Unlikely Heroes
Franklin Roosevelt, His Four Lieutenants, and the World They Made
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ISBN10: 1250274699
ISBN13: 9781250274694
Hardcover
496 Pages
$35.00
CA$47.00
Only four people served at the top echelon of President Franklin Roosevelt's Administration from the frightening early months of spring 1933 until he died in April 1945, on the cusp of wartime victory. These lieutenants composed the tough, constrictive, long-term core of government. They built the great institutions being raised against the Depression, implemented the New Deal, and they were pivotal to winning World War II.
Yet, in their different ways, each was as wounded as the polio-stricken titan. Harry Hopkins, Harold Ickes, Frances Perkins, and Henry Wallace were also strange outsiders. Up to 1933, none would ever have been considered for high office. Still, each became a world figure, and it would have been exceedingly difficult for Roosevelt to transform the nation without them. By examining the lives of these four, a very different picture emerges of how Americans saved their democracy and rescued civilization overseas. Many of the dangers that they all overcame are troublingly like those America faces today.
Reviews
Praise for Unlikely Heroes
“Mr. Leebaert takes a fresh tack by making his subject the Ickes-Perkins-Hopkins-Wallace bloc . . . [And] here is the crucial thing for the gossip-hungry Roosevelt, and a boon for readers of Unlikely Heroes—they were never, ever boring."—The Wall Street Journal
"Unlikely Heroes is the most exciting book written about FDR's presidency in decades. Finally, we see exactly how he led the nation."—James Strock, author, Theodore Roosevelt on Leadership, Founder, Serve to Lead Group
“A brilliantly captivating portrait of Roosevelt and his four most important associates, revealing their interwoven lives and friendships. Not only does it provide a unique perspective on the twelve tumultuous years of FDR’s presidency, it is full of illuminating insights into the upheavals of America today.”—Liaquat Ahamed, Pulitzer-winning author of Lords of Finance: The Bankers Who Broke the World
“By bringing alive the friendships among FDR’s key officials, Leebaert enables us to feel like insiders during that desperate time . . . among the many books about Roosevelt—none grants such vibrant access as does Unlikely Heroes.”—Major-General Mari K. Eder, U.S. Army (ret), former Deputy Commanding General, U.S. Army Reserves, and author of The Girls Who Stepped Out of Line: Untold Stories of the Women Who Changed the Course of World War II
"Leebaert is good at adducing current themes in past history, including regional divisions, racism, inequality, trickle-down economics, and a politicized and obstructionist Supreme Court . . . A nuanced study of reformist government in action and its behind-the-scenes players."—Kirkus Reviews
“In the vein of Doris Kearns Goodwin’s Team of Rivals, political historian Leebaert illuminates the dynamics of FDR’s consequential administration by focusing on four of his lieutenants . . . Leebaert sheds new light on FDR’s managerial capabilities and ably demonstrates that the cultivation of diversified and resilient talent was essential to the administration’s endurance.”—Booklist
“Leebaert follows four protagonists from President Franklin Roosevelt’s inner circle during the Depression . . . An intimate portrait of FDR’s inner circle during the New Deal. Readers of U.S. history, economics, and political science should greatly enjoy this volume.”—Library Journal
“Leebaert thoroughly mines diaries, letters, and oral histories to deliver a fine-grained study of the ties that bound this consequential administration. It’s an enlightening investigation into the alchemy of successful governance.”—Publishers Weekly
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BOOK EXCERPTS
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INTRODUCTION
One of Franklin Roosevelt’s favorite poems was Kipling’s If, which presents life as a continuous test. Roosevelt too had passed through endless tests of endurance, of waiting, of repeated disappointment, of...
About the author
Derek Leebaert
