Thank you NetGalley and Random House for an ARC of this book.

Jonathan Darman's Becoming FDR: The Personal Crisis That Made a President offers a compelling look at the formative years of Franklin D. Roosevelt, focusing on the personal struggles that shaped his future leadership. Darman's meticulous research shines through, providing a detailed and well-documented portrait of FDR's early life, especially his battle with polio and its profound impact on his character and political career.

However, while the book excels in its factual accuracy and depth of detail, it sometimes falters in its historical analysis. Darman tends to make broad leaps in connecting Roosevelt's personal crises directly to his later policies and presidency, occasionally oversimplifying the complex interplay of factors that influenced his development. This can lead to a somewhat speculative tone, where the nuanced realities of historical causation are replaced with more straightforward narrative connections.

Overall, Becoming FDR is a valuable read for those interested in the personal dimensions of political history, though it may leave some wanting a more rigorous exploration of the broader historical context.

A look into the life of F.D.R. from his birth, childhood, schooling, and then marriage. You then see the dynamics of the family after the children are born between him and Elneore and at times his mother. When he becomes ill with polio this changes everything not just for him but also for the family. You slowly see how he becomes the man he became in politics, but you also get to see the woman Elinore began as well. I saw this as a book of both of them becoming two different people yet at times she needed to be there for him. I have mixed feelings about this book but you need to read it yourself and see what you think. Well well-researched and I thought well written also.

This wasn’t the book for me, but I admire the amount of research the author did to write it. I would recommend to fans of FDR and history.

Becoming FDR
The Personal Crisis That Made a President
by Jonathan Darman
(The Review is based on an ARC sent to me by NetGalley)
“An illuminating account of how Franklin D. Roosevelt’s struggles with polio steeled him for the great struggles of the Depression and of World War II.”—Jon Meacham
Born in 1882 to a wealthy, influential family he soon showed his charm, force of personality and strength of character.
Soon after contracting polio in 1921 at the age of thirty-nine, the former failed vice-presidential candidate was left paralyzed from the waist down.
For many years to come Warm Springs would be where he would retreat in comfort for hydrotherapy. With his physiotherapist at Warm Springs, Roosevelt laboriously taught himself to walk short distances while wearing iron braces on his hips and legs, by swiveling his torso.
Roosevelt swam daily for the next two weeks. He also began to explore the countryside and towns meeting the local folks. It was here that Roosevelt got his first glimpse of rural southern poverty and it left a very strong impression on him.
He also commented on the beauty of the area and the hospitality he received, what he called “the Spirit of Warm Springs.” He would come to rely upon these qualities, this spirit, for the next 21 years.
By the time he reemerged on the national stage in 1928 as the Democratic candidate for Governor of New York, his character and his abilities had been transformed. He had become compassionate.
He had discovered how to find hope in a seemingly hopeless situation—a belief that he employed to motivate Americans through the Great Depression and World War II.
This biography of Franklin D. Roosevelt shows how adversity can lead to greatness and influence he had on the American people during the great depression and inspire the world.

“Becoming FDR” is an in depth story of Franklin Delano Roosevelt! Darman’s account of FDR is one of the best biographies of FDR that I have come across. There are little known facts and stories that come to light in his book. If the reader’s genre is history then this an excellent addition to his or her library! This story is strictly about FDR, usually Franklin Roosevelt is paired with Churchill, or with Stalin and Churchill, as in the big three! Surprisingly, many of his ideas and policies parallel what is the belief of the current Democratic Party, good or bad! Many, then, agreed with his policies, again probably the same number disagreed! It was FDR’s personality, as being popular with the public, that carried him forward. He knew how to communicate with the American people and make himself accessible to the public!. An art in communication that is lost today unfortunately!

Becoming FDR is a great book about a very special president - FDR. The focus of this book helps me understand how important polio was to making this man a great president for the USA at a very tough time in our history. I also found it interesting how polio made Eleanor a very special first lady as well. Hard times tend to build our character and it definitely did in this case.
Special thanks to Jonathan Darman for providing a well written biography that gave us new insight. I bought the audio book so I can listen again and again.

I learned so much about FDR that I didn't know before. I loved the huge focus on how he dealt with polio. I found it fascinating. A well written biography! Highly recommended.

This latest offering about the life and career of Franklin Delano Roosevelt sheds new light on this well-known President. History readers will enjoy learning more about FDR and the ways in which he overcame adversity to become successful at his political roles. Particular attention is paid to how his physical disability and struggles with polio transformed him from a young man lacking in empathy to a strong, thoughtful, and successful political figure.

