Book Review: His Final Battle by Joseph Lelyveld

Note: Was having trouble getting Wix to upload the cover of this book; in its stead, please enjoy this GIF of a young cowpoke.

One of the most memorable classes I took in college was The Presidency. As the title suggests, it was all about the Executive Branch of government. The professor was the same guy who taught Dan Quayle and gave him a D. I did one better and got a C. Two lessons stuck with me. One: Tuesday/Thursday hour and a half seminar classes first thing in the morning SUCK. And two: When it came to working with Cabinet members, nobody in history was better than Franklin Roosevelt. He would assign two Cabinet secretaries to do the same job to get two different perspectives. He would assign a Secretary to make a decision about a completely different department. He put his secretaries on their toes, and got some great analysis, but was also created a very frustrating environment to work in.

For most of the 11-12 of the 13 years Roosevelt was president, that was probably by design. For about the last year or so, he may not have known what he was doing.

Joseph Lelyveld's His Final Battle explores Roosevelt's last year and a half in office, starting with his conference with Churchill and Stalin in Tehran and ending with his death. While Roosevelt was a very private person and there are still crucial gaps in our knowledge of his inner workings, Lelyveld is able to weave together a long but gripping story.

This book highlights how complex a character Roosevelt was, and how slick he was with those around him. He played Churchill and Stalin against each other and claimed loyalty to each of them. In the leadup to the 1944 Democratic convention he promised his sitting Vice President, Henry Wallace, his full support, then worked behind his back to get him dumped from the ticket. He told Treasury Secretary Morgenthau that he agreed wholeheartedly with Morgenthau's plan for a conquered Germany to be reduced to an agricultural state, while simultaneously throwing out the idea. Roosevelt also had a marriage where he rarely saw his wife and had not one but two potential mistresses - one of them was visiting with him at the time of his death and had to leave quickly in order not to be swept up in the story of his demise.

None of this is to say that Roosevelt was a BAD person, just that he was a very complex person who could do great things as well as incredibly backhanded things. He greatly appreciated the power that came with being the President of the United States, and wanted to use it to end all wars by creating the United Nations. His biggest ongoing problem in the last year and a half of his life was ensuring a free and democratic Poland. And, as stated above, he commanded an overworked but loyal Executive Branch which steered the Allies to victory in WWII.

He was also dying. He had had a "minor" heart attack earlier in his presidency, but treatments for heart disease were not well known at the time. He also had an obsequious medical team who refused to believe he was in any danger - after the stroke that killed him, Roosevelt's main doctor gloated that he was right all along about his heart being strong. Despite the pleas of his head-in-the-sand medical staff, people around Roosevelt definitely noticed his decline, and some of his light-headed moments were not only noticeable in public but may have had far-reaching consequences - at the Yalta conference, held months before Roosevelt's death, Stalin was able to pick up victory over victory, a huge part of which was due to Roosevelt being checked out by then. What is unknown is whether Roosevelt knew at all how terrible a condition he was in during this last year and a half, and if so to what extent he knew. Based on his intelligence it's assumed that he must have known something (even if he couldn't pry the information from his doctors). Nevertheless, he carried on, holding the world on his shoulders until he shuddered and collapsed.

Here's a comparison you won't hear too often - this book about Roosevelt's final days reminded me most of Grant Morrison's great All Star Superman graphic novel. All Star Superman is a non-canon (I think? The DC universe is weird) comic book about the death of Superman (not the one you're thinking of - this is a completely different story). The graphic novel compiles a good number of issues (might have been a six-issue miniseries, but don't remember offhand), but Superman's "death" happens right at the beginning - Lex Luthor exposes him to some cosmic object that kills Kryptonians, and from that point on Superman is dying. So what does he do? He prepares for the end in some ways, but for the most part...he keeps being Superman. He keeps doing good and fighting to protect people, right up to the very end, despite his end being in sight.

If you believe Roosevelt knew to at least some extent that he was in a bad situation health-wise, he was just like Superman. He also prepared for the end - the above-mentioned dumping of Henry Wallace was so he could get a Vice President on his ticket who would be more ready to step in as President if need be - but he kept on making decisions and leading the free world to the best of his abilities each and every day.

This book reflects Roosevelt as a complex and doomed man, but also a determined one, who did not let his physical state dictate what he was capable of doing. It's a fascinating book and highly recommended. Eight out of ten hot dogs!