I've read quite a bit about FDR but didn't know much about his four lieutenants, Harold Ickes, Harry Hopkins, Frances Perkins, and Henry Wallace, who worked with him from the start of his presidency til his death. This book was eye-opening as to all that these four stalwarts did both during the New Deal and during World War 2. I had no idea.

Very informative, and, while I appreciated all the detail, some might find it to be too much. Not me. I'd now like to read a biography of each of these unlikely American heroes. A fascinating read.

Highly recommended!!

Title: Unlikely Heroes
Author: Derek Leebaert
Release Date: February 28th, 2023
Page Count: 476
Format: Netgalley/Audiobook
Start Date: April 1st, 2023
Finish Date: April 2nd, 2023

Rating: 5 Stars

Review:

There were so many things about FDR that I just didn't know. I feel like this book humanized him. I mean I get that we are all humans. Don't get me wrong. It's just that sometimes we only see political people in a certain way. It's a refreshing change to see them put in a more personal light so to speak. I also didn't know anything about the people who were on his team that held his standards and embraced many of his actions. This is another book that I want to get a physical copy of to annotate. I think I talked my mom's ear off about this book to the point of annoying her!

We all know the story of FDR and what he did to make America the place it is today. However, this is the story of 4 people who helped him to accomplish this almost insurmountable task. Harry Hopkins, Harold Ickes, Frances Perkins, and Henry Wallace all have a place in history, yet most of that story has not been told until now. This was a book full of things that I didn't know and loved every minute of this book.

Unlikely Heroes by Derek Leebaert is a book that tells the story of Franklin Roosevelt's four closest advisors during World War II. As a longtime admirer of Henry Wallace, I found this book to be a great exploration of the role that Wallace played in shaping policy during this critical period.

Wallace was a visionary who believed in a progressive and globalist approach to foreign policy, advocating for a post-war world built on multilateralism, economic development, and cooperation among nations. Leebaert's book provides a comprehensive account of the members of Roosevelt's administration, all of whom made important contributions.

Throughout the book, Leebaert makes a compelling case for the "lieutenants'" contributions to the war effort, arguing that they played a vital role in shaping the US government's approach to diplomacy, economics, and military strategy. Leebaert also highlights Wallace's efforts to promote racial equality and social justice, an often-overlooked aspect of his legacy.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the politics and ideology of FDR's era, and those looking for one of the moments things in the US started really going downhill: the 1944 DNC that nominated Truman.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to review a temporary digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

I found Unlikely Heroes: Franklin Roosevelt, His Four Lieutenants, and the World They Made to be a fascinating read. I liked it. Four stars.

I received an Advanced Reader’s Copy of Unlikely Heroes by NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

If you’re familiar with my blog, then you know that I am very familiar with the Roosevelt family. Well over 60 books read so I’ve given up counting. I’ve read flattering portraits of FDR and I’ve read critical accounts, too. This book falls somewhere in-between.

Roosevelt’s top advisor was Harry Hopkins, a sickly man living on borrowed time. His three most trusted advisors of his cabinet were Harold Ickes, Henry Wallace, and the first female member of the cabinet, Frances Perkins. Each of these people had terrible strains in their personal lives, whether it was Hopkins bad health, or Perkins’ husband’s Bi-Polar disorder, or Ickes complicated love life. Several of them had serious money troubles despite their above-average salaries as government officials.

Leebaert posits that these four people were really the ones responsible for all the successes in the Roosevelt administration. He claims that Roosevelt really wasn’t a great administrator, but was lucky enough to have these four smart people working for him, advising him and he ultimately took their advice. What the author does best is show the inner workings of the Roosevelt administration in detail and how they changed America.

Mad props to Frances Perkins for getting Roosevelt to not completely ignore the domestic front when World War II broke out. The work she did throughout her life, both before and after the Roosevelt administration, improved the quality of life for working families to this day. Considering all she had to go through in her personal life, it is clear that she was a born fighter. Indeed, Ickes, Hopkins and Wallace were all fighters who didn’t let their complicated personal lives interfere with their day-to-day work. Compartmentalization was key for all four of Roosevelt’s agents of change.

If you haven’t read a great deal about Roosevelt’s administration, this book is a great introduction. It does plod at times, but only in parts, and is overall a great book to add to my Presidents library.

This book was such a good read. I love FDR and learning more about his presidency and his cabinet really made me love him more. It is a well-informed read and I highly recommend it to anyone who likes FDR or even history.

