The Defining Moment

By Jonathan Alter

Categories: History

The Defining Moment (2006) is journalist Jonathan Alter's account of Franklin D. Roosevelt's rise to the presidency and his first hundred days in office in 1933. Alter traces Roosevelt's privileged youth, his struggle with polio and his election during the Great Depression. He then follows the bank holiday, the first fireside chat and the flood of legislation that began the New Deal, arguing that those weeks restored Americans' confidence in democracy.

Recommended by 1 person

• Fareed Zakaria: “A great read, full of stories you haven’t heard, and particularly interesting as Obama’s first 100 days are about to begin.”