Rating: 
Summary: One of The Best Books I've Read in Decades
Review: After having thoroughly enjoyed the biographies of these two giants by William Manchester, Martin Gilbert, and James Mcgregor Burns, this book really illuminated their special relationship and the incredible impact that relationship had on the war and its aftermath. This is must reading for any serious student of 20th Century history.
Rating: 
Summary: Size does matter - both in heart and muscle
Review: And Winston Churchill knew it. He realized that a contracting British Empire, would need the powerful friendship of the United States to ensure its future. At 94,251 sq. mi., the United Kingdom is roughly the size of Oregon or Colorado, or twice the size of New York State. And Roosevelt realized that an Anglo-American alliance was vital to exporting freedom.
In the early days of WWII, when 40,000 Britons were killed during the German Blitz, it was the lone bravery of this small nation and their stout prime minister that held off Hitler's armies.
Unlike the French, Churchill unconditionally ruled out surrender, giving his famous "men will still say, `this was their finest hour'" speech. And unlike the U.S., England's proximity to the Third Reich made isolation impossible.
Yet, despite all his sacrifices and pivotal position, Churchill ruefully played courtier to the imperial Roosevelt. From the title alone, the book shows the power balance between these two nations - a dynamic that still exists today.
Author Jon Meacham illustrates the wartime struggles between an emotional, determined Churchill and the pragmatic, deliberate Roosevelt - chasms these historical titans navigated with persistent grace and purpose. I gave this book four stars, however, because I did not feel that knowing either man's personal life was necessary to understanding their grasp of or response to the Axis threat. Confronting tyranny is what democratic leaders do, no matter their upbringing or home life.
Rating: 
Summary: A book in search of a reason to exist
Review: First off, I want to say the author can write well - which makes this book even more disappointing.
The stated reason for the book is to discuss the personal relationship between FDR and Churchill - which is one of the most important friendships in history. But it actually doesn't dive in to the personal relationship that much.
And for discussing a friendship, large chunks of time are jumped over with not mutch of a mention - yet during these periods there was ongoing communication between FDR and Churchill.
I think I have learned more about the relationship between these two from reading other books about the war itself - and how command decisions were arrived at at the top.
Bottom line - you will learn little from this book.
Rating:
Summary: Two lions roaring at the same time....
Review: Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill are two of the most influential men of the 20th Century, and Jon Meacham's Franklin and Winston is a commendable effort. How the friendship between these two men evolved is a fascinating read. Theirs was a friendship forged from the war, and Churchill cultivated the relationship knowing that help from the US was the only way to defeat Nazi Germany. All relationships have their ups and downs, and Churchill and Roosevelt were no exception. Franklin's treatment toward Winston was downright shabby when they started dealing with Joseph Stalin. Still, in their many fact-to-face meetings, they were able to do much together including tracking the progress of the war, coordinating allied activities and especially, cutting through red tape when it came to equipment and supplies.There have been other books written about these two giants, but Meacham had the advantage of some newly discovered letters in the FDR library, as well as personal interviews with Mary Soames (Churchill's daughter), Pamela Harriman (Churchill's ex-daughter-in-law), and Robert Hopkins (son of FDR aide and cabinet member, Harry Hopkins). Churchill was a man who wore his emotions for all to see. It was obvious that he loved and revered FDR and was crushed by his sudden death. On the other hand, FDR could be a very cold and unemotional man. He was also a man who used people, and then wrote them off when they were no longer of use to him. We are left to wonder how their friendship would have survived after the end of the war if FDR had lived--especially after Churchill's defeat as Prime Minister only months after the war ended. The changing world scene may have also served to shift the balance of their friendship. Before WWII, the United States and England were two dominant world powers. After the war, China and the Soviet Union replaced the British Empire as a major force. I wonder if FDR would have treated Churchill in a diminished capacity as the fortunes of the British Empire waned. I especially enjoyed the many stories and anecdotes about these two men. Churchill, especially, can best be described as a character! He was a heavy handed drinker and a demanding guest. He loved to stay up late and seemed to do his best work after midnight. Winston didn't like American whiskey or Roosevelt's nightly cocktails. Both men had strong, intelligent wives, although Eleanor and Clementine didn't particularly like each other. While Clementine couldn't keep up with Eleanor, Franklin had a difficult time matching Winston's energy and stamina. All in all, Meacham has provided us with a very good sketch about two great men.
