TRAITOR TO HIS CLASS The Privileged Life and Radical Presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt

The only person ever elected to four terms as president of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt took office during the Great Depression, and extended his reign well into WWII. Mark Deakins presents the detailed biographical material with a mixture of scholarly detachment and involved interest. When quoting dialogue or speeches by the president, he convincingly conveys the man's patrician pronunciations and tone, as preserved in recordings. Deakins uses the same approach for Churchill, and one wonders if the two leaders really tried to "out-pomposify" each other. Matters of historical significance receive appropriate gravity in Deakins's performance, while Roosevelt's younger years and personal life receive a lighter touch. One can't help but reflect on the parallels between the Roosevelt years and our own time. R.L.L. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine [Published: FEBRUARY 2009]