novel. . . . It may well be the best general biography of Franklin Roosevelt we will see for many years to come. -The Christian Science Monitor Excellent. . . . If you want to understand how a great president should act, Traitor to His Class is must reading. -The New York Observer [Roosevelt] was an extraordinarily complicated man and the author copes skilfully with his complexity. . . . Mr. Brands is masterly. -The Economist A graceful account of this complex, controversial, political genius who, everyone agrees, changed the course of history. Well-researched and exquisitely detailed. -Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Fresh, approachable, even-handed. -Boston Globe H. W. Brands has accomplished a remarkable feat in this terrific work. As if he were creating characters in a novel, he has brought to vivid life the central figures in his story-FDR, Eleanor, Sara Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and the inner circle in the White House-while at the same time providing a fresh understanding of the rich historical context for their thoughts and actions at every step along the way. -Doris Kearns Goodwin, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and author of Team of Rivals

Wonderful. . . . Rich in insights and fresh perspectives. . . . Brands is something of a rare breed. . . . This volume shows the precision and attention to detail that one would expect from a scholar and, at the same time, reads like a novel. . . .It may well be the best general biography of Franklin Roosevelt we will see for many years to come. <i>Christian Science Monitor</i> Excellent. . . . If you want to understand how a great president should act, <i>Traitor to His Class </i>is must reading. <i>The New York Observer</i> [Roosevelt] was an extraordinarily complicated man and the author copes skilfully with his complexity. . . . Mr. Brands is masterly. <i>The Economist</i> A graceful account of this complex, controversial, political genius who, everyone agrees, changed the course of history. Well-researched and exquisitely detailed. <i>Pittsburgh Post-Gazette</i> Fresh, approachable, even-handed. <i>Boston Globe</i> H. W. Brands has accomplished a remarkable feat in this terrific work. As if he were creating characters in a novel, he has brought to vivid life the central figures in his story FDR, Eleanor, Sara Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and the inner circle in the White House while at the same time providing a fresh understanding of the rich historical context for their thoughts and actions at every step along the way. Doris Kearns Goodwin, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and author of <i>Team of Rivals</i>

H.W. Brands is a master at finding the essence of an important American life, telling its story grippingly and showing us why it is important to our own generation. With Traitor to His Class, he has surpassed even his own high standard. This judicious and compelling work is the first major one-volume biography written by an historian too young to have lived in Franklin Roosevelt's time. It deserves a wide audience, especially among those younger Americans who need to be told why we all owe so much to FDR. <br>-- Michael Beschloss <br> This is a rare book, indeed, shedding new light and brilliant insight upon an elusive subject we thought we knew well. In this elegant, all-encompassing portrayal, master historian H. W. Brands shows us a leader who got the big issues right and, in doing so, forever changed the expectations of the world. Traitor to His Class will quickly emerge as the finest one-volume biography of FDR. <br>-David Oshinsky, Winner of the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for History <br> We live in the world Franklin Roosevelt created, and we can never know enough about him. In this illuminating portrait of the man who proved far more radical than his upbringing would have ever suggested, H. W. Brands has painted FDR in bright and brilliant colors. <br>-Jon Meacham, author of Franklin and Winston and American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House <br> H.W. Brands has accomplished a remarkable feat in this terrific work. As if he were creating characters in a novel, he has brought to vivid life the central figures in his story--FDR, Eleanor, Sara Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and the inner circle in the White House--while at the same time providing a fresh understanding ofthe rich historical context for their thoughts and actions at every step along the way. <br>-Doris Kearns Goodwin, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and author of Team of Rivals <p>If you want to understand how a great president should act, Traitor to His Class is must reading <br>-- New York Observer <p> H.W. Brands's wonderful new biography of Roosevelt...shows the precision and attention to detail that one would expect from a scholar and, at the same time, reads like a novel...it is rich in insights and fresh perspectives that will appeal to the expert and the general reader alike. This may well be the best general biography of Franklin Roosevelt we will see for many years to come. <br>-- Christian Science Monitor <p> Very much worth reading. -- The New Yorker <p> Impressive...Roosevelt was prepared to be radical to meet dangerous circumstances. Yet his instincts and the outcomes of many of his policies were often conservative. As a radical, he saved the old order--and advanced Ameriacn power more than any president since Jefferson...Courage, charm, resourceful cunning and a hidden hardness enabled him to save American capitalism, though, as he said himself, it was Dr. Win-the-War, not Dr. New Deal, that ended the Depression. Mr. Brands is masterly in describing the patience with which FDR brought the country to understand the danger of fascism. -- The Economist<br> <br> The longest-serving president in U.S. history, Roosevelt was arguably the most inscrutable. He kept no diary, wrote no autobiography and unburdened himself to no one. Even his wife had no idea what was on his mind...Brands explains in detail how this ambitious Hudson Valley patrician, the coddled son of anelderly father and dominating mother, managed to defy his family and social class and become the most reform-minded president in U.S. history. -- Washington Post Book World <p> From the Hardcover edition.

Author Information

H. W. BRANDS holds the Jack S. Blanton Sr. Chair in History at the University of Texas at Austin. A New York Times bestselling author, he was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in biography for The First American and Traitor to His Class.

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