Thursday, August 04, 2005
Five Days in Philadelphia
I have on occasion mocked the "Briefly Noted" book reviews in The New Yorker by simply posting them verbatim. They are often unintentionally hilarious descriptions of serious books. For example.
Every now and then, however, a "Briefly Noted" review amounts to a power-packed review of some fascinating subject that I know nothing about. Such is the review of Charles Peters new book, Five Days in Philadelphia, which describes the Republican National Convention of 1940.
The full title of the book is Five Days in Philadelphia: The Amazing "We Want Willkie!" Convention of 1940 and How It Freed FDR to Save the Western World. FDR, it seems, had at least one advantage that George W. Bush does not have.
Every now and then, however, a "Briefly Noted" review amounts to a power-packed review of some fascinating subject that I know nothing about. Such is the review of Charles Peters new book, Five Days in Philadelphia, which describes the Republican National Convention of 1940.
In June, 1940, in Philadelphia, a remarkable thing happened in American politics: Wendell Willkie, a forty-eight-year-old utility executive who had never held office, won the Republican nomination for President, defeating the isolationists Robert Taft and Thomas Dewey. Willkie was something of a liberal in a party that hated the New Deal -- a true uniter in a time of enormous division -- and he supported Franklin Roosevelt's foreign policy. Peters lovingly brings to life the era just before America entered the Second World War -- songs, movies, personalities, gossip -- along with the intrigues and the six riotous ballots of the G.O.P. Convention itself. (In the convention hall, among others, were Herbert Hoover; the widow of President Benjamin Harrison; the young Gerald Ford, accompanied by a New York model; and fifteen-year-old Gore Vidal.) In Peters' view, Willkie's nomination was crucial; after Denmark, Norway, and France surrendered to the Nazis, Willkie helped F.D.R. rally American support for England.
The full title of the book is Five Days in Philadelphia: The Amazing "We Want Willkie!" Convention of 1940 and How It Freed FDR to Save the Western World. FDR, it seems, had at least one advantage that George W. Bush does not have.
1 Comments:
By 
Cardinalpark, at
Fri Aug 05, 11:32:00 AM:
Willkie wasn't Jewish of course, and Joe Lieberman is. He's the only guy I can think of who qualifies as responsible on this topic on the DP side. Biden isn't good enough. Maybe Bob Kerrey? Although the liberal press crushed him for being an aggressive special forces operaor in Vietnam. They tried to paint him as Lt Calley junior. Might get him elected now.
