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American history, biographies, book reviews, FDR, presidential biographies, Presidents, Pulitzer Prize, Ted Morgan
“FDR: A Biography” is French-American biographer, historian and journalist Ted Morgan’s 1985 biography of the 32nd president. Morgan was born Comte St. Charles Armand Gabriel de Gramont but changed his name (to an anagram of “de Gramont”) after becoming an American citizen in 1977. Morgan won a 1961 Pulitzer Prize in journalism and his 1982 biography of Winston Churchill won a Pulitzer Prize.
Almost 800 pages in length, Morgan’s biography is a weighty and detailed exploration of FDR’s life. But while written in an unpretentious and intelligible style and refreshingly balanced in its attitude toward its subject, this book does not provide a consistently engaging reading experience.
The very best presidential biographies are marvelously descriptive, packed with insight and wisdom, and engage the reader from start to finish. Unfortunately, Morgan’s biography falls short in each of these areas.
Surprisingly selective about which characters he robustly describes, most of FDR’s closest advisors, colleagues and family members come across as flat and uninteresting. Their relationships with FDR seem clinical rather than real and generally lack vitality and vibrancy.
And although Morgan provides significant detail in this well-researched book, the depth and frequency of analysis he provides is frustratingly uneven. At times he offers fascinating and thoughtful observations about the significance of an event while at other times he inexplicably provides no observations or judgement whatsoever.
Nor does he provide much in the way of historical context – at all. Readers who lack a robust understanding of global events during the 1930s and 1940s will fail to connect many of FDR’s actions with the events transpiring around him.
Finally, although this is a lengthy and detailed biography, many events of great significance are given surprisingly cursory treatment. FDR’s “First 100 Days” is covered in just a few pages and the first two crucial (and eventful) years of FDR’s presidency disappear in fewer than forty pages. The passage of the Social Security Act and the Securities Act of 1933 are covered so quickly that they could easily be missed altogether.
Fortunately, there are many satisfying moments in Morgan’s treatise. While portraying the young FDR as a largely aimless, spoiled aristocrat-in-training the reader is treated to an interesting chapter on his education at Groton. And later, with FDR firmly established in the presidency, Morgan provides a fascinating glimpse into the logistics involved in getting FDR to the Casablanca Conference in 1943.
On a more historically significant note the biography offers an extremely thoughtful examination of why it took the Allies nearly three years to mount a cross-Channel invasion of Europe. And almost three-fourths of the way through the book is perhaps its best chapter – devoted to an explanation of FDR’s success as president. These thirty pages are probably the best in the book and provide as close to a character analysis as the author provides.
Overall, Ted Morgan’s “FDR: A Biography” is a comprehensive and lengthy biography that proves more frustrating than rewarding. While nominally providing significant detail, Morgan’s book offers few overarching themes or messages and provides remarkably little in the way of penetrating analysis. Readers familiar with FDR and his era will probably find many of Morgan’s anecdotes and detail interesting; those simply seeking an engaging presidential biography will likely leave disappointed.
Overall rating: 3 stars
Just a note…..Douglas Brinkley’s new FDR book, Rightful Heritage, Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Land of America, is wonderful. I cannot put it down. There’s a new book on John Q. Adams coming out this week. Too many good biographies. Too little time.
Oh my…your comment is going to make me seriously ponder whether I need to add that to the 18 FDR biographies I’m already reading on this first pass. I’m usually hesitant to read hot-off-the-press biographies, but FDR might be worth the extra time?!? Otherwise it will do no worse than make my follow-up list. Decisions, decisions. And no, there is never enough time.
Glad to see you back on line.
Always wondered about the Morgan…having just finished Smith I wouldn’t be prepared to read another doorstop bio of FDR, even if he IS one of the 3 Presidents I most enjoy reading about with Lincoln and Washington. Will be keen to hear about Freidel. My guess is a lot of interesting detail, sound judgment, but a little hagiographic and a little dry…
You certainly don’t want to follow Smith with Morgan…End on a high note! On Freidel, I’m only 100 pages into it – and I like it so far – but FDR is already POTUS. Seems to be more a light-speed review of the volumes Freidel wrote decades ago with an emphasis on his presidency (which Freidel didn’t get through in his series).