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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.
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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.
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Summary: Great telling of great history.
Review: The book is a beautiful blend of a dual biography and of world history in the first half of the last century. Naturally, the protagonists are Roosevelt & Churchill, and the backdrop is World War II.
The author leads up to the outbreak of the conflict with just the right amount of background on both men, as well as with a bit of the politics of the era. Interestingly, (and actually a point that was lost on the President but not on the Prime Minister), they had briefly met as underlings during the Great War. No fast friendship was to be theirs however.
Politics and circumstance drew them together twenty years hence, and while they initially approached one another with caution and with great reserve, they were to become not only allies but truly brothers-in-arms. Their meetings were warm and their friendship made the alliance more efficient than any other of its day.
This is not to say there weren't differences; there were indeed many important ones and they not infrequently led to serious strains on their friendship. Among such issues detailed nicely in this book were Churchill's hard-line dedication to the British Empire (and all the strategic & political implications of keeping the Empire intact) and Roosevelt's reflexive, inner Politician, a personality that could be cold, hurtful and quite disingenuous.
In the end, it certainly seems that Churchill was not only the more forthright of the two, but also the more prescient. He perceived Stalin's intentions and the coming Cold War perhaps before anyone else. His warnings however made little impression on Roosevelt or on anyone else in a position to make a difference. Unlike his ally, however, Churchill would survive long enough to see the Cold War he had predicted become our reality, to see the Russians turned back from Cuba, and to receive an honorary American citizenship from President Kennedy. Knowing Churchill just a bit leaves one with the feeling that this last honor was one he most sincerely cherished.
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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...
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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.
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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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Summary: Extraordinarily satisfying
Review: This is a expert blend of biography and history, striking an admirable balance between the two genres. You really do get much of the best of both worlds here: the intimate views of carefully researched biography, and fresh perspectives on well-known world events (especially the decisions on the timing of D-Day and the meetings of the Big Three.) It is particularly remarkable in that the personalities and accomplishments of either man, and the overwhelming events they faced, could have swamped the tale in any direction. Indeed, one has to admit that Churchill tends to dominate. But his written and oral volubility naturally had that effect, and since Roosevelt ultimately carried the military trumps, and was the more elusive and interesting character, he more than holds his own. I especially appreciate Meacham's light-handed, even deployment of his research material. One never feels that he is relying exclusively on one or two sources, or just transcribing his whole notebook. Instead, the depth and shading in the portrayal of each man extends to their primary family and professional relationships as well: Harry Hopkins, Eleanor Roosevelt, Joseph Stalin, and both Randolph Churchills, are people I now want to know better. Meacham is going for something deeper and more tender than portraiture, however - a study of friendship, perhaps the least understood human relationship. I had no idea how much time they spent together, and each of their meetings is chronicled day by day for details of their actual interactions, and their real feelings about each other. I think he gets pretty close to truth - a relationship full of humanity, respect, affection, and genuine love, consummated in truly extraordinary circumstances. All this, and it's a sensible length. Definitive, deeply satisfying, and highly recommended.
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Summary: A friendship forged in war
Review: This is an extremely informative and well-written book about the wartime friendship between Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston S. Churchill. The author makes the point that, were it not for this close bond between the two great leaders of the Western democracies, the entire history of World War II, and the subsequent peace, might have been quite different. The book shows the initial, desperate courting of the American president by the Prime Minister of an embattled nation, with the result that a very close, personal relationship sprang up between them. The author does not gloss over the imperfections of the men, particularly the way Roosevelt, later in the war, took to belittling Churchill in front of Stalin to impress the Russians. The Yalta Conference, while it does not occupy a lot of print pages, does show Roosevelt trying to cajole the Russians into his point of view, with the intention of getting them to confront the Japanese to save additional American casualties, which Churchill didn't appear to realize (possibly because he was not informed of this strategy by FDR), being more concerned with the preservation of the British Empire and its overseas possessions. There is the belief by the author that, had Roosevelt lived, he would have taken as strong a stand against Communism as Churchill, and his argument is fairly persuasive. All in all, this is a book well worth reading, as it casts an interesting light on a friendship that saved the world from tyranny.
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Summary: The friendship that made our world possible
Review: This is the story of a human and a political friendship. A seemingly unlikely friendship between a Tory Prime Minister and a Progressive President. A friendship between an extroverted, warm human being and an introverted, many layered and often secretive man. A friendship between two men who lived in a time not so very different from our own, when certainties were few, enemies seemed to spring up like mushrooms, and the whole world in danger. Their friendship did much to save that world. It was a friendship that made D-Day possible; and it was in part thanks to that friendship that Winston and Franklin made a joint decision to avenge, not save the victims of the Holocaust. Their decisions saved and cost millions of lives. They were two friends, doing their best in a world plunged into darkness. And they brought it out again-together. Winston Churchill led Britain when that island stood alone against Hitler for one year; Franklin Roosevelt patiently prodded an isolationist nation into accepting the responsibility that comes with power. And in the end, they made a "world that is for many a better one than existed before" (283). Thanks to their efforts, when "an American President and a British prime minister [today] walk through the woods of Camp David, or confer on a transatlantic telephone, they are working in the style and in the shadow of Roosevelt and Churchill. [They are reaffirming] the Anglo-American alliance [that] has been the bedrock of global order for decades" (366). A bedrock Winston and Franklin created in those fraught years of a world war.
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