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Whistle Stopper - Franklin and Lucy: President Roosevelt, Mrs. Rutherfurd, and the Other Remarkable Women in His Life
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List Price: $28.00
Our Price: $16.66
Your Save: $ 11.34 ( 41% )
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Manufacturer: Random House
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 973.917092
EAN: 9781400064427
ISBN: 1400064422
Label: Random House
Manufacturer: Random House
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 464
Publication Date: 2008-04-29
Publisher: Random House
Release Date: 2008-04-29
Studio: Random House
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Insights Marred by Shoddy Fact Checking
Comment: Biography is a form of archeology. Over 60 years after Franklin Roosevelt's death, new information is still coming to light, including recently discovered correspondence with Lucy Mercer Rutherfurd. Persico, who authored the superb "Roosevelt's Secret War", uses this and previously discovered documents (including the diary of Margaret "Daisy" Suckley, FDR's cousin) to draw a portrait of a man whose Byzantine personality has baffled researchers and biographers for decades. FDR preferred the presence of women over men, not only romantically but for ordinary company. Perhaps because with women, he did not feel the need to prove anything, perhaps because he loved gossip, FDR revealed himself and the workings of his mind more to women than to men. Previous biographers have referred to the sinuosity of FDR's thought process and his "feminine" mind (this is not meant as an aspersion against his essential masculinity, but reflects a flexibility of which many men are not capable). Persico reveals much of that by detailing his relationships with several women, including his mother Sara, Eleanor, Lucy (truly the love of his life), Missy LeHand, Daisy Suckley, Dorothy Schiff, and his daughter Anna. He also details Eleanor's relationships with Earl Miller, Lorena Hickok, and David Gurewitsch (the latter a younger doctor on whom Eleanor had something of a schoolgirl crush on during her later life.) Persico is impartial, and neither tries to obfuscate nor sensationalize the nature of these relationships. He presents the facts as they are and lets the reader draw the conclusions.
Now the bad news...
There are so many factual errors in this book it's hard to keep track of them, errors which could have been easily avoided with some quick fact checking. Persico refers to FDR's half-nephew, James "Taddy" Roosevelt, as Sara Roosevelt's stepson - - he was her step-grandson while Taddy's father, James "Rosy" Roosevelt was her stepson. He states that Eleanor suffered a case of hives during her honeymoon - - it was FDR who came down with hives. FDR's second inauguration is stated as having occurred on March 4, 1937, it took place on January 20 of that year - - the first January inauguration to happen after passage of the 21st Amendment. (Persico repeats the error with the 1941 inauguration, claiming that as the first January inauguration). Persico also misstates the circumstances under which Harry Truman learned that FDR was dead and Truman was President. Most of the above are so well documented it's hard to fathom how these mistakes were missed. Well, perhaps not: In the acknowledgements, Persico credits his wife and daughter as research assistants. But an impartial, unrelated editor, might have caught these errors.
Customer Rating:
Summary: The Roosevelts Like We Have Not Seen Them...
Comment: I was pleasantly surprised with this book. Persico presents lush biographical details about one of America's most enigmatic couples. I felt completely swept away by the intimate details presented and could not put the book down until I finished. This is a very different portrait of the Roosevelts than I have ever read. Very impressed with the scholarship and research that went into this work. My only criticism is that at times there was more than enough expositing of the details of daily life among members of the Roosevelts' social class; this became a bit tiring later on. ***This review is of the Advanced Reader's Copy of the book, which may differ from for sale editions.***
Customer Rating:
Summary: Another tme, another place...a change in history
Comment: The marriage of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt has been written about by countless authors. Eleanor's discovery of a cache of love letters between FDR and Lucy Mercer changed the dynamics of the Roosevelt's entire marriage. FDR promised he would cut off all ties with Lucy, and Eleanor had no reason to doubt that promise until FDR's death, when it was revealed he and Lucy had eventually resumed their friendship, if not the physical aspect as well. Lucy had been present in Warm Springs when FDR died. Joseph E. Persico reveals the dynamics of a relationship between FDR and Lucy Mercer. Even after her marriage to a wealthy socialite, she is drawn back into FDR's orbit and eventually becomes a regular visitor of the president. Perisco draws a portrait of FDR as a lonely man who often was without company or companionship, as his wife and children moved onto lives of their own. He turned to friends and associates to fill the void of a marriage no longer alive. A series of women came into his life to act as a stand-in wife and confidant. As his burdens become heavier and his health becomes frailer he turns back to Lucy, who has always tried to buoy his sprits and seldom condemns or complains. After her husband's death she is more and more in his company bringing comfort, encouragement and admiration. This is a fair depiction of people caught up in the mores and restrictions of their time and society. It is also is a tender and unflinching look at a marriage and subsequent relationships that both partners forge to meet their needs.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Almost Excellent
Comment: Naturally, for any FDRphile, it is exciting to read new material or a qualified writer's fresh take on exiting aspects of FDR's life. In this case, plenty of specifics, including quotes, from newly uncovered letters. Nicely written and quick-flowing. Numerous annoying errors in dates or date-related facts that perfectionists will easily notice. An example (p. 51) is TR's attendance at the White House 1902 New Year's Eve party "...watching the triumphant TR, recently elected president in his own right..."
His only election to the presidency did not occur for another two years. I found no less than four date related discrepancies, but enjoyed the book just the same, as Persico has a warm, inviting writing style. jww
Customer Rating:
Summary: Romance and history
Comment: "Franklin & Lucy" is a terrific read. I finished the book on the beach and thoroughly enjoyed the way the author touched on the history surrounding the romance, but kept his focus on FDR's private passions. "Franklin & Lucy" made FDR a real man, rather than the icon or "sun-god" that saved America during the Great Depression. The author's treatment of Eleanor Roosevelt was sensitive and also served to explain how the trials of her marriage ultimately contributed to her staggering accomplishments as First Lady.
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Editorial Reviews:
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Franklin Delano Roosevelt was arguably the greatest figure of the twentieth century. While FDR’s official circle was predominantly male, it was his relationships with women–particularly with Lucy Mercer Rutherfurd–that most vividly bring to light the human being beneath this towering statesman. It is no coincidence that Rutherfurd was with Roosevelt the day he died in Warm Springs, Georgia, along with two other close women companions. In Franklin and Lucy, acclaimed author and historian Joseph E. Persico explores FDR’s romance with Lucy Rutherfurd, which was far deeper and lasted much longer than was previously acknowledged. Persico’s provocative conclusions about their relationship are informed by a revealing range of sources, including never-before-published letters and documents from Lucy Rutherfurd’s estate that attest to the intensity and scope of the affair.
FDR’s connection with Lucy also creates an opportunity for Persico to take a more penetrating look at the other women in FDR’s life. We come to see more clearly how FDR’s infidelity as a husband contributed to Eleanor’s eventual transformation from a repressed Victorian to perhaps the greatest American woman of her century; how the shaping hand of FDR’s strong-willed mother helped to imbue him with the resolve to overcome personal and public adversity throughout his life; and how other women around FDR, including his “surrogate spouse,” Missy LeHand, and his close confidante, the obscure Margaret “Daisy” Suckley, completed the world that he inhabited.
Franklin and Lucy is an extraordinary look at the private life of a leader who continues to fascinate scholars and the general public alike. In focusing on Lucy Rutherfurd and the myriad women who mattered to Roosevelt, Persico paints a more intimate portrait than we have heretofore had of this enigmatic giant of American history.
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