Countless histories have been written about Franklin Roosevelt''s creation of the New Deal and about his leadership during World War II, but none has attempted to bridge these two epochal events. In Roosevelt''s Second Act, Richard Moe offers a refreshingly original look 32nd president, arguing that the economic policies of FDR''s first two terms and the wartime leadership of his second two are bridged by one pivotal moment: the election of 1940, when his decision of whether to run for an unprecedented third term was driven by the war consuming Europe. After Hitler''s invasion of Poland in September 1939, Great Britain and France immediately declared war, but it would take many months before serious military action began. Once all-out war started in the spring of 1940, the fate of Britain became inextricably entwined with FDR''s agonizing decision of whether to run again, and, for the first time in American history, break the unwritten rules established by George Washington himself. FDR found himself at a place where no other president had been, wanting to help the democracies of Europe to survive without drawing his country into an unwanted war, and with precious little time to do so. For months Roosevelt refused to say whether he would run again or not, but after the Republicans surprisingly nominated the attractive Wendell Willkie in July 1940, FDR believed there was not another Democrat who would continue his policies and who was capable of winning the election. With Hitler on the verge of conquering Europe, the stakes couldn''t have been higher -- and the decisions that FDR and the country faced would make 1940 one of the most fateful years in American history.Offering a critical examination of Roosevelt''s actions and motives from September 1939 to the end of 1940 and subjecting them to insightful analysis, Roosevelt''s Second Act fills an important gap in presidential history. Through the double narrative of the war in Europe and the 1940 election, Moe offers a brilliant depiction of the duality that was FDR: the bold, perceptive, prescient and moral statesman who set lofty and principled goals, and the sometimes cautious, ambitious, arrogant and manipulative politician in pursuit of them.
Industry Reviews
"[Moe] presents in Roosevelt's Second Act: The Election of 1940 and the Politics of War an intensive and nuanced interpretation of a decisive year in American politics and of the man who presided over it....Moe's volume is a worthy addition to Oxford University Press's Pivotal Moments in American History series. Roosevelt's Second Act successfully reaches a general audience, and belongs on the shelf near the works of the author's friends Doris
Kearns Goodwin and David McCullough."--H-Net
"In Roosevelt's Second Act Richard Moe has shown in superb fashion that what might seem to have been an inevitable decision of comparatively little interest was far from it. But then what could possibly be predictable or uninteresting about such a famously unfathomable protagonist? And what a cast of characters! Moe's long, personal experience in Washington politics, combined with his marked skill as an historian, make this a consistently illuminating reminder
that history is above all human, and seldom more so than behind the scenes at a turning point of such importance."--David McCullough
"Roosevelt's Second Act is a spellbinding read and a deeply impressive achievement, remarkably detailed and thoroughly researched."--Bernard von Bothmer, History News Network
"Trying to understand and explain the complexities of Franklin D. Roosevelt's mind is a daunting task for any historian. Richard Moe is clearly up to the challenge in his fascinating, revelatory account of FDR's fateful decision to run for a third term in 1940, in the midst of the greatest crisis the world has ever faced. Filled with drama and excitement, Roosevelt's Second Act is particularly compelling in its depiction of how two women--Eleanor
Roosevelt and Frances Perkins--rescued the president from a political fiasco that could have irrevocably altered history."--Lynne Olson, author of Citizens of London and Those Angry Days
"Richard Moe's excellent book reminds us of what great leadership looks like. His beautifully written account of FDR's run for a third term and America's decisive move toward involvement in World War II will stand as the definitive study of this landmark election and a turning point in the country's history."--Robert Dallek
"A carefully focused and researched analysis that adds considerably to the historical record."--Kirkus Reviews, starred review
"Roosevelt's Second Act tells the story of a weary president's fateful decision to heed the call of duty in our nation's--and the world's--most perilous hour. Richard Moe's take on an epic tale is deftly-crafted, persuasive in analyzing people and power, and highly relevant to the struggles of our own era; a superb work of living history."--Madeleine Albright
"Most accounts of the Age of Franklin Delano Roosevelt halt with the erosion of the New Deal in 1938 and then lurch forward after Pearl Harbor in 1941. One moment the reader is immersed in Harry Hopkins, the next in Winston Churchill three years later. In this lively, fast-paced tale of the 1940 campaign when FDR sought to break the taboo against serving more than two terms, Richard Moe invites his readers to reflect on a seminal year when the two periods
merged. That year, he shows lucidly, America crossed the divide from isolation to irrevocable international commitment, and magnified the authority of the president, then and ever more, in his new role
as commander-in-chief of the most powerful empire on earth."--William E. Leuchtenburg, author of In the Shadow of FDR: From Harry Truman to Barack Obama
"[Roosevelt's Second Act] tells us as much about the American system of politics as any book I've ever read....[A] masterful account of why and how FDR overcame his reluctance to seek reelection."--Huffington Post
"[A] compelling read. Roosevelt's Second Act: The Election of 1940 and the Politics of War is a superbly reconstructed chronology of the 1940 campaign."--Washington Monthly
