James MacGregor Burns (1918-2014) was a bestselling American historian and political scientist whose work has earned both the National Book Award and a Pulitzer Prize. Born in Boston, he earned his BA at Williams College, where he returned to teach history and political science after obtaining his PhD at Harvard and serving in World War II. He served as the Woodrow Wilson Professor of Government Emeritus at Williams College and as Distinguished Leadership Scholar at the University of Maryland until his death in 2014.

This book presents answers to many of the most tantalizing riddles about the complex personality of FDR. How could this aristocrat, whose greatest youthful tragedy was a snub from tan exclusive Harvard club, become the idol of the poor and the hope of the average man? Was he really radical or essentially a conservative, determined to save old-fashioned democracy and the free-enterprise system in spite of itself? Well written, with a complete index, this volume will assist any scholar of Roosevelt in their discovery.