Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2060399 in Books
• Published on: 2000-04
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: 1.64 pounds
• Binding: Hardcover
• 355 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Historian McJimsey (Iowa State University) presents a serviceable account, organized into historically arranged thematic chapters in which FDR is frequently offstage. Following a single pre-presidential biographic chapter, McJimsey (Harry Hopkins) devotes seven chapters to domestic affairs--mostly pre-1938, beginning with the Hundred Days and covering economic and social recovery, regional resource development and "Eleanor Roosevelt and a New Deal for Women." The next four chapters cover international affairs--from the late-'30s struggle against isolationism to planning and negotiating the shape of the postwar world order. McJimsey's main thesis is the importance of the pluralist political vision underlying Roosevelt's notion of political process as well as his goals: instead of dominant forces imposing lasting solutions, FDR saw competing forces that could only come to provisional solutions. Unfortunately, this thesis isn't fully articulated until the conclusion where, for example, McJimsey argues, "Roosevelt's presidency employed administration to activate citizen participation. The furthest thing from his mind was to create an administrative or bureaucratic state that would operate apart from the American people." He's equally tardy in noting objections, such as the claim that "pluralism merely enlarged the number of special interests that had access to government." Comparative studies of welfare state development--which McJimsey doesn't cite--portray federalism as a developmental impediment. In contrast, McJimsey places federalism--multiple levels of individual and group interaction--at the heart of Roosevelt's vision, whether for good or ill. 12 photos not seen by PW. (Apr.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Without doubt, Franklin D. Roosevelt was America's greatest 20th-century President, based upon his success in battling dual foes: the Great Depression and World War II. The key to his achievement lies in his active and flexible personality, which allowed him to consider all possible solutions unfettered by ideological blinders. In the process, he transformed the presidency into a modern institution able to meet the challenges of fascism and communism without undermining democratic values. In this useful volume, McJimsey (American history, Iowa State Univ.; Harry Hopkins: Ally of the Poor and Defender of Democracy) masters the prolific literature on America's only four-term President. McJimsey addresses FDR's energetic performance and, appropriately, includes a chapter on wife Eleanor's equally energetic--and even more empathetic--performance as America's greatest First Lady. McJimsey's approach to the FDR administration is thorough and traditional without breaking new ground. With a useful and current bibliographical essay, this book is highly recommended for academic libraries.
-William D. Pederson, Louisiana State Univ., Shreveport
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From the Back Cover
"A fresh and readable account of the most important presidency of the twentieth century, this book will interest general readers and scholars alike. McJimsey's incisive analysis of the social and economic policies of the FDR years helps us understand the relevance of the New Deal to our own time."--Patrick J. Maney, author of The Roosevelt Presence: The Life and Legacy of FDR

"McJimsey provides not only a highly readable synthesis of what has become a voluminous and complex literature, but also an insightful reinterpretation stressing the relationships between Roosevelt's governance and the evolution and implementation of an American pluralism. A welcome addition to a distinguished series."--Ellis W. Hawley, author of The Great War and the Search for a Modern Order