215:
with today. No blood-pressure readings were apparently taken of
Roosevelt until Bruenn took over as his cardiologist, by which point it may have been too late to make a difference. Moreover, McIntire actively helped Roosevelt keep his secret from others but also never told him exactly how sick he was. Roosevelt may have purposely refrained from asking too many questions about his own condition, so that he himself would not know the full extent of his illness. Ferrell calls McIntire's repeated statements that Roosevelt was healthy "remarkably false." He also notes that the disappearance of Roosevelt's medical records was suspicious and that McIntire was one of only three people who could unlock the safe at
190:. It looks at the circumstances surrounding Roosevelt's final illness, who died in 1945 of a cerebral hemorrhage brought on by his cardiovascular disease. Roosevelt was diagnosed with severe hypertension in March 1944, near the end of his third term in office, by White House physician Howard Bruenn. By the end, Roosevelt had difficulty concentrating, was easily tired, and could only work four hours a day at most, but still kept his health secret even from his family and Truman.
27:
254:, said the book gives "a rich, insightful, and informed context" of the events of Roosevelt's final year. He noted the difficulty of finding the truth about Roosevelt's health amid "a wide range of contemporary rumors and often misleading official reports," as well as "Roosevelt's own mask of denial about his illnesses." A review in the
193:
Ferrell argues that
Roosevelt, a naturally secretive person, chose to hide the true nature of his serious condition rather than resign his office or allow others in his administration to take over his decision-making powers. "The president knew he was ill, even if he had delusions of immortality,"
124:
suffered during the last year of his life and presidency. Ferrell examines the lengths to which the president and his medical advisers went to keep the public in the dark about the illness, as well as the political and diplomatic problems that arose both from the illness and the secrecy. He argues
260:
said that "Ferrell's brief, tightly constructed book … makes abundantly clear that" Roosevelt's seemingly sudden death "was anything but an unexpected cosmic occurrence," but was "readily foreseeable in well-documented but equally well-concealed medical and nonmedical observations stretching back
214:
Ferrell puts some blame on
Roosevelt's personal physician from 1933 to 1945, Admiral Ross McIntire, who Bruenn thought was "out of his depth" and made a "gross misdiagnosis" because he was not a heart specialist. The medical science behind diagnosing heart attacks was then in its infancy compared
206:
to pressure doctors into staying quiet. Roosevelt's motivations may have included a desire not to be slowed down, and fear that his illness would be seen as a weakness. Ferrell writes that maintaining such secrecy may have been necessary both for national security during wartime and for political
226:, and weakened America's postwar position in Europe, China and Vietnam. He also criticizes Roosevelt for his treatment of Truman as "inconsequential," saying that his failure to "inform his successor of anything, military, diplomatic, or administrative" was "an invitation to national calamity."
197:
Roosevelt's hypertension probably appeared years earlier than Bruenn's diagnosis, although it is impossible to say for sure since his medical records are missing. But he also went to great lengths to keep his health secret, including enlisting
382:
756:
248:, called the book "a devastating critique of FDR and his conduct in 1944–1945 … when he clearly no longer had the ability to carry out the duties of the office." James Cassedy, writing in
887:
1114:
207:
expediency during
Roosevelt's fourth run for the presidency. But he also notes that secret-keeping was characteristic of Roosevelt, who also hid his use of a wheelchair due to
1129:
182:
686:
731:
269:
256:
1119:
125:
that
Roosevelt was too sick to have remained in office, and that his inability to work led to critical foreign-policy mistakes in the closing year of
242:, called the book "painstaking and exceptionally researched" and "one of the most important, and telling, works" about Roosevelt. Edmund Kallina, in
273:, was more critical, writing that she thought Ferrell's judgement of Roosevelt was too harsh and his conclusions were unconvincingly speculative.
165:
356:
1104:
1124:
532:
Lerner, Barron H. (Summer 2007). "Crafting
Medical History: Revisiting the "Definitive" Account of Franklin D. Roosevelt'sTerminal Illness".
