Her entry begins:I’m reading Joseph Ellis’s engaging Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation. Ellis lives up to his reputation as an outstanding historian. He writes about the founders -- not as serene, wise, and boring “fathers” but rather as brilliant, passionate, and unruly brothers. Yes, they collaborate in founding the new constitutional republic, making it an astonishing success; but they also collide in unexpected ways, sometimes violently. In fact, his opening chapter focuses on the 49-year-old Alexander Hamilton’s death in the famous duel with...[read on]About 1940: FDR, Willkie, Lindbergh, Hitler-the Election amid the Storm, from the publisher:
In 1940, against the explosive backdrop of the Nazi onslaught in Europe, two farsighted candidates for the U.S. presidency—Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt, running for an unprecedented third term, and talented Republican businessman Wendell Willkie—found themselves on the defensive against American isolationists and their charismatic spokesmanRead Dunn's New York Times essay, "When Partisans Became Partners," and learn more about 1940: FDR, Willkie, Lindbergh, Hitler -- the Election amid the Storm and its author at Susan Dunn's website.Charles Lindbergh, who called for surrender to Hitler's demands. In this dramatic account of that turbulent and consequential election, historian Susan Dunn brings to life the debates, the high-powered players, and the dawning awareness of the Nazi threat as the presidential candidates engaged in their own battle for supremacy. 1940 not only explores the contest between FDR and Willkie but also examines the key preparations for war that went forward, even in the midst of that divisive election season. The book tells an inspiring story of the triumph of American democracy in a world reeling from fascist barbarism, and it offers a compelling alternative scenario to today’s hyperpartisan political arena, where common ground seems unattainable.
Writers Read: Susan Dunn.
--Marshal Zeringue
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