2006-12-07 04:34:55 · 2 answers · asked by monsoon05 2 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Books & Authors
If by best you mean most readable (but also accurate and reliable), then I think you should choose No Ordinary Time by Doris Kearns Goodwin. It is a biography of both Franklin and Eleanor and a good representation of the time in which they lived. It combines the personal and the political nicely. And it is very readable, as Kearns Goodwin always is. (She did win the Pulitzer Prize for this book.)
For a more thorough treatment of his life and times, however, you might consult my favorite biography of Roosevelt: the two-volume work by James MacGregor Burns, Roosevelt: The Lion and the Fox, 1882-1940 and Roosevelt: The Soldier of Freedom, 1940-1945. (The latter title also won the Pulitizer Prize as well as the National Book Award.)
So Kearns Goodwin is the quicker read, and more personal. MacPherson is the more thorough, especially on historical background and the times.
2006-12-11 00:28:25 · answer #1 · answered by bfrank 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
FDR: A Biography, Ted Morgan (1985)
2006-12-07 12:45:20 · answer #2 · answered by Moebuggy 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