FDR

By: Jean Edward Smith

Narrated by: Marc Cashman

Length: 32 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

One of today's premier biographers, Jean Edward Smith, has written a modern, comprehensive, indeed ultimate book on the epic life of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

This is a portrait painted in broad strokes and fine details. We see how Roosevelt's restless energy, fierce intellect, personal magnetism, and ability to project effortless grace permitted him to master countless challenges throughout his life. Smith recounts FDR's personal battles and also tackles head-on and in depth the numerous failures and miscues of Roosevelt's political career.

Summing up Roosevelt's legacy, Smith gives us the clearest picture yet of how this quintessential Knickerbocker aristocrat became the common man's president. The result is a powerful account that adds fresh perspectives and draws profound conclusions about a man whose story is widely known but far less understood. Written for the general public and scholars alike, FDR is a stunning biography in every way worthy of its subject.

Listen to more about Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

©2007 Jean Edward Smith (P)2007 Books on Tape

Critic reviews

"A magisterial biography...the author's eloquent synthesis of FDR's complex and compelling life is remarkably executed and a joy to read." (Publishers Weekly)

Great biography

Loved this. My only complaint is it could have been shorter - the length made it a bit tedious. There was too much detail about people I didn’t really care to know about within politics and way too much detail about polling on each election. However, it did make me appreciate FDR and I even teared up at the end of the book when they announced his death.

It's one of the best biographies I've ever listen

A very truthful, honest, and human review of a man's life that changed the course of this country for the better. He was and will be one of the best presidents of the United States. Also, congratulations to the narrator for his impeccable work.

A political and American history treasure trove

I am a conservative Libertarian who has historically voted Republican. However, I think FDR may have been our greatest President. This tells the great story of Roosevelt. You get a bonus with a book like this too. Not only to you learn great details about FDR, but get a great history of the changing times that he lived in. Found it very interesting how much politics have changed since the first half of the 20th Century and how much has stayed the same.

a must read

truly exception...ms. smith's detailed accounts of the many episodes of his life was incredibly exceptional

Great book. Disappointing reading.

Would you be willing to try another one of Marc Cashman’s performances?

Unless Cashman is the performer on a book I just have to have, I will avoid him in the future. He has a style that I found truly annoying. He uses an upward inflection at the end of a high percentage of the sentences instead of a downward period inflection. That makes the reading sound surprised or excited, a little of which would be okay, but it seemed like that inflection was used on about 85 percent of the book. To be fair, I teach reading aloud techniques and I will send students to the sample of this book to illustrate how annoying the persistent use of upward inflection is.

Excellent Book

Would you consider the audio edition of FDR to be better than the print version?

No. I like them both for different reasons. Research requires the print version. Since I drive a lot, the audio version is enjoyable and informative.

Who was your favorite character and why?

My favorite character was FDR. Because, that is the reason I read the book.

Have you listened to any of Marc Cashman’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No

Great book on FDR

This was a very thorough and well researched account of the life of FDR. Really enjoyed learning about his experiences and ability to get things done.

Excellent !

So much to cover , I felt the author did a great job of getting to the essence of this great American

Important historical period

Enjoyed this read on this flawed but great political figure. Also, much important information on Eleanor Roosevelt.

Very good, not quite great

Jean Edward Smith did a really nice job with his biography of one of the most interesting men in American history. The book was well organized and covered all the important moments in detail. It's loaded with information, but it remains an easy read.

I have a couple of issues with the book that, in my mind, keep it from being a 5-star gem. First of all, it's hard to determine Eleanor's role in this book. Smith describes ER's upbringing in great detail, and a quarter of the way through the book, I wondered if it was going to be essentially a co-biography. Then, ER kind of goes away, and she's barely mentioned in the presidency period at all. That's OK, but why was so much time spent on her in the beginning?

Second, I felt Smith's handling of the war was questionable. He spent way too much time describing Japan-U.S. relations and the friction between them prior to Pearl Harbor. Some of it was necessary; most was not. Then he strangely glossed over D-Day, giving no particulars of the actual operation beyond the planning stages. I would have preferred a few more FDR anecdotes to all the Japan stuff because it was, after all, an FDR book.

Finally, I don't like when these long biographies just end with the subject's death. A recap of his significance, details of the country's reaction to his death, info about the funeral -- something to tie a bow around the story you've just told, especially when the death is so sudden like it was with FDR.

I know I focused on the negative; most other reviews touched on the positives, and there were many. Smith is a skilled researcher and writer, and this is a book anyone could enjoy. I thought his Grant biography was better, but this one was good as well