The Last 100 Days

"Excellent...remarkably well-researched...a valuable contribution to our knowledge of Roosevelt."

"A balanced, readable book based on thorough archival sources that will have considerable appeal to historians and political scientists, as well as general readers interested in the presidency."

"An elucidating, poignant study of an elusive leader."

"They say the fruit tree produces its greatest harvest in its last season. Perhaps the last few months of FDR's administration, so overshadowed by the first few months, may be as important. Woolner deftly brings those last moments in power beautifully alive and leaves us with a lasting sense of the man as well as his accomplishments."

"The Last 100 Days is an imaginative, deeply researched page-turner that is a pleasure to read. At a time when many Americans find the White House desolating, David Woolner invites the reader to enjoy some time with a president who, even in his final year, radiated good cheer and hope for our country's future."

"In this magisterial account, David Woolner makes a compelling case that FDR's last hundred days deserve to be ranked in importance with the first. Drawing on unequalled knowledge of both Roosevelt and the sources, Woolner refutes the notion of a feeble dying president who had lost his grip and was unwilling to confront difficult issues. He shows that an exhausted FDR conserved his limited energies single-mindedly to concentrate in the two most important issues facing the President--winning the war over the Axis powers and securing post-war international cooperation. A wonderfully lucid and convincing study."

"Everyone knows about FDR's First Hundred Days but until now there has been little notice of his last. In this finely-honed and impressively accessible account, David Woolner offers an up-close and insightful look at a dying president wrongly maligned for giving away too much at Yalta and beset by the immediate dangers of the postwar period."

"David Woolner has 'hung around' with FDR for over a quarter-century, and we are the beneficiary of that special relationship. Neatly using the last hundred days as a vehicle for a broader assessment, Woolner has given us an honest, solidly researched appreciation of Roosevelt's dreams and actions--dreams and actions that shaped the remainder of the 20th century."

"At a time when a majority of Americans are so disillusioned about politics, and with a sitting president under investigation for possible impeachable offenses, David Woolner's book offers a compelling look at a great Chief Executive. His portrait of FDR's last hundred days is a powerful reminder of courageous leadership and provides hope that we can return to presidential effectiveness in the not too distant future."

"We know the story-of course we do. But David Woolner invests it with a sense of Greek tragedy, as we watch a man struggling against time, fate and the furies to complete his life's work. In The Last 100 Days, Woolner uses his unrivalled knowledge of the archives to bring alive with vivid new detail FDR's grand finale and to show how the dying president tried to bring peace to the world--even though his private life remained in turmoil. In an era when the American presidency is under particularly intense scrutiny, here is a sobering yet uplifting account of the demands and costs of power."

"Franklin Roosevelt's last 100 days were every bit as fascinating and consequential as his first. If you want to know how much of the modern world came to be, this is the place to begin."