Includes bibliographical references (p. [791]-825) and index.

Acclaimed biographer Smith combines contemporary scholarship and a broad range of primary source material to narrate the epic life of the president who, more than any other individual, changed the relationship between the American people and their government. We see how Roosevelt's energy, intellect, and personal magnetism permitted him to master countless challenges. Smith recounts FDR's battles with polio and physical disability, and how they helped forge the resolve to surmount the turmoil of the Great Depression and the wartime threats. FDR's private life is also depicted, with close attention paid to the four women who molded his personality and helped to inform his worldview: His mother; his wife, Eleanor; Lucy Mercer, the great love of his life; and Missy LeHand, his secretary, companion, and confidante. Smith also tackles the failures and miscues of Roosevelt's public career. Smith gives us a clear picture of how this Knickerbocker aristocrat, a man who never had to depend on a paycheck, became the common man's president.--From publisher description.