Rating:
Summary: Male Bonding at the Highest Level of Political Power in WWII
Review: Now whenever I see Bush and Blair at their parallel podiums in their mutual support for the war in Iraq, I wonder if people in the forties perceived Roosevelt and Churchill just as cynically. Author Jon Meacham, the managing editor for Newsweek, has done some extensive research to build a supremely engaging story of the burgeoning friendship between Roosevelt and Churchill during World War II. They actually had a lot in common - turbulent private lives, long-lasting marriages, problem children, and medical problems (Roosevelt paralyzed by polio, Churchill's purported alcoholism). They sought each other's company for reasons that went well beyond the struggles of the war, yet their relationship imbued their respective leadership roles with a human quality that seems sadly missing today.
Before the advent of e-mail, these two leaders exchanged an astounding number of messages, nearly two thousand. The author seems to have gotten access to a great many of them, including the papers of Pamela Churchill Harriman, as he pieces together a friendship alternately devoted and tenuous. And the two men often met secretly in many different locales, and Meacham was able to interview the few survivors who were in Roosevelt and Churchill's joint company. The combination of accounts sheds fresh light on the characters of both men as he engagingly chronicles the hours in which they decided the course of action for the Allies toward victory in WWII. The introduction of Joseph Stalin caused an odd triangle that brought out Churchill's insecurity and his exclusion from strategic discussions. Meacham shows how the frailty of the human ego is no different when it comes to world leaders and the fate of their countries. As we know, Stalin's intrusion ultimately led to the U.S. and Russia being the emerging superpowers, not England. When Roosevelt died in the spring of 1945, even as he was making plans to travel to England, Churchill was crushed; he could not bring himself to come to the funeral to say goodbye. Such was the depth of their male bonding, and Meacham's book demonstrates that leaders are not made of stone, that they still need a connection with someone who can empathize with their challenges as they discriminately wield their power. In certain ways, the author has written the historical equivalent of a buddy picture. A surprisingly entertaining read not just for WWII fanatics.
Rating:
Summary: Were They Really Friends?
Review: Photographs of Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill together have the look of historical inevitability. So central were these two leaders to the war effort that it is impossible to think about that hellish time without their bulky presences dominating the picture. All in all, they spent over 100 days with each other. Meachem, in his throughly researched book, details virtually every hour of their days together yet arrives at a fairly ambivalent answer to his central question: were they really friends?
Meachem's source material are primarily cables between the two leaders, and letters and reminisces from family, friends, and personal aides that surrounded them between 1939 and 1945. When he can, the author skillfully includes several different contemporary accounts from multiple witnesses of the same events - mostly the summits and dinners - that dominated the two leaders' working and personal relationship. The book has an extensive annotated bibliography and a half-a-dozen or so photographs. Yet, the limited scope of the book means that events not central to the relationship, such as the bitter internal political discord within both the British and American governments, are lightly treated (see Michael Beschloss' The Conquerors and John Lukacs' The Duel for a full treatment).
Though Meachem avoids judgements, Winston Churchill clearly emerges as the most sympathetic figure in the relationship, forever unsure of his place in FDR's crowded world. Churchill admits, in one passage, that he "loves that man" and is often seen weeping at emotional moments (even movies). FDR, under his jaunty and smiling exterior, remains cool and calculating ("a man of shadows," writes the author) , and at times unaccountably cruel to and dismissive of Churchill. His successor, Harry Truman, called him "the coldest man I ever knew."
