New Arrival — Biography

Another book we received last week is a new paperback printing of James MacGregor Burns' Pulitzer Prize-winning Roosevelt: Soldier of Freedom 1940-1945. According to his entry on Wikipedia, Burns is

a presidential biographer, authority on leadership studies, Woodrow Wilson Professor (emeritus) of Political Science at Williams College, and scholar at the James MacGregor Burns Academy of Leadership at the University of Maryland, College Park. . . .

His key innovation in leadership theory was shifting away from studying the traits of great men and transactional management to focus on the interaction of leaders and led as collaborators working toward mutual benefit. He is best known for contributions to the Transformational, Aspirational and Visionary schools of leadership theory.

Roosevelt: Soldier of Freedom 1940-1945 is the second volume in Burns' two-volume biography of FDR. The first volume is Roosevelt: The Lion and the Fox 1882-1940. Roosevelt: Soldier of Freedom was intially published in 1970, and the next year Burns won both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award for this work.

It In 2006, Robert Dallek in The Wall Street Journal named Roosevelt: The Lion and the Fox as one of the top five presidential biographies. He wrote:

James MacGregor Burns's "Roosevelt: The Lion and the Fox" stands out in a crowded field of FDR biographies. It is a compelling depiction of Roosevelt's mastery as a politician who revived the country's faith in itself during a time of trial. Like Donald's portrait of Lincoln, though, this is no hagiography. Burns is a tough-minded liberal who does not neglect Roosevelt's shortcomings, especially in a second volume, "Roosevelt: The Soldier of Freedom," which emphasizes the limits of FDR's vision during World War II. No one who has absorbed Burns's two volumes, however, can deny Roosevelt's greatness.

Also in The Wall Street Journal, Richard Norton Smith named Roosevelt: Soldier of Freedom as one of the top five biographies of FDR. He noted . . .

Long overshadowed by its companion volume, "The Lion and the Fox" (which covers FDR's life from 1882 to 1940 and is an invaluable guide through the labyrinth of his character), this gripping account of Roosevelt during World War II presents a would-be crusader adapting to events on a global scale. "I am waiting to be pushed into the situation," the president told associates in the spring of 1941. This strategy of no strategy was deceptive--there was nothing passive, after all, about the $7 billion lifeline to embattled Britain known as Lend-Lease. After Pearl Harbor, the original Great Communicator eased his countrymen through a string of early defeats, inspired mobilization on a staggering scale, refereed an administration often at war with itself and juggled utopian possibilities and crass realpolitik.

We have several copies available in stock for $9.95 plus shipping. Contact us by email to order, or use the link above to buy it from us through Amazon.