The Defining Moment

FDR's Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope

By: Jonathan Alter

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

Length: 12 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

In this dramatic and fascinating account, Newsweek columnist Jonathan Alter shows how Franklin Delano Roosevelt used his first 100 days in office to lift the country from the despair and paralysis of the Great Depression and transform the American presidency.

Instead of becoming the dictator so many wanted in those first days, FDR rescued banks, put men to work immediately, and laid the groundwork for his most ambitious achievements, including what eventually became the Social Security Administration. Alter explains how FDR's background and experiences uniquely qualified him to pull off an astonishing conjuring act that saved both democracy and capitalism.

Jonathan Alter, a Newsweek Senior Editor, has written the widely acclaimed "Between the Lines" column since 1991, examining politics, media, and society at large. For the last decade, he has also worked as an analyst and contributing correspondent for NBC Broadcasting, including Today, NBC Nightly News, and MSNBC.

Grover Gardner is one of the spoken word industry's most esteemed and versatile performers. He has recorded hundreds of books and has garnered an Audie Award, 18 Earphones Awards, and was deemed to have one of the "Best Voices of the Century" by AudioFile magazine. He was also named Narrator of the Year for 2005 by Publishers Weekly.

©2006 Jonathan Alter, recorded by arrangement with Simon & Schuster, Inc. (P)2006 The Audio Partners Publishing Corp.

Critic reviews

"A most readable book....A reflection on the way that Roosevelt reinvented the presidency....Alter's account has a refreshing buoyancy, not unlike its protagonist." (The New York Times Book Review)
"Alter goes on to document FDR's early programs, pronouncements, and maneuvers with succinct accuracy." (Publishers Weekly)
"A book like this, revealing the power of presidential speeches, should be read, in FDR's repetition for emphasis, 'again and again and again'." (William Safire)

A shallow and insecure president...

This is not a faltering portrayal of FDR. It reveals a rather shallow and insecure person who somehow became president despite all of his personal, moral, and physical weaknesses. It is hard to believe that someone lacking so much could have attained so much, but then again look at our current and most recent presidents. There are quite a few revelations that I never heard in history class... I guess this book also reveals the difference between the media of back then versus today. I don't think someone with so many secret flaws could get away with becoming president today, i.e. Herman Cane, John Edwards, Gary Heart.

FDR as I have never known him

Jonathan Alter has done what few historians manage to do with Presidents biographies . He revealed FDR as a real human being —He showed me 3-dimensional person and gave me a gazillion aha moments. He didi not deify, mythologize or judge FDR. He told me who FDR is.
His writing style is absolutely awesome. Alter pulled together all one needs to know to complete the sanitized or demonized portrait given to us a students in history classes or shown cinema.
Too bad Mr. Alter has not done equivalent biographies of the major players and FDR peers, such as Churchill and Stalin.

Slice of history that most people have forgotten

We tend to forget what some great political leaders did for the working man. FDR did so much yet many vilify him. Listen to his achievements and decide for yourself.

Democracy on the Brink

Democracy is an evolving process that must be renewed and fought for with each generation. It is not the word but how we the people demand the process. The Defining Moment explores the fragility and strengths of the process and the leadership that makes it continue to work for all the people.

Made me think less of FDR

While I don't think it was the intention of the author, this book reduced my opinion of FDR. Alter's FDR is a "dilettante" with a short attention span. "He never thinks, he decides." "FDR knows nothing about finance, but he doesn't know he doesn't know." He has "no governing philosophy beyond a penchant for action." He competes with only Reagan as the most superstitious president. Early in his administration, in the depth of the great depression, he enacted more budget cuts that Hoover would have dared.

Beyond FDR personally, Alter's portrayal of the administration's governing philosophy is damning in hindsight. Alter argues that the Adolf Burle written speech to the commonwealth club honestly reflected the worldview of the early New Deal because FDR had no time to sand down the political rough edges. The speech argues that the industrial plant is overbuilt, the frontier has been reached, and growth through exploitation of natural resources was at a dead end. From these observations, the FDR administration concludes that the goal should be administering economic arrangements, not producing more goods. As a result, early FDR policies were implemented without regard for their impact on productivity and expanding the economic pie was not part of discussion. Alter notes this point of view was not particular to the FDR administration; it was a popular premise until WW2 (but proven false in hindsight).

The book was heavy on anecdotes and analysis of speeches. Some of this was tedious, but some was shocking, such as (pre-president) FDR's role in having law enforcement engage in sexual acts to entrap gay people.

Given all these negative facts about FDR, why is the book ultimately a positive portrayal? Alter implies that the effectiveness of the policies is beside the point. FDR's penchant to try something, try anything, gave people hope and prevented a revolutionary turn to communism or fascism. Had FDR been an intellectual or ideologue, he would have lacked the flexibility to experiment with policy. The fact is, with our current knowledge of macroeconomics, it is easy to look back at the New Deal and point out the counterproductive and even ridiculous aspects. But willingness to fail can be a virtue if we learn from mistakes. The book could have done a better job describing how lessons learned from failed New Deal policies informed later policymaking, perhaps preventing later economic depressions.

odd

pretty good book, but only about 25% of it has to do with the 100 days. the rest is background or a long long chapter on eleanor. sort of weird.

splendid..just splendid!

While I read this some time ago now, I still remember the exuberance I felt during and after reading this highly insightful and truly enjoyable book. Superbly written, perfectly narrated and highly recommended.

FDR’s legacy

I was born in December 1932. My parents worked hard, counted their Pennie’s, paid their bills. As a child I was called in from play to listen to our President speak on the radio. When he died, l cried wondering out loud ‘what would we do’. My mother assured me the new president was a good man and we would be fine. She was right. I worry now for the people I leave and love.

remarkable insight to leading a democracy

a terrific series of insights coupled with historical facts that echos similar challenges that our leaders still struggle with today... let's hope that brave and honorable women and men will rise to fight the Good fight so that people from all ends of the political spectrum feel their government respects their needs and hopes

Balanced and Accurate

This an excellent telling of Franklin Roosevelt's impact on American and world history. It is a balanced assessment that reveals both Roosevelt's genius and his flaws. Well presented and worth a listen. The epilogue is particularly astute and worth more than one listen.