Knowing how WWII was one of the greatest upheavals of human history, I've been a buff for years and recommend this great book to all who are also fascinated by this period. Getting a "behind the scenes" glimpse of world events is a special treat; theirs was truly a unique relationship and one arrives at a better understanding thanks to this excellent use of source materials and narrative, by Jon Meacham. I hated to come to the end of the marvelous book.

These were this century's two most powerful wetern leaders. One had already dragged his country out a terrible financial morass and was faced with a looming conflict which would have terrible consequences for the world. The other had served honorably in opposition to appeasements offered up by misguided politicans more eager to avoid conflict than to stave off War. It was a time of giants. This book helps us understand how these two giants related, the one to the other.

This well written but superficial survey of the FDR/Churchill relationship, is most disappointing. For anyone who has read independently about FDR and about Churchill, there is nothing new here, no interesting new facts, no interesting new insights. Unfortunately, this felt like a book written just to write a book. It is possible, I suppose, that for a reader entirely ignorant about WWII and the role of the two English speaking leaders, there may be some value here.

Jon has done a splendid job of bringing to life these two titans of world history. The relationship of these two men are recreated with a detail to personal traits and their crumbling world around them. This book has been pivotal in enhancing a better understanding of both men, and particularly how Franklin D. Roosevelt, albeit his duplicity and guile, was crucial in the fight against the evil Axis powers.

Some have criticized FDR for those white lies, yet those lies and actions secured success for a slumbering nation that would have remained set in their isolationist ways, and would have certainly fallen victim to Hitler's death machine if America followed their own self interest and avoided conflict. Roosevelt was clairvoyant enough to understand the threat and coddle America's misguided sentiments and turn it into action, action that made America the clear world leader it became. A magnificent book of a magnificent man, along with his strong-willed partner Winston. Mecham's treatment of both men is sound and extremely admirable. Highly recommended.

Well, while Winston and Franklin might not have been best friends forever, it certainly is refreshing and enlightening to see this aspect of WW2 given such detail. The book is rife with quotes from direct corespondences as well as excerpts from various diaries of those surrounding these two titans. Jon Meacham does an excellent job with this book and really makes learning about these two enjoyable. While not a complaint, it is worth noting that this is NOT a history of WW2 and you should probably know the basics before diving in because Meacham jumps forward and glosses over major points, but this best serves his main focus: Churchill and Roosevelt.

Jon Meacham presents an interesting portrait of two leaders in World War II and the way they united the allies. This book is not meant to serve as a book on World War II and diplomacy but on the relationship between FDR and Churchill. In doing so the author presents a unique perspective that has not been looked at in many of the countless World War II books. The personal relationship of these two men (much like the personal relationship of their enemies Mussolini and Hitler) drove and shaped the course of the war. Each complimented each others strengths and in the end allowed for a unique position to be taken. There had been few examples of this kind of diplomacy before World War II and Meacham shows a diplomacy that would be very important thereafter. This book is filled with excerpts from personal letters and is very well cited. For those who want a different look that your standard World War II books this is an excellent place to start. It is a very light book to read and a lot of fun.

Franklin and Winston is an excellent book about the friendship between FDR, and Winston Churchill. Many people know the big-picture history between these two men, mostly centering around WWII, but few actually know and understand the smaller details between the two giants of the 20th century. Meacham does a remarkable job detailing the intimate moments between these men, often giving the reader a fly on the wall feel. Franklin and Winston is a fast-paced read, and is highly recommended.

Superbly written! Whether you like biographies or not, you will love this book!!

This is a remarkable dual biography that focuses primarily on the interactions and correspondence between these two great leaders against the backdrop of the tulmutuous events that they were both shaping and reacting to. Well researched and beautifully wrtitten , Meacham's book is historical writing at it's finest with both attention to little known details and an accessible and flowing style that entertains as well as informs.
Clearly the author has tremendous admiration for both men and is able to illuminate their characters by revealing them in relation to one another that adds great value to the numerous works available about each of them individually.
This is a book that any student of the WWII era cannot afford to miss.

This is a remarkable dual biography that focuses primarily on the interactions and correspondence between these two great leaders against the backdrop of the tulmutuous events that they were both shaping and reacting to. Well researched and beautifully wrtitten , Meacham's book is historical writing at it's finest with both attention to little known details and an accessible and flowing style that entertains as well as informs.
Clearly the author has tremendous admiration for both men and is able to illuminate their characters by revealing them in relation to one another that adds great value to the numerous works available about each of them individually.
This is a book that any student of the WWII era cannot afford to miss.

