Sumner Welles: Fdr's Global Strategist : A Biography (Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute Series on Diplomatic and Economic History)

Rating:
Summary: History through the eyes of family ties.
Review: When I picked up this book, I didn't even kow who Sumner Welles was (don't ask how I ended up reading this one). I found that this book provided an excellent description of Welles contribution to foreign policy in the US during the Rooselvelt administration. All of Welles' official accomplishments were clearly described and outlined. Where I found difficulty with this book was when it went into detail about Welles' personal life. It was clear that the author (Welles' son) was trying to be very objective about his father's life. However the book fluctuates between being very objective about Welles -- mostly on the more controversial aspects -- and revealing too much detail about small seemingly inconsequential events about which the author seems to have included simply because he was there. This book also has a tendency to apply villain or saint status to everyone but Welles. Roosevelt could do no wrong, and Hull, Bullitt, and van Hamme were all selfish evil men who would stop at nothing to get what they wanted. I doubt that in reality, things were that black and white. However, coming in knowing very little about these people, I was very interested in learning about the influence Welles had in World affairs during WWII and the discord that seems to have existed in the US government during this time.