Freedom from Fear

Reviews

“We expect the best from David Kennedy and he will not disappoint anybody…A major and thoroughly fine piece of work.”

“An engrossing narrative of a momentous time. The best one-volume account of the Roosevelt era currently available…Good old-fashioned history.”

“One of our most broad-gauged American historians brings us that increasing rarity: a big book about a big subject…The Stanford scholar takes on the job of tracing the American people through three of the most important and widely written about epochs in the century…and provides us with consistently original and sometimes startling conclusions.”

“Kennedy skillfully weaves together the era’s social, economic, and political strands. Even those who thought they knew it all, or who indeed lived through all or most of these years, will find illuminating information and insights on almost every page.”

“Splendid…It is a worthy addition to the multi-volume Oxford History of the United States and deserves to become the standard work of introduction to its three subjects—the Depression, the New Deal, and America’s part in the second world war…Mr. Kennedy is master of his material in a double sense. He exhibits a comprehensive knowledge of events, making very few factual slips...The benefit, in terms of clarity, is immense…This is one of the most valuable forms of scholarly originality, and it will make itself felt over a long time.”

“A grand historical synthesis…the kind of book prizes are made for.”

“This is modern America’s story—modern America’s most thrilling, most irresistible, and most significant story—and in this massive volume, David M. Kennedy makes it his story in a way that no one has before. Freedom from Fear, the fourth installment of the new Oxford History of the United States to appear, is as much a triumph as its predecessors, providing every indication that the series, once completed, will stand as the most comprehensive and most compelling narrative history of the nation.”

“Kennedy’s grasp of deep-rooted social problems and his enlightening, analytical style are very much in evidence…His narrative style is in the grand tradition of American historical writing, an unfaltering display of clarity and detail.”

“Kennedy’s book is the most illuminating, riveting, comprehensive, and graceful one-volume history of this nation’s experiences during the Great Depression, New Deal, and WWII published to date…This is social, political, diplomatic, and military history written magisterially with broad but nuanced strokes across a sixteen-year span that utterly transformed the lives of Americans and the world…Librarians should order this book for their libraries, faculty members should assign it, and everyone should read it.”

“David Kennedy is one of America’s most distinguished historians, and Freedom from Fear is a remarkable achievement: deeply researched, insightful, and beautifully written. Fast-paced, it presents vivid portraits of major actors such as Roosevelt, Churchill, and Hitler, as well as of the hopes and fears of millions of lesser-known people caught up in the tumultuous years of the Great Depression and of World War II.”

“From its dramatic prelude…to its moving climax…this panoramic narrative pulses with life, color, incident, and action. We know how it all comes out, yet the fate of the nation seems to hang in the balance as Kennedy captures history’s throat-catching contingency.”

“Rarely does a work of historical synthesis combine such trenchant analysis and elegant writing as does Kennedy’s spectacular contribution to the Oxford History of the United States…Because of its scope, its insight and its purring narrative engine, Kennedy’s book will stand for years to come as the definitive history of the most important decades of the American century.”

“As Franklin Roosevelt said at his inauguration in 1932, ‘The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.’ The Great Depression was destroying America, and voters elected Roosevelt to save the country. The initials of New Deal programs—the WPA, CCC, and NRA—became common vocabulary but did little to cure unemployment. The recovery of the US economy came with WWII and the gearing up to fight a two-ocean war. Narrator Tom Weiner transforms the author’s Pulitzer Prize–winning prose into a 32-hour experience worth every minute of listening. Weiner’s brisk and sonorous delivery keeps the interest level high without missing a well-chosen word. Both he and the author speak the language of the war in its vast reaches. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award.”

“Displaying a literary craft uncommon in survey works, he has woven together narrative, sketches of character, and critical judgment to record and analyze the economic, political, social, and military events of these epic years…This account of the crucial struggles and events of the Depression and war years will lend perspective like few others.”

“A major achievement in objective historical writing that should be a legacy to generations of students seeking authoritative reference material on the period.”

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