This book was a very different choice for me, a avid reader but mainly a lover of fiction. In recent years, however, I've had an increased interest in memoirs as well as other books which focus on people in a historical context. Somewhat surprisingly, I became aware of this book through Body+Soul magazine; the article, which focused on increasing optimism, suggested that Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill were two of the most optimistic men ever to hold public office.

As the title suggests, FRANKLIN AND WINSTON is truly a story of friendship, not history. Of course, with the bulk of the book set against the backdrop of World War II, zeitgeist plays a clear role in the relationship between the two men, yet it is their intimate interpersonal connection which has the starring role of this book. Author Meacham provides portraits of both men individually (incorporating accounts from those closest to the two whenever possible, such as Churchill's daughter Mary Soames), but he focuses primarily on the interactions between them, at first via letters and other correspondence (an early chance meeting in 1918 was completely forgotten by Churchill), and later, via a series of planned meetings to strategize about the war.

Much of the first third of the book centers around Churchill's attempts to draw America--by way of Roosevelt--into what was very quickly becoming a second world war. Churchill comes across as both desperate and courageous, with his Britain refusing to bow down to Hitler while at the same time almost frantically seeking Roosevelt's assistance. Of course, after Pearl Harbor was attacked in December of 1941, this became a moot point, with Britain and America finally joining forces in an effort to defeat the Germans and the Japanese. Although the book does not focus on the war directly, it paints a truly grave picture of the state of the world at that time, thus completely justifying Churchill's desperation--but not without also conveying his eternal hopefulness.

Major events of the war are relegated mostly to the background here. For example, a frequent subject of the summits between Roosevelt and Churchill was the cross-channel invasion into France, but D-Day, when it occurs, is allotted only about three pages of text. However, this works well to serve the author's purpose--that is, to keep the spotlight on the two men themselves rather than the events which were surrounding them. The story continues right up until Roosevelt's death in April 1945 (unfortunately having never visited Churchill in his home country, a trip which had been planned for the following month) and comes to its final conclusion with Churchill's own death 20 years later (on the exact same date that his father had died 70 years before).

I am trilled to have found my way to this book, a truly amazing portrayal of two men at their best in the worst of times, perhaps the worst that this world has ever known. Highly recommended!

Part biography, part personal diplomacy intrigue, part military history, and mainly a testament to the power of friendship, Jon Meacham, the managing editor of Newsweek, has written an endearing book about a remarkable friendship that, quite literally, saved the world. Fifty-five million people were killed in World War II (the Soviets alone lost twelve million soldiers), and were it not for Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, many more might have died. But their vision, wisdom, determination and collegiality won the day.

Churchill and Roosevelt were very different men, and they had their differences of opinion, especially over Stalin and his intentions (on that score Churchill was correct about later Soviet aggression, suggesting that Stalin was stitching an "Iron Curtain."). Roosevelt was a great internationalist who believed in the right of national self-determination, whereas Churchill always championed global British colonialism. Churchill complained about how slow the US was to enter the war, and the price Britain paid to go it alone for a year or so with no promise of help. Churchill, a man of huge appetites (especially for cigars and alcohol), florid speeches, and wild mood swings; Roosevelt, an emotionally distant man and master manipulator of stagecraft as statecraft. But they stood shoulder to shoulder with unveiled and nearly unqualified mutual admiration. "He is the truest friend; he has the farthest vision; he is the greatest man," said Churchill of Roosevelt, "that I have ever known" (p. 213). In a toast with Stalin and Churchill, Roosevelt spoke of his "long admiration for Winston Churchill and his joy in the friendship which had developed between them in the midst of their common efforts in this war" (p. 263).

Roosevelt died a few months before the liberation at the age of sixty-three (just weeks before Hitler committed suicide in his Berlin bunker), whereas Churchill was voted out of office after the war and lived another twenty years. "World War II was marked by incalculable bloodshed, immeasurable suffering, and the horrifying and unforgivable sacrifice of the innocent," writes Meacham. "Faced with a world at war, however, Churchill and Roosevelt did their best, together, to find a means to guide a coalition of nations through one of the defining storms of human history. Sometimes one was right, sometimes the other. But they always stayed in the arena, grappling with each other and with Stalin to find a way to win. Had they failed, or truly fallen out with each other, we could be living in a different world" (p. 283). But their epic friendship endured, and to them both the world owes a debt of gratitude.