A good counter to the generally fawning accounts of FDR. He was not a hero or a villain, just a typical politician. More useful because the author made his case at the time and against the current of opinion. ( )

An essential critique of the myth of the New Deal. I was spoon fed the common story throughout my initial education. This book single-handedly corrects the balance. It's also a beautiful example of writing. It's simple and organized. Several sections could be excerpted as a stand-alone essay, most notably his explanation of price efficiency (p. 313 -315). Flynn included complete footnotes and I find his analysis credible. Roosevelt was not an economic savior, but an opportunist who created the long Great Depression. He was not merely a politician but a higher form of political boss well funded through unlimited debt borrowed from the future of his own people. He was not a brilliant statesman, but a man who negotiated away much of Europe because Stalin and Churchill weren't as easily fooled as the depressed US people. ( )