Took me about a month to read this 400-page book. As typed out below, there were memorable passages, but it was quite a slog — I give it 2.5 out of five stars. I think part of the problem is that I get bored with the minutiae of public policy. Also, she name-drops people from about 75 years ago who may have been household names back during the Great Depression and WWII, but, to me, they're now just footnotes in the annals of U.S. history. I guess I'm living very much in the present with our 21st century problems. And it's depressing how well organized labor was back then; after FDR's death, the elites struck back so much that I fear our only future is a neo-feudal age.
a "superficial young reporter" who tries to pin Roosevelt down on whether he is a communist, a socialist, or a capitalist. Roosevelt answered no on all three scores, adding that he was "a Christian and a Democrat — that's all."
p. xviii
He became thoroughly familiar with the concept that good and evil, hope and fear, wisdom and ignorance, selfishness and sacrifice, are inseparably mixed in most human beings.
p. 44
I told him how one American who had lived in Russia a great deal had responded to my question "What makes the Russians tick?" with these words, "the desire to do the Holy Will."
...
When I told this to the President, he said, "You know, there may be something in that. It would explain their almost mystical devotion to this idea which they have developed of the Communist society. They all seem really to want to do what is good for their society instead of wanting to do for themselves. We take care of ourselves and think about the welfare of society afterward."
p.84
[[FDR said,]] "You know, the post office in every community ought to be the people's contact with the government. We ought to make more of it. The post office is a natural for co-operation between the people and the Federal Government."
p.211
[[FDR]] believed in trade unions. He had no fear of them, and he saw no reason why employers should fear them. He recognized that there had been an occasional crook in the trade union movement, but so had there been in every other human activity. He recognized that the labor unions had usually rid themselves of crooks, just as the directors of a business got rid of the occasional scoundrel they had unwittingly entertained.
...
I heard him explain to people, "You don't need to be afraid about unions. They only want to be in a position to arrange their own affairs, to agree to their own terms and conditions of work, and not be pushed around by their bosses. They really have no other objects in mind. You shouldn't be afraid to have them organize in your factory. They don't want to run the business. You will probably get a lot better production and a lot more peace and happiness if you have a good union organization and a good contract."
When someone once argued that unions might get too powerful, he said, "Too powerful for what? It might be a good democratic antidote for the power of big business, which certainly tries to dominate in many cases."
It must always be remembered that Roosevelt had no hatred of business; in fact, he had considerable admiration for what he called the good businessmen, those who made a contribution not only to the goods of the country but to the social advancement, of their employees, customers, and community. While he had no dislike for businessmen as such, he was always in strong opposition to the idea that business should dominate the life of the country; he felt keenly that it was unhealthy for our economy and contrary to decent principles of human development and culture. Productive business that did not dominate he considered a blessing to the community.
p. 294-5
The Americans seemed to [[FDR]] the best of all possible people; not necessarily the smartest or the most powerful, although he recognized their cleverness, but the ones with more goodness per thousand of population than in other countries. By goodness, I think, he meant good-heartedness, kindliness.
p. 368
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