Thank you to NetGalley, St Martin's Press and the author for the e-ARC of this book. This review is my own opinion.

This book focuses on four Individuals who served Franklin Roosevelt during his presidency. The author goes into great detail about the challenges both individually and politically they each had to deal with. I have read a great deal bout Roosevelt and the people who supported him. While this book was good, it did seem to plod on in parts. It will be helpful for those who have not read a great deal about Roosevelt.

I received a free ARC of this book courtesy of Net Galley and the publisher with the understanding that I would post a review on Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon, Facebook and my nonfiction book review blog.

This book was a fascinating read. Dealing with FDR’s presidency this book gives fresh historical insight into not only FDR himself but also the four people he brought alongside him- his four lieutenants. Through the depression and the war, the decisions that were made and how those decisions impacted people are all dealt with. I found it especially interesting to read how the politics of that time and social reform are still influencing so much of today’s politics and social views. If you are interested in presidential history and politics I think you will enjoy this book. It is well written and well researched. #netgalley #UnlikelyHeroes

Unlikely Heroes
by Derek Leebaert
Pub Date: February 28, 2023
Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.
Well worth the read for delving behind-the-scene of the administrations of FDR during the Great Depression and World War II.
I recommend this to all libraries.
4 stars

This was a very interesting expose of various foibles of those people who re-created America for and during WWII, but also the aftermath of the war. Those who brought us out of the Depression and created the Greatest Nation in history as a result of what was achieved during the war.

It’s a must read for all Americans. I thoroughly enjoyed it and recommend it heartily!

I appreciate this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher, St. Martin's Press, in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Derek Leebaert suggests that four members of Franklin Roosevelt’s administration were outsiders, and somehow crippled, as he would become, yet they implemented the programs of the New Deal, leading America out of the Great Depression and to victory in World War II.

Roosevelt’s top advisors were Harry Lloyd Hopkins, Harold Ickes, Henry Wallace, and, uncharacteristically for the times, a woman, Frances Perkins. Each of these men and woman struggled with obstacles such as poor physical health, depression, alcoholism, complicated married life, questionable mental health, and ruined personal finances.

I don’t agree with Leebaert’s premise that Roosevelt purposely recruited wounded outsiders who brilliantly carried America from depression to thriving post-WWII. Time enhances history with a more intimate examination of a public individual’s private life. If we could look through the same lenses at four top administrators in today’s White House, I’m sure we would see the same sordid and sorrowful circumstances which plagued those of this book. No one is without problems.

Yet, if you are a student of American History, and especially of the time covered here, you will find this book to be a detailed look at the inner-workings of the Roosevelt presidency.

Unlikely Heroes by Derek Leebaert shows the inside circle of Franklin Roosevelt, His Four Lieutenants, and the World They Made.
This biography was very interesting and I must say a bit intriguing.
I always love to give an excuse to ditch a fiction book for a nonfiction read and this one was really good.
Especially when it comes to the history of our Presidents and what our world looked like during the Great Depression and World War II.
Leebaert has written an amazing biography here and one that honestly held my attention and kept me engaged page after page.
This was a very interesting and informative book.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

St. Martin's Press,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this eARC!

Well worth the read for delving behind-the-scene of the administrations of FDR during the Great Depression and World War II.

I have been reading a great deal of books about FDR and WWII and when I saw this one, I thought it might fill in some gaps about that time period. However, the writing though informative was way too detailed for me (and I am a detail person) but when we talking about 4 influential government appointees, there really is no need to go into the details of where they lived and with who.

This book, IMHO, could do with some major editing. It might also have been better organized with a section dedicated to each of the 4 Secretaries instead of mushing it all together in time sequence making it difficult to truly understand the contributions of each person.

This book looks at Roosevelt and four of his inner staff. The author kept repeating the credentials and peculiarities of these four. I was looking for more information on Roosevelt and got bogged down in the struggles of the four people. I think it is an important book when you consider the times and the struggles the country was in.

takes on President Franklin Roosevelt’s administration through the lens of four Cabinet Secretaries whose influence spanned FDR’s presidency. covers Harry Hopkins, Harold Ickes, Henry Wallace, and arguably the most compelling figure: Frances Perkins. book targets popular audiences. Leebaert claims that these four figures wielded the most power in FDR’s administration and that their offices were more powerful than they would be today.