Meachem superbly conveys the texture of social and political life during the war years and this is the main strength of his book. Cables were the main form of communication, and travel to faraway places in Asia for summit meetings were arduous and dangerous in the pre-jet age. Meachem's narration is constantly interrupted by FDR's and Churchill's illnesses, which inevitably followed these long and stressful journeys. One can only imagine how difficult overseas meetings were for the paralyzed FDR. Dinners and picnics at the White House, Shangri-la (now Camp David) and Hyde Park are faithfully retold, down to the menu and the toasts. Despite what looks the like the inevitability of the Roosevelt / Churchill joint venture, Meachem shows that throughout the war and despite their common interests, neither fully trusted each other nor could each be sure the other would remain in power. Churchill, especially, contended with the possibility that FDR would retire or be defeated for re-election in 1940 and 1944.
Were they fast friends, above and beyond politics? Meachem clearly thinks so, but his book shows that the titanic events surrounding the two men so saturated their personal psyches that it is impossible to be certain. FDR turned colder toward Churchill over time as he courted "Uncle Joe" Stalin. Churchill did not attend FDR's funeral, although his plane was warming up on the runway. In the end, we are left with two highly talented politicians who each believed in imperious moments that "L'etet c'est moi."
"In love, there is always the one who kisses, and one who offers the cheek" - to borrow another phrase from the French. Meachem's excellent book shows that FDR could deftly offer the cheek, and not, depending on circumstances. And Churchill, a enormously proud and sensitive man, did what he had to do to ensure his beloved Britain's - and the "English-speaking race's" - survival.
Rating:
Summary: Two amazing men, one peculiar friendship
Review: Roosevelt and Churchill are two of the titans of the 20th century and together they acted out one of the most important events in human history. As might be expected with two individuals who had countries to lead in times of extreme peril, these men were pulled in many different directions, not always coinciding with one another. Yet the close personal bond between these two men was instrumental in preserving the freedom we enjoy today.
Like a good biography, this book shows the reader the men behind the nearly mythic names and you find flawed individuals with amzing traits that allowed them to accomplish something that almost nobody else could. What is perhaps most engaging about this book is learning how both of these men were susceptible to the same personal, emotional responses to slights and breaches of trust that any of us would be.
Any WWII or history fan will enjoy this one.
Rating:
Summary: A Rare Look Into Something Not Seen Before
Review: Their relationship was cordial - yet Churchill avoided his funeral. Their communication was constant and robust - yet FDR hid his cards from Winston, just like he hid them from everybody. Theirs was a great intimacy which enabled the defeat of facism. Yet there were reserves and distance peculiar to an earlier time.
We like to say that older times were simpler.
See if you still believe that after reading this outstanding work. The sheer complexity and nuances of international relations, cast against the realities of domestic American isolationism, testify once again to Roosevelt's genius.
Meacham's great gift is at once to reveal primary sources not formerly available and yet do so in a clear, narrative form which captures the subtleties of what is, arguably, the most difinitive and important international friendship up to the relationships between the Bush family and the House of Saud.
Colorful, too. Remember what Winnie said to the lady who, ofeendedly, said he was drunk? "Madam, I may be drunk, but you are ugly. In the morning I shall be sober, but you shall still be ugly."
Love this book...
Rating:
Summary: the greatest book about two of the greatest world leaders
Review: This book is an epic tale of how the future of the world can hinge on a personal friendship. The story is deeply moving, currently relevent, and profoundly interesting. Full of the pure wisdom and wit of churchill roosevelt, and the awsome impact of their friendship, this book is not to be missed. This is, perhaps, my favorite historical book ever.
Rating:
Summary: Superbly Readable, Well-Written History
Review: This extraordinarily felicitious joint biography is one of the best-written, fastest-moving, and most inspirational biographies (or joint biographies) that I've ever read. It doesn't get bogged down in unnecessary detail but it doesn't gloss over important facts, either. You end up admiring Roosevelt and Churchill because of, not despite, their human failings and weaknesses. The principles that the two men lived are valid for all of us. Altogether a classic.
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