331:
103:
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477:
244:
153:
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168:. One of the country's leading historians, Ferrell was widely considered the preeminent authority on the administration of
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717:
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222:
In his conclusion, Ferrell writes that
Roosevelt's incapacity may have needlessly prolonged both World War II and the
508:
180:
Ferrell's book is one of several he wrote about health and secrecy in the U.S. presidency, along with 1992's
780:
216:
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from the public for years: "He had always been very much a self-contained person who confided in no one."
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121:
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Trench Knives and
Mustard Gas: With the 42nd Rainbow Division in France (C. A. Brannen Series, No. 6)
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156:, was a prolific author or editor of more than 60 books on a wide range of topics, including the
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441:
Savage, Sean J. (Spring 1995). "Book
Reviews: Harry S. Truman: A Life by Robert H. Ferrell".
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Ferrell drew on newly available diaries by
Roosevelt's cousin and close confidante
126:
709:
877:
The Talkative President: The Off-the-Record Press Conferences of Calvin Coolidge
764:
583:
235:
161:
55:
844:
The Question of MacArthur's Reputation: Côte de Châtillon, October 14-16, 1918
383:"Robert H. Ferrell, presidential historian and Truman biographer, dies at 97"
1063:
Reminiscences of Conrad S. Babcock: The Old U.S. Army and the New, 1898-1918
1056:
Inside the Nixon Administration: The Secret Diary of Arthur Burns, 1969-1974
908:
223:
934:
Banners In the Air: The Eighth Ohio Volunteers and the Spanish-American War
561:
1046:
In the Company of Generals: The World War I Diary of Pierpont L. Stackpole
545:
944:
Monterrey Is Ours!: The Mexican War Letters of Lieutenant Dana, 1845-1847
172:, and also wrote books about half a dozen other 20th-century presidents.
699:
628:
553:
490:
454:
357:"Dunn on Ferrell, 'The Dying President: Franklin D. Roosevelt 19441945'"
814:
Collapse at Meuse-Argonne: The Failure of the Missouri-Kansas Division
920:
The Diary of James C. Hagerty: Eisenhower in Mid-Course, 1954-1955
856:
Unjustly Dishonored: An African American Division in World War I
643:"History: The Dying President: Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1944–1945"
341:
984:
The Kansas City Investigation: Pendergast's Downfall, 1938-1939
832:
Presidential Leadership: From Woodrow Wilson to Harry S. Truman
713:
199:
850:
Grace Coolidge: The People's Lady in Silent Cal's White House
611:
Cassedy, James H. (March 1999). "Review: Robert H. Ferrell,
977:
FDR's Quiet Confidant: The Autobiography of Frank C. Walker
909:
Dear Bess: The Letters from Harry to Bess Truman, 1910-1959
757:
Peace in Their Time: The Origins of the Kellogg-Briand Pact
967:
Holding the Line: The Third Tennessee Infantry, 1861-1864
1032:
Meuse-Argonne Diary: A Division Commander in World War I
1018:
A Soldier in World War I: The Diary of Elmer W. Sherwood
998:
A Colonel in the Armored Divisions: A Memoir, 1941-1945
820:
Five Days in October: The Lost Battalion of World War I
416:"Robert H. Ferrell, Authority on Truman, Is Dead at 97"
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The Dying President: Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1944–1945
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Truman in the White House: The Diary of Eben A. Ayers
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Off the Record: The Private Papers of Harry S. Truman
795:
The Dying President: Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1944-1945
682:
The Dying President: Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1944–1945
613:
The Dying President: Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1944–1945
473:
The Dying President: Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1944–1945
322:
The Dying President: Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1944–1945
113:
The Dying President: Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1944–1945
1005:
In the Philippines and Okinawa: A Memoir, 1945-1948
865:
748:
133:to take over as president after Roosevelt's death.
