Franklin and Winston

This book is the story of the personal friendship between Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill during WWII. The author is Jon Meacham who is an editor at NEWSWEEK.

This is a very readable, very well researched book. The author draws upon letters written by R & C to each other as well as correcpondence with their wives and other confidants.

Rooselvelt comes off as a very charming individual who was greatly admired by almost everyone close to him and deeply loved. Ironically, Roosevelt is a master of manipulating others for his own purposes. He deeply wounded almost everyone around him including Churchill. Nevertheless, his prudence in guiding the US into the war and his strategic decisions as to how to fight it were masterful.

Churchill is a man who was deeply principled in his opposition to Hitler and a man who was intensely brave. He was skeptical and then wary of Stalin long before others saw Stalin's real intent. He was derided for his warnings against Stalin, but turned out to be right. Churchill was also a stirring orator, but his penchant for speech-making sometimes aggravated Roosevelt. He had a capacity to genuinely love others and was blessed with a spry wit.

The book is a fascinating read for anyone who is a fan of either man or for one who is a WWII buff.