9780300190861

1940: FDR, Willkie, Lindbergh, Hitler—the Election amid the Storm

Set against the explosive backdrop of the Nazi onslaught in Europe, this book focuses on the pivotal election of 1940. Two far-sighted candidates were competing for the White House—Democrat Franklin Roosevelt,  running for an unprecedented third term, and Republican businessman Wendell Willkie. Both internationalists, they found themselves on the defensive against American isolationists and their charismatic spokesman Charles Lindbergh, who called for surrender to Hitler’s demands. The book brings to life a cast of characters, including Joseph P. Kennedy; FDR’s speechwriter Robert Sherwood; and General George Marshall.