FDR at War, 1941-1942

The Mantle of Command

By Nigel Hamilton
Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Based on years of archival research and interviews with the last surviving aides and Roosevelt family members, Nigel Hamilton offers a definitive account of FDR’s masterful—and underappreciated—command of the Allied war effort. Hamilton takes readers inside FDR’s White House Oval Study—his personal command center—and into the meetings where he battled with Churchill about strategy and tactics and overrode the near mutinies of his own generals and secretary of war. As Hamilton’s account reaches its climax with the Torch landings in North Africa in late 1942, the tide of war turns in the Allies’ favor and FDR’s genius for psychology and military affairs is clear. An intimate, sweeping look at a great president in history’s greatest conflict.

“The standard by which other books about FDR’s role in World War II will be measured.”

—Carlo D'Este, Author of Patton: A Genius for War and Warlord: A Life of Churchill at War, 1874–1945

“Hamilton keeps a brisk pace throughout 14 pivotal periods to produce what will likely be seen as a definitive volume on this aspect of Roosevelt’s career and essential reading for anyone interested in WWII, the Roosevelt Presidency, and presidential leadership.”

—Publisher's Weekly