Steve Neal (1)

Long before John McCain began his political career, Wendell Willkie served as the model for a Republican Party maverick. A Democrat for most of life, Willkie emerged as one of the most prominent critics of President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal in the 1930s. His charismatic public persona and opposition to the administration's policies towards business made him a national figure, and at the urging of admirers Willkie became a Republican as a prelude to winning the GOP presidential nomination in 1940. With a world war as a backdrop, Willkie was defeated in a close election, yet much to the chagrin of Republican leaders he used his newfound prominence to endorse his opponent's foreign policy — a move that contributed to his defeat when he sought a rematch four years later.

A longtime political reporter and columnist, Steve Neal's biography offers quite a few insights into the factors and failings of Willkie's presidential run Yet his book overall is a disappointment as a biography. Neal devotes most of the book to Willkie's political career, with over a third of its pages spent on his 1940 presidential campaign alone. While this makes sense from the standpoint of Willkie's significance to American history, it effectively condenses the majority of Willkie's years as a lawyer and business executive to a prelude to his political activities. Often, key developments in Willkie's life are not analyzed or even described, merely noted in Neal's rush to get to what he wants to write. As a result, much of Willkie's development, particularly of his political views, tends to get lost. The result is an account that, while readable and even gripping in its evocation of the Willkie phenomenon, comes up short as the book it is advertised as being.… (meer)

5432. Happy Days Are Here Again The 1932 Democratic Convention, the Emergence of FDR--And How America Was Changed Forever, by Steve Neal (read 16 Dec 2016) (Book of the Year) This book, published in 2004, tells the story of the events leading up to the 1932 Democratic Convention and of the tremendous drama which gripped the Convention as FDR had a majority of the vote but needed 2/3rds. In 1912 and in 1924 the candidate who had a majority of the votes but did not reach 2/3rds failed to be nominated and the persons working for FDR, led by Jim Farley and Louie Howe, after the third ballot were fearful that FDR would fail. Fortunately, they were able to convince the Garner people and William Randolph Hearst that they should back FDR. The book is extremely dramatic and super-exciting. There is a bibliography of 15 pages (and a check tells me I have read 61 of the books listed in the bibliography). A plus for the book is that it tells in detail of the rather scary flight in bad weather of FDR to Chicago to accept the nomination--the first time FDR had flown since his time as an Assistant Secretary of the Navy--he did not fly again till World War II. I admit I had to tell myself as I read of the flight that he would arrive safely in Chicago. This is a tremendously interesting account which no politically interested person should fail to read.… (meer)

This was a great book that focused on the 1932 Democratic National Convention where FDR won the nomination for president. The book focuses not only on FDR but all the other contenders that have long been lost in history which is one of the reasons why I liked this book. In addition to all the interesting facts and research, there were a great deal of pictures to bring the convention and the people involved to life.

I definitely recommend this to anyone who is interested in American politics and FDR.… (meer)