Franklin and Winston by Jon Meacham

(An Intimate Portrait of an epic friendship) Knowing of my very high regard of FDR and Churchill, an old friend told me about this book. I have just finished reading. Over the years I have read countless books relating to WWII and the persons involved. What this book offers is a more in depth discovery of the many episodes where their lives came together during that monumental period in our history. In the interest of keeping an open mind I have also read books by authors who do not consider them as I do. No writing by any person can result in lessening my beliefs that without these two giants the world might be an altogether different place and not for the better. Under their inspired leadership the Allied Powers defeated Nazi Germany, fascist Italy and the Empire of Japan. These were powerful adversaries prepared for conflict where we were not. Isolationism was very strong in America. FDR had to take very small steps to get us rebuilding our military strength. The relationship grew steadily during the course of the conflict. At first when England stood alone Churchill was desperate to receive military hardware to be able to stave off defeat. Out of that came the 50 old destroyer deal followed by lend-lease. Once Russia was attacked they also received the weapons they needed. The book also includes intimate sections relating to each of their families. The support received was very important in aiding them to enjoy family times even while under extreme pressure. Rather than try to report on any specific situation between them, all I will do is highly recommend reading this book. If you do, I’ll bet you will have a better understanding and perhaps will feel as the vast majority of Americans did when FDR was elected to a fourth term as President. We could not stand to not have him leading us. My book is available to any interested person. Jack B. Walters May 29, 2012