Roosevelt’s Inauguration coincided with Hitler’s rise to power in Germany. Roosevelt was committed to getting the economy back on track and trying to stay out of the coming storm in Europe. Hoping that international trade would help the struggling economy he appointed ambassadors to Europe who would be his eyes and ears.
The four most influential ambassadors were William Bullitt first stationed in the Soviet Union and later in France. Breckinridge Long, a long time friend, was sent to Italy where he came to admire Mussolini. William Dodd, professor of history, was sent to Germany. He became appalled at what he saw happening in the country. The fourth ambassador was Joseph P. Kennedy to whom FDR owed political favors. Kennedy would settle for nothing less than and ambassadorship and was sent to England. His sympathies were on the side of Hitler which made his reporting to Roosevelt rather biased.
The book relies on the papers of the four ambassadors as well as documents from members of the administration. The four men saw the world through their own eyes which often resulted in biased reporting to Roosevelt. This is an insightful look at what was happening in Europe during Hitler’s rise to power and the lead up to WWII. I found the book fascinating. It was easy to read and caught me up in the drama of that time.
I received the book from St. Martin’s Press for this review.
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