The Sphinx

Franklin Roosevelt, the Isolationists, and the Road to World War II

Nicholas Wapshott

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Hardback

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English

Norton
12 December 2014

History; History of the Americas; 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000; Second World War; War & defence operations

May 1938. Franklin Delano Roosevelt recently reelected to a second term as president sat in the Oval Office and contemplated two possibilities: the rule of fascism overseas, and a third term. With Hitler's reach extending into Austria, and with the atrocities of World War I still fresh in the American memory, Roosevelt faced the question that would prove one of the most defining in American history: whether to once again go to war in Europe.

In The Sphinx, Nicholas Wapshott recounts how an ambitious and resilient Roosevelt nicknamed the Sphinx for his cunning, cryptic rapport with the press devised and doggedly pursued a strategy to sway the American people to abandon isolationism and take up the mantle of the world's most powerful nation. Chief among Roosevelt s antagonists was his friend Joseph P. Kennedy, a stock market magnate and the patriarch of what was to become one of the nation's most storied dynasties. Kennedy's financial, political, and personal interests aligned him with a war-weary American public, and he counted among his isolationist allies no less than Walt Disney, William Randolph Hearst, and Henry Ford prominent businessmen who believed America had no business in conflicts across the Atlantic. The ensuing battle waged with fiery rhetoric, agile diplomacy, media sabotage, and petty political antics would land US troops in Europe within three years, secure Roosevelt's legacy, and set a standard for American military strategy for years to come.

With millions of lives and a future paradigm of foreign intervention hanging in the balance, The Sphinx captures a political giant at the height of his powers and an American identity crisis that continues to this day.

By: Nicholas Wapshott
Imprint: Norton
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 244mm, Width: 165mm, Spine: 38mm
Weight: 834g
ISBN: 9780393088885
ISBN 10: 039308888X
Pages: 464
Publication Date: 12 December 2014
Audience: College/higher education , A / AS level , Further / Higher Education
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Reviews for The Sphinx: Franklin Roosevelt, the Isolationists, and the Road to World War II

Wapshott sees Roosevelt as a master politician, dissembling when necessary, shrewdly disarming opponents with both tough rhetoric and humor, and slowly leading a reluctant public in the desired direction. This is an informative and timely revisiting of the era in light of our current intervention in the Middle East. --Jay Freeman