I received this book from the publisher and from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

BECOMING FDR: The Personal Crisis that Made a President

Jonathan Darman is a journalist and historian who has writes about American politics and the presidency. I received this book to my Kindle free or the purpose of reviewing. My review can be positive or negative.

However, this book was an excellent look into the life of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Frankin was the only child and came from means. He studied well and became an excellent candidate to hold political office as he lived in New York and was very out there. He had a plan to be president but in 1920 he was just a wealthy man serving himself. He was so arrogant and had a bit of entitlement spirit. He was the nephew of Theodore Roosevelt but they differed in their political statements. Franklin was quite a planner and had a strategist to get him where he wanted to go.

But, God had other plans for this arrogant young man who had a family, an never-ending devotion from his mother and seemed to be moving ahead in his plan. He served in the Washington circles as an assistant to secretary of Navy.

But CRISIS struck while at his family island home Campobello with his family. He was healthy and vibrant young adult until one morning awoke and couldn't move legs, sit up or breathe easily. He had been struck with infantile paralysis. His return to life as he knew it would never be the same.

Mr. Darman did his study and accurately portrays CRISIS as the making of a real man. Things changed rapidly and Franklin's future looked bleak. But he didn't give up. He founded the Warm Springs Resort as a place where he becomes convinced he would walk again. He was convinced the springs of warm water would allow him to walk again. He became an excellent listener to many others at Warm Springs and in the process gained the respect and admiration of the Georgian residents and patients.

Truly from this point on he became a man of reality and sought to get out of himself. He sought to be a man of character of compassion rather than entitlement.

I enjoyed the study of FDR and his life during and after CRISIS. He proves over and again that the infantile paralysis was a tremendous benefit to him.

Excellent as anyone loves history and wants to study a former political figure

Fantastic insight into how FDR transitioned personal tragedy into becoming a dynamic leader. A great reminder that it is never too late to address your issues and reinventing yourself.

I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Net Galley and Random House Publishing Group for the chance to read and review this book. The opinions expressed are my own.
I really like reading about FDR so this book was right up my alley. This book deals with how getting polio affected his Presidency, and I think made him a better President. It is a very well written book with lots of details. I would recommend you read this book if you like learning about FDR and his Presidency.

I highly recommend this book as it brings our past to life by delving into the actual lives of FDR, Churchill and others. The author gives us whole people we can now understand much more fully and not just the actions of these people.

I will most definitely use this book in my curriculum and offer my gratitude to the author for this outstanding book that brings our past to life.

Prior to the polio diagnosis that changed his life trajectory, Franklin Roosevelt had a plan for becoming President of the United States. Although polio had the potential to derail him, it did not. As Jonathan Darman illustrates in "Becoming FDR," Roosevelt's struggles actually made him a stronger candidate and leader. Darman is a great writer, and I really enjoyed his account of the period between FDR's diagnosis and his first presidential election. The details of Roosevelt's connection to Warm Springs, along with the account of the 1932 election, were very interesting -- I learned a lot. It left me wanting to know more about this time. As Darman mentions, Roosevelt didn't often reveal what was going on beneath his good-natured surface, but I would have loved to learn more about him.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC.

A really interesting account detailing a part of FDR's life that often gets overlooked. Thinking about how FDR's polio affected his worldview deserves the serious study this book gives it. The author lays out a pretty convincing theory that FDR likely would not have rose to be president had he not contracted polio as before this he relied almost solely on his connections and family name to get ahead. He wasn't really seen as having a great grasp of the issues and didn't buckle down to study things until after polio. Also quite interesting is the book's focus on Eleanor Roosevelt. It gives a good part of the book to her story and how she dealt with FDR's diagnosis and it is well worth it.

I've read a great deal about Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt and their family. I've written about their relationship myself. This book was a revelation. Its thesis is that Franklin's polio ejected him from his life as a pampered member of the elite — a "feather duster" — and forced him to develop gravitas and grit. He learned to sympathize and connect with others who were suffering. Jonathan Darman supports his story with satisfying detail, and he paces it deftly. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys history and insight about the emotional lives of leaders.

