Rating: 
Summary: Another perspective
Review: As an American History major and life long student of WWII, FDR and the Depression, I find some of Fleming's observations and perspectives to be stimulating. If he was not so apparently biased against Roosevelt he'd carry more weight. He faults Roosevelt for EVERY move he makes. If FDR made a move that was ideologically based, Fleming criticizes him for not being pragmmatic, if FDR made a decision that was pragmatically based, Fleming criticizes him for not being true to his ideology. Fleming also criticizes FDR based on information that we now know but does not credit FDR for decisions that are supported by similar information. One of Fleming's premises seems to be that we should NOT have fought WWII and, while it is good to re-examine our accepted beliefs, the Nazis WERE bad and had world domination aims, the Japanese WERE expansionists, had brutalized their captives and the rape of Nanking was typical of their subjugation of the countries that they conquered. Germany was technologically superior to Japan and if we'd pursued a Japan first policy Germany's technology might have triumphed. While I do not believe that Roosevelt was pro-Communist I do believe that Fleming correctly portrays Roosevelt's self-delusion about Soviet Russia's aims and its totalitarian methods which we all know were equally as bad as the Nazis. However, FDR was trying to get Stalin to commit to fighting Japan so that the U.S wouldn't have to conduct an invasion against the entire Japanese army. No one knew if the A bomb would be successful. It is also clear that Roosevelt had no clear goals for post-war Europe. This may be attributable to his failing health. If FDR's health was truly as bad as Fleming portrays it (another of his major criticisms of FDR), FDR is to be condemned for his egotism in not stepping down, but almost every politician is an egotist and believes he knows best and will act best. How reputable the author is as an historian is uncertain. He has certainly written many historical books but without going to and reading his citations it is impossible to know how accurate he is. The book is certainly thought provoking and that says a lot.
Rating: 
Summary: A Welcome Change
Review: Fleming disagrees with the conventional Wisdom that FDR was a great war President. He says that World War II was approached as an international version of the New Deal. FDR didn't just want to win he wanted to re-shape the world. Fleming believes FDR's insistence on fighting the Germans in North Africa, insisting on unconditional German surrender, ignoring the dangers of communism and specifically trusting Joseph Stalin were major blunders that cost untold lives during and after the war. First, by fighting the Germans in North Africa, FDR made Joe Stalin's encroachment on Eastern Europe all the more easy. Had he instead focused on beating the Japanese and protecting England exclusively, Hitler could have used his entire force to fight Stalin. They would have butchered one another without as many U.S. casualties, and the end result would have been two weakened madmen which would have given Stalin less chance to seize Eastern Europe. Second, although it may not be discussed these days, FDR's insistence of unconditional surrender was quite controversial. No less than Eisenhower himself thought it was a foolish idea, but even more interesting is that it was almost unprecedented in the history of war. Fleming points out that the U.S. (Unconditional Surrender) Grant got the name from his siege at Vicksburg, not the General Lee surrender which was quite cordial and accommodating. Unconditional surrender was a mistake for two reasons says Fleming. It made it much less likely that regular Germans would attempt to overthrow Hitler, because unconditional surrender assumed that all Germans were equally guilty. There were even cables from prominent Germans through neutral Switzerland that tried to negotiate an easier surrender if they offed Hitler, but FDR would have none of it. He blamed the Germans for two world wars and wanted to bring them to their knees. With FDR it was less about Hitler and more about defeating the wicked Huns. The cost was hundreds of thousands of American lives that could have been saved with a more temperate policy. Third, Lauchlin Currie, Senior Administrative assistant to the President, Assistant Secretary of State Harry Dexter White, and State Department officials Alger Hiss and Lawrence Duggan have all been proven spies by the declassified Venona Project. They had access to classified documents and turned them over to other Soviet operatives. Reformed communist, Whitaker Chambers told Assistant Secretary of State Adolf Berle about these men as early as 1939, but when Berle informed FDR, he said it was absurd. FDR always trusted fellow Ivy League men over the evidence, and didn't really see communism as much of a threat anyway. When he met Joesph Stalin during the war, he began calling him Uncle Joe and told confidants that he had "gotten to him" during their discussions. He allowed important meetings that decided post war policy to occur in places like the Soviet embassy in Terhan where every conversation he had was being listened to by the Russians. He even took communist spies like Alger Hiss to the Yalta conferece, where Hiss passed on who knows what information to "Uncle" Joe. Fleming says that all of FDR's mistakes were the result of treating World War II as a social project for the planet. FDR could have beaten the Germans, weakened the Soviets considerably and saved more American lives if his priorities had been winning the war and peace. His more lofty goals of reshaping the world gave him a skewed view of communism and led to the enslavement of Europeans and the deaths of too many Americans. Fleming seems to be on to something here. FDR had his plusses, but the idolatry of Roosevelt has led many people to disregard his grand mistakes. It's nice that Fleming has taken the time to remind us of them.
Rating:
Summary: Eye Opening Expose' of FDR and the New Dealers
Review: In these times where Presidential "Greatness" lists are appearing fairly often, Mr. Fleming has turned a microscope on a President that regularly rates on these lists near the top. What is revealed in this carefully researched book puts a serious question to FDR's high ranking. Mr. Fleming has approached FDRs presidency with an open mind and brought a fresh insight to both the minor as well as the major events and policies of this most tumultous time. Fleshing out in great detail the key players of the New Deal provided this reader with a better understanding on how they interacted/inter-related with FDR and each other. What I learned was both eye opening and disturbing, particularly FDR and his many subordinates appeasement and accomodation of Stalin, and the level of communist infiltration of his administration. Having read Robert Ferrell's book on FDRs last year and the cover-up of his grave ill health prepared me to understand how it related to the larger context of WWII as outlined in this book. The book is well written and the prose will allow the reader to easily become immersed in a very important subject. I applaud Mr. Fleming for a job well done and highly recommend this book.
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