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61:
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773:Choosing Truman: The Democratic Convention of 1944
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991:A Youth in the Meuse-Argonne: A Memoir, 1917-1918
765:Ill-Advised: Presidential Health and Public Trust
183:Ill-Advised: Presidential Health and Public Trust
502:
500:
838:America's Deadliest Battle: Meuse-Argonne, 1918
687:The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society
471:Kallina Jr., Edmund F. (Summer 1999). "Review:
826:Harry S. Truman and the Cold War Revisionists
725:
680:Litoff, Judy Barrett (Spring 1998). "Review:
466:
464:
234:Reaction to the book was positive. Historian
140:and Roosevelt's cardiologist in 1944–45, Dr.
8:
19:
1115:Books about presidents of the United States
443:Register of the Kentucky Historical Society
270:Register of the Kentucky Historical Society
257:Journal of the American Medical Association
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16:1998 book by historian Robert Hugh Ferrell
1130:Health of presidents of the United States
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788:The Strange Deaths of President Harding
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188:The Strange Deaths of President Harding
120:about the cardiovascular illness which
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1011:The Autobiography of Harry S. Truman
534:Bulletin of the History of Medicine
661:10.1001/jama.280.5.482-JBK0805-5-1
509:"For F.D.R., 'Fatigue' Was Lethal"
129:and a failure to properly prepare
14:
1120:Books about Franklin D. Roosevelt
927:Fighting Soldier: The AEF in 1918
802:The Presidency of Calvin Coolidge
166:U.S. foreign policy and diplomacy
152:Ferrell, a professor emeritus at
960:Grace Coolidge: An Autobiography
478:The Florida Historical Quarterly
326:. University of Missouri Press.
245:The Florida Historical Quarterly
940:Napoleon Jackson Tecumseh Dana
617:Presidential Studies Quarterly
355:Dunn, Dennis J. (April 1998).
251:Presidential Studies Quarterly
1:
1105:Biographies about politicians
1125:History books about politics
381:Schudel, Matt (2018-08-23).
116:is a 1998 book by historian
66:University of Missouri Press
1039:Argonne Days in World War I
507:Chang, Laura (1998-07-14).
1146:
219:, where they were stored.
925:Joseph Douglas Lawrence,
24:
1095:American political books
1110:Books about politicians
1044:Pierpont L. Stackpole,
781:Harry S. Truman: A Life
217:Bethesda Naval Hospital
1090:American history books
1085:1998 non-fiction books
1037:Horace Leonard Baker,
898:The Eisenhower Diaries
655:(5): 482. 1998-08-05.
982:Rudolph H. Hartmann,
808:Truman and Pendergast
546:10.1353/bhm.2007.0038
1100:American biographies
1003:William S. Triplet,
996:William S. Triplet,
989:William S. Triplet,
894:Dwight D. Eisenhower
361:H-Pol, H-Net Reviews
1061:Conrad S. Babcock,
1030:William M. Wright,
1016:Elmer W. Sherwood,
265:Judy Barrett Litoff
261:more than a year."
118:Robert Hugh Ferrell
21:
1023:Hugh S. Thompson,
965:Flavel C. Barber,
421:The New York Times
316:Ferrell, Robert H.
154:Indiana University
1072:
1071:
749:As primary author
742:Robert H. Ferrell
592:Los Angeles Times
588:"His Secret Life"
412:Sandomir, Richard
333:978-0-8262-1171-2
240:Los Angeles Times
238:, writing in the
230:Critical response
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104:978-0-8262-1171-2
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204:J. Edgar Hoover
194:wrote Ferrell.
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158:U.S. presidency
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131:Harry S. Truman
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694:(2): 209–211.
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540:(2): 386–406.
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664:. Retrieved
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186:and 1996's
162:World War I
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1079:Categories
986:(1999)<
666:2019-01-18
597:2019-01-18
518:2019-01-18
427:2018-08-23
394:2018-08-26
366:28 January
277:References
866:As editor
267:, in the
224:Holocaust
202:director
122:Roosevelt
62:Publisher
700:23384181
629:27551974
570:23830787
562:17844721
554:44452112
491:30150565
455:23382654
342:97045797
318:(1998).
176:Synopsis
44:Language
47:English
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648:JAMA
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338:LCCN
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