This book is aptly titled "Becoming FDR" as it is centered around FDR getting and living with polio. What differentiates this book from typical biographies or historical non-fiction, is there is an incredibly sensitive and compassionate lens through which the author, Jonathan Darman writes. He convincingly lays out the premise that until the onset of this chronic illness and disability, FDR was basically a privileged and entitled empty suit who was not very spectacular except for his distant relation to Teddy Roosevelt. But FDR changed and became a different type of leader when he faced his own vulnerability by internalizing into his character. He became an empathetic and compassionate leader of others. At the same time, he did everything possible to conceal and downplay his disability. He was clearly a people pleaser and grew up learning to suppress his feelings -- because of this, in some cases he was perceived as not being completely honest in his communications (being called a liar behind his back). . In general, those perceptions are only touched on in this book because this is largely a favorable portrait of the legacy of FDR and does not address his position during the Holocaust of turning away Jewish refugees, etc. I appreciated that the author gave us insight into Eleanor Roosevelt and what she was thinking and feeling during the marriage. This was such a refreshing read -- not dry at all! And I loved how each chapter ended like a cliff-hanger with a cryptic preview of what was coming next - it made it difficult for me to put down. I noticed that the author has written other books such as "Landslide" about LBJ and Reagan which I will definitely also read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you for the free ARC of this book. It is a very accurate account of the lives of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, and the era in which they lived. I highly recommend this book.

I just read Doris Kearns Goodwin's book about FDR and Eleanor last month NOT thinking about how I had this book this month to read [<i>even with stuff written down, stuff just flies out of my head<i>], but now that I have finished this one, I am glad I had the opportunity to read both so close together.

This was a very detailed book about FDR's early life and what happened when he was struck with polio up to when he first entered office and it was...well, it was really, really good. Many of the things that I felt weren't fleshed out or mentioned and then ignored in the Doris Kearns Goodwin book [<i><b>THIS</b> is not a disparaging remark about that remarkable book and author. Her book is simply amazing and I loved both it and the author {whom I have had the opportunity to meet - she is lovely}. It is simply a statement that this book covers much that the other book doesn't</i>] are covered here [<i>it was fascinating to learn about the days after FDR got sick, as well as learning about Eleanor's early life {and weren't HER parents a lovely duo <b>*EYEROLL*</b> - the section about them being on a ship that crashes and what happens afterward was enough to make me mad for DAYS and also made me understand her and some of her later actions more} and lonely childhood</i>] and it is much more in-depth than I really expected. I learned even more about him and his outlook about life, but also how he would walk away from people who he felt couldn't keep up with him [<i>in any way</i>]. It was a very interesting deep-dive into their life and I am so glad I got the chance to read this.

I would, if I may, recommend this audiobook for this. I didn't receive this from NetGalley, but when I saw this was narrated by the excellent Will Damron, I knew I wanted to listen to this instead of reading it and I was absolutely not let down. He tells this story is such a great way and really makes the story come alive. I think I enjoyed this book even more because of that. I highly recommend it [<i>and him. I have never not loved his narration of a book</i>].

Overall, this was a really excellent read that anyone who likes or admires FDR would really benefit from reading. I am so glad I was asked to read this.

I was asked to read and review this by the publisher and I like to thank them [Random House Publishing Group/Random House], NetGalley and Will Damron - Narrator for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

If you were born before 1955 your parents spent every summer worried about you catching polio. Thousands of children caught it every year, some died, others ended up in an iron lung. Still more were paralyzed. When a somewhat vapid young patrician caught it in his thirties it was uncommon, but not unheard of. Most would have assumed his active life was over.

Instead polio was the making of the man. Such a thing cannot be predicted, of course, but something in him rose to the challenge and transformed him. This book tells the story of his transformation. It was utterly fascinating, and well written. I learned a lot, and grew in my admiration for both Franklin and Eleanor.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

Becoming FDR: The Personal Crisis That Made a President
Jonathan Darman
Random House
Expected Pub Date 6 Sept. 2022
Bio/Memoir-Modern US History

Darman's work is well-written and well researched. The thesis is sufficiently met as Darman does use FDR's contraction of polio to show it served as a catalyst for the 39 year old man to change some of his ways and become more determined to become president. The book examines what most consider one of the United States most important presidents from his wealthy beginnings through his sordid adulthood, getting sick and persevering, and into his presidency. Like a few other authors, Darman shows that FDR was unremarkable, shallow, foppish, and slightly forgettable man that, while determined, didn't outwardly seem destined toward a path to reach his ultimate goals. Once he contracted polio he could have stepped back fully into the shadows, but instead, as Darman and others have shown, the illness pushed FDR to become more in the eyes of many until he become the face of a nation during a difficult time period.

If you don't know a lot of FDR then you will probably learn a lot from this book. Having a degree in history and spending many hours reading and researching US presidents means there was little that I learned from this, but I did stay relatively engaged and found the writing to be easy to follow.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for the digital ARC of this work in exchange for my honest review.