An analysis of the four-term president's famous "fear itself" speech evaluates how FDR transformed his office and revitalized American morale throughout the first 100 days of his presidency, in an account that cites the contributions of his family members, advisors, and fellow polio survivors. 75,000 first printing. The Chicago Tribune admires Newsweek senior editor Jonathan Alter's "chutzpah" in taking up the well-worn subject of FDR's presidency. Critics claim that Alter supports his major "breakthrough"that FDR toyed with martial lawwith the flimsiest of evidence: an early draft of his inaugural address. Alter is not a historian, as evidenced by some factual errors and elision, but what some critics describe as his sloppy research is overshadowed by a compelling portrait of the backroom Roosevelt, the one making deals and restoring the ideals of American democracy. Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc. As the generation that endured the Great Depression passes on, it is essential to be reminded what this nation faced as FDR assumed office in 1933. At a minimum, a quarter of the workforce was unemployed. The threat of mass violence loomed as secure families saw their life savings wiped out. In both the U.S and abroad, liberal democracies were under siege from fascism on the Right and communism on the Left. Alter, a columnist and senior editor at Newsweek , eloquently captures the fevered, frightened state of the nation in 1933. In a brief biographical sketch of Roosevelt's life, Alter strongly emphasizes aspects that gave him a powerful will and supreme self-confidence. Alter recounts the flurry of the first 100 days of FDR's administration, which forever altered the relationship between American citizens and the federal government. This superbly researched and well-written work serves as a vital reminder of the importance of leadership during this great national ordeal. Jay Freeman Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved "A brilliant account. . . . Alter s careful prose is matched with relentless research." -- The Sunday Oklahoman "Alter is true scholar of politics. . . . Here is how politics is done, he seems to be saying. Did you forget?" -- The New York Sun "Alter s account has a refreshing buoyancy, not unlike its protagonist. . . . Succeeds in bringing a remarkable man back to life." -- The New York Times Book Review "Eloquently captures the fevered, frightened state of the nation in 1933. . . . Superbly researched and well-written." -- BOOKLIST "Fascinating. . . . Alter's writing is deft. . . . A remarkable achievement. . . . This is indeed a defining book." -- BOOKPAGE "If you read THE DEFINING MOMENT, you ll have to agree that FDR may have been the most interesting president ever." -- St. Louis Post-Dispatch "The birth of the New Deal, capably recounted. . . . Well-written." -- KIRKUS Jonathan Alter is a senior editor at Newsweek , where, since 1991, he has written an acclaimed column on politics, history, media, and society at large. He is also an analyst and contributing correspondent for NBC News. Alter lives in Montclair, New Jersey, with his wife and three children. "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." Some speeches live forever, and Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1933 inaugural address, carried to tens of millions of Americans by radio at the lowest depths of the Great Depression, remains among them. Eight days later, FDR delivered his first "fireside chat." When a special session of Congress adjourned after exactly 100 days, major programs for economic regulation, relief, reform and recovery were in place. Hope and optimism had been restored. Jonathan Alter's The Defining Moment focuses on this brief period, but also ranges backward and forward in time to set the stage and assess the consequences. A Newsweek columnist, Alter has given us a "journalistic" take, in both the good and not-so-good aspects of that adjective. His narrative moves along well but will disappoint readers who expect new facts or interpretations. Neither a history of the New Deal nor a biography of FDR, the work is strongest when it focuses on personalities and political tactics, weakest when it describes policies. Alter has a reporter's eye for the good story but at times dwells on the sensational rather than the significant. Those who know the extensive literature on Roosevelt will recognize familiar stories long since delivered by other authors -- the machine-gun emplacements on Inauguration Day and FDR's fear of house fires, to name two. More problematic is Alter's claim to an original discovery -- an unused sentence in a draft of an address to the American Legion: "As new commander-in-chief under the oath to which you are still bound I reserve to myself the right to command you in any phase of the situation which now confronts us." He takes this as evidence that FDR, or one of his speechwriters, was considering the establishment of "a makeshift for