
The Definitive FDR
Roosevelt: The Lion and the Fox (1882-1940) and Roosevelt: The Soldier of Freedom (1940-1945)
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Narrated by:
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David Stifel
About this listen
Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the longest serving president in US history, reshaping the country during the crises of the Great Depression and World War II. James MacGregor Burns's magisterial two-volume biography tells the complete life story of the fascinating political figure who instituted the New Deal.
Roosevelt: The Lion and the Fox (1882-1940): Before his ascension to the presidency, FDR laid the groundwork for his unprecedented run with decades of canny political maneuvering and steady consolidation of power. Hailed by the New York Times as "a sensitive, shrewd, and challenging book" and by Newsweek as "a case study unmatched in American political writings," The Lion and the Fox details Roosevelt's youth and education, his rise to national prominence, all the way through his first two terms as president.
Roosevelt: The Soldier of Freedom (1940-1945): The Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning history of FDR's final years examines the president's skillful wartime leadership as well as his vision for postwar peace. Acclaimed by William Shirer as "the definitive book on Roosevelt in the war years," and by bestselling author Barbara Tuchman as "engrossing, informative, endlessly readable," The Soldier of Freedom is a moving profile of a leader gifted with rare political talent in an era of extraordinary challenges.
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1968 was an unprecedented year in terms of upheaval on numerous scales: political, military, economic, social, cultural. In the United States, perhaps no one was more undone by the events of 1968 than President Lyndon Baines Johnson. Kyle Longley leads his listeners on a behind-the-scenes tour of what Johnson characterized as the 'year of a continuous nightmare'. Longley explores how LBJ perceived the most significant events of 1968, including the Vietnam War, the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy, and the violent Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
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Worst year in my lifetime - LBJ tragedy of his own making - but not according to this Author.
- By charles wartelle on 05-17-19
By: Kyle Longley
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Bush
- By: Jean Edward Smith
- Narrated by: Tom Perkins
- Length: 25 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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In Bush, Jean Edward Smith demonstrates that it was not Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, or Condoleezza Rice, but President Bush himself who took personal control of foreign policy. Bush drew on his deep religious conviction that important foreign-policy decisions were simply a matter of good versus evil. Domestically, he overreacted to 9/11 and endangered Americans' civil liberties.
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Delusions of Competence
- By Rick on 11-18-16
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Dwight D. Eisenhower
- An Associated Press Biography
- By: Relman Morin, Retired Colonel Jack Jacobs - foreword
- Narrated by: Scott Miller
- Length: 15 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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From the time of his childhood in rural Kansas, Dwight D. Eisenhower's vision of himself and his country was one of confidence and hope. His hard-working parents taught him self-reliance and nothing that happened in his long career ever eroded this trait. During nearly half a century of service to his country and the world, Eisenhower displayed a deep understanding of the nation's problems, aspirations, and fears that prevailed during both war and peace.
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Salute to an American icon and legend
- By Dizzle on 01-22-25
By: Relman Morin, and others
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Grover Cleveland
- The Last Conservative Democratic President
- By: Jeffrey Smith
- Narrated by: Virtual Voice
- Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Since 1897, when Grover Cleveland left office after his second term as President of the United States, eight other Democrats have been elected to the nation's highest office. What differentiates Cleveland from his Democratic successors? He was a "true Conservative." Cleveland advocated limited government, states' rights, frugal economic principles, strict interpretation of the Constitution, sound currency, low taxes, tariff reduction, a balanced budget, the absence of national debt, and a non-interventionist foreign policy. A self-made man, Cleveland believed that if the federal government ...
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I learned a lot about Grover Cleveland.
- By Anonymous User on 03-03-25
By: Jeffrey Smith
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American Republics
- A Continental History of the United States 1783-1850
- By: Alan Taylor
- Narrated by: Graham Winton
- Length: 14 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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In this beautifully written history of America’s formative period, a preeminent historian upends the traditional story of a young nation confidently marching to its continent-spanning destiny.
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Helps the dots of history to today.
- By Tascha F. on 06-26-21
By: Alan Taylor
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Morgan: American Financier
- By: Jean Strouse
- Narrated by: Nelson Runger
- Length: 43 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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In Morgan, noted biographer Jean Strouse creates the first complete portrait of a man who defined American commerce and banking. Contemporaries described J. Pierpoint Morgan as “the financial Moses of the New World.” She shows J.Pierpoint Morgan in the full context of his childhood and health, travels and tastes, personal affairs and business relationships. And through Nelson Runger’s thoughtful narration, this accessible biography becomes a fascinating audio production.
