NO ORDINARY TIME

Both were born rich. She had buckteeth and a weak chin. Before being crippled by polio, he damaged the marriage by bedding her personal secretary. This imperfect man, FDR, and his imperfect wife, Eleanor, strove mightily for a more perfect state, leading us out of the Great Depression. Prescient about the Nazi threat, FDR prepared the nation for war. He and his wife took us most of the way to victory. Starting slowly, the book accumulates telling detail, casting a powerful spell. Nelson Runger goes up the scales, rendering the deep voice of the omniscient narrator, the mirthful garrulity of FDR, and the willfully naïve falsetto of his first lady: “But Franklin, that would be wrong.” A sterling performance; an inspiring tale. B.H.C. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/SEP 03]