1932 FDR, Hoover, and the Dawn of a New America

Listeners will be curious to compare the historic 1932 election year with our own--though the issues and the candidates were very different. Franklin Roosevelt, the patrician New York governor, roundly defeated Herbert Hoover, a competent technocrat who was oddly out of touch with his constituents. David Stifel brings both men and their era to life with the authoritative baritone of a news anchor. The election, set against the backdrop of the Great Depression, the early years of the Dust Bowl migration, and Prohibition, would prove momentous, as many Americans voted for a president they hoped could help them dig out of unemployment, debt, and despair. The author's ability to portray individuals while recounting the larger political and social upheavals of that period is impressive and makes for an absorbing narrative. L.W.S. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine [Published: JANUARY 2024]