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deearr's review
5.0
Author Steve Neal brings yesterday into today as he presents intricate details of how Franklin Delano Roosevelt won the Democratic Party nomination in 1932. Even though FDR possessed a clear majority of votes over his rivals, party rules at that time required that a candidate must receive two-thirds of the votes from attendees at the 1932 Democratic Convention in Chicago. Roosevelt faced the possibility of not being able to gather the necessity votes on the opening ballots, thus opening up the splintering of his support and allowing the nomination to slip to another.
The author describes each potential presidential candidate in depth, and meticulously sketches a thorough picture of the political scene in 1932. We are privy to many of the battles, both public and private. One has to wonder at the thought process that would prompt politicians to debate whether or not the repeal of Prohibition should be part of the party platform, at a time when we look back at the era and consider that the Great Depression should have overshadowed any other subjects...but good ideas, bad ideas, they are all included in this interesting history of the political machinations that were necessary to give FDR a shot at the Presidency. Five stars.
The author describes each potential presidential candidate in depth, and meticulously sketches a thorough picture of the political scene in 1932. We are privy to many of the battles, both public and private. One has to wonder at the thought process that would prompt politicians to debate whether or not the repeal of Prohibition should be part of the party platform, at a time when we look back at the era and consider that the Great Depression should have overshadowed any other subjects...but good ideas, bad ideas, they are all included in this interesting history of the political machinations that were necessary to give FDR a shot at the Presidency. Five stars.
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