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A masterfull biography
- By Ruben D Restrepo Jr on 05-08-15
By: Jean Strouse
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John Tyler, the Accidental President
- By: Edward P. Crapol
- Narrated by: Michael Butler Murray
- Length: 14 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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The first vice president to become president on the death of the incumbent, John Tyler (1790-1862) was derided by critics as "His Accidency." In this biography of the 10th president, Edward P. Crapol challenges depictions of Tyler as a die-hard advocate of states' rights, limited government, and a strict interpretation of the Constitution. Instead, he argues, Tyler manipulated the Constitution to increase the executive power of the presidency. Crapol also highlights Tyler's faith in America's national destiny and his belief in boundless territorial expansion.
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Terrible book :( Incredibly TEDIOUS.
- By Mike on 10-02-19
By: Edward P. Crapol
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No Ordinary Time
- Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II
- By: Doris Kearns Goodwin
- Narrated by: Nelson Runger
- Length: 39 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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No Ordinary Time describes how the isolationist and divided United States of 1940 was unified under the extraordinary leadership of Franklin Roosevelt to become the preeminent economic and military power in the world.
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Great at 1.5 speed
- By Brett on 01-04-13
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Oliver Wendell Holmes
- A Life in War, Law, and Ideas
- By: Stephen Budiansky
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 16 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Holmes twice escaped death as a young Union officer in the Civil War when musket balls barely missed his heart and spinal cord. He lived ever after with unwavering moral courage, scorn for dogma, and an insatiable intellectual curiosity. Named to the Supreme Court by Theodore Roosevelt at age 61, he served for nearly three decades, writing a series of famous, eloquent, and often dissenting opinions that would prove prophetic in securing freedom of speech, protecting the rights of criminal defendants, and ending the Court's reactionary resistance to social and economic reforms.
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Top-Notch Biography
- By Jean on 08-01-19
What listeners say about The Definitive FDR
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- STANLEY W. BELL
- 07-19-23
Very good
I have read quite a few books about FDR this is certainly one of the most interesting and informative ones very well done
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- FarmBoy
- 01-12-24
Superb and comprehensive
The Burns volumes themselves were, in my view, superb. Though perhaps not as compelling a storyteller as somebody like Robert Cato, Burns was a careful, thorough, and capable biographer, who prepared a deliberate and comprehensive review of a giant’s life. I listened in parallel with my reading a biography of Churchill and John Meacham’s “Franklin and Winston” and the effect was a stereoscopic view of the war years.
The reading was decidedly a mixed bag. On the plus side, the reader does a remarkable imitation of FDR that captures his accent, timbre, and rhythm. (He also, it should be noted, does a passable limitation of Churchill,) Initially, I found the impersonations distracting, but eventually warmed to his FDR. (His imitations – or whatever they are – of figures like Stalin and Hitler and others, however, are just silly.) On the other hand, the reader’s pace is slow, his voice gelatinous, and his butchery of foreign language words – which he insists on rendering with an heroic enunciation that would make Twain faint – is a labor. (If I had to listen to even one more reference to “ray-al-pol-i-TEEK, I might well have expired.)
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- Michael
- 01-13-24
Dedicated Author
This authors dedication to the study of history is absolutely amazing. The depth of all the supporting characters makes this book so rich.
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- Maui Diver
- 01-20-23
A man and how he changed world history
Of all the books I have read on FDR and the history of FDR this is by far the best and deserves several readings. It is complete factual and entertaining. 10 / 10
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- CJ
- 12-19-23
Excellent scholarship
This richly informed biography of FDR offers cogent analysis, alongside an extravagant description of an incredible life.
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- Albert Brodeur
- 12-28-23
A Review of "The Definitive FDR"
James MacGregor Burn again did a wonderful job. I very much enjoyed this presentation and representation of FDR's life and times.
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- washingtonrebel
- 11-14-23
Awesome!
Listening to this book has been an awesome experience! It’s quite lengthy but there is no fluff in it. I have read a fair number of books about FDR but I still learned much about the man and his life and times. It kept my interest throughout as well. The narrator was good .. pleasant to listen to and didn’t distract from the content. I will listen to this again even with the time commitment!
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- Ryan Baumbach
- 02-16-24
Excellent narration
If you like long audiobooks like I do and you like nonfiction then you should purchase this book. The guy who did the voice work is quite outstanding. Beyond this being a fairly comprehensive work about FDR, his narration is almost movie star quality. I would’ve liked to hear his best Russian accent though since he seemed incredibly talented yet was unable to pull that off.
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- Jacob Kamenir
- 12-17-24
Hagiography, not Biography
This is not a biography. This is a hagiography written in adulatory, reverential language that gets so worshipful in places that it becomes almost embarrassing to read. It’s more like reading a latter Ken Follett novel than a work of nonfiction. FDR is presented as the undisputed and indisputable hero, and everyone who disagrees with him is a nefarious villain. Everything is utterly one-sided with nothing within hailing distance of criticism or reflection presented.
If you are looking for an exceptionally long love letter to FDR, this book is for you. If you’re looking for a biography, it is not.
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