The Man He Became: How FDR Defied Polio to Win the Presidency

With a searching new analysis of primary sources, NBCC award winner James Tobin reveals how FDR’s fight against polio transformed him from a callow aristocrat into the energetic, determined statesman who would rally the nation in the Great Depression and lead it through World War II.

Here, from James Tobin, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award in biography, is the story of the greatest comeback in American political history, a saga long buried in half-truth, distortion and myth— Franklin Roosevelt’s ten-year climb from paralysis to the White House.

In 1921, at the age of thirty-nine, Roosevelt was the brightest young star in the Democratic Party. One day he was racing his children around their summer home. Two days later he could not stand up. Hopes of a quick recovery faded fast. “He’s through,” said allies and enemies alike. Even his family and close friends misjudged their man, as they and the nation would learn in time.

With a painstaking reexamination of original documents, James Tobin uncovers the twisted chain of accidents that left FDR paralyzed; he reveals how polio recast Roosevelt’s fateful partnership with his wife, Eleanor; and he shows that FDR’s true victory was not over paralysis but over the ancient stigma attached to the crippled. Tobin also explodes the conventional wisdom of recent years—that FDR deceived the public about his condition. In fact, Roosevelt and his chief aide, Louis Howe, understood that only by displaying himself as a man who had come back from a knockout punch could FDR erase the perception that had followed him from childhood—that he was a pampered, too smooth pretty boy without the strength to lead the nation. As Tobin persuasively argues, FDR became president less in spite of polio than because of polio.

The Man He Became affirms that true character emerges only in crisis and that in the shaping of this great American leader character was all.

When FDR said in his first inaugural address that the only thing the American people had to fear was fear itself, he was drawing on his own experience in overcoming the effects of polio. Having pulled himself up from the reality and even more the fear of paralysis, he was prepared for the challenge of leading America s effort to overcome the paralysis of the Depression. This powerful book offers a vivid account of how Roosevelt s fight for personal recovery lit his path to the White House. I could hardly put it down. --James M. McPherson, author of Battle Cry of Freedom"

In Tobin s elegant and moving book, the story of FDR s rise from polio victim to president feels remarkably intimate. "The Man He Became" reveals the extraordinary inner strength and determination that allowed Roosevelt not just to triumph over a personal tragedy but to inspire an entire nation when it needed it most. --Candice Millard, author of The River of Doubt"

It's impossible even to begin to unravel the mystery of FDR without understanding how polio deepened and strengthened him, and brought out the character that was there all along. Tobin's compelling narrative pulls us into the greatest drama of his astonishing life. --Jonathan Alter, author of The Defining Moment"

James Tobin is a gifted storyteller. His tale of how FDR overcame polio is human, inspiring, riveting. --Evan Thomas, author of Ike s Bluff"

Over a few terrifying days in the summer of 1921 Franklin Roosevelt lost the use of his legs. As James Tobin shows us in this thoughtful, powerful book, he found something as well: a depth of character, a boundless courage, an indomitable spirit that, in time, would transform the nation. The Man He Became" is an extraordinarily important story, brilliantly told. --Kevin Boyle, author of Arc of Justice"

"When FDR said in his first inaugural address that the only thing the American people had to fear was fear itself, he was drawing on his own experience in overcoming the effects of polio. Having pulled himself up from the reality and even more the fear of paralysis, he was prepared for the challenge of leading America's effort to overcome the paralysis of the Depression. This powerful book offers a vivid account of how Roosevelt's fight for personal recovery lit his path to the White House. I could hardly put it down."--James M. McPherson, author of Battle Cry of Freedom

"In Tobin's elegant and moving book, the story of FDR's rise from polio victim to president feels remarkably intimate. "The Man He Became" reveals the extraordinary inner strength and determination that allowed Roosevelt not just to triumph over a personal tragedy but to inspire an entire nation when it needed it most."--Candice Millard, author of The River of Doubt

"It's impossible even to begin to unravel the mystery of FDR without understanding how polio deepened and strengthened him, and brought out the character that was there all along. Tobin's compelling narrative pulls us into the greatest drama of his astonishing life."--Jonathan Alter, author of The Defining Moment

"Over a few terrifying days in the summer of 1921 Franklin Roosevelt lost the use of his legs. As James Tobin shows us in this thoughtful, powerful book, he found something as well: a depth of character, a boundless courage, an indomitable spirit that, in time, would transform the nation. The Man He Became" is an extraordinarily important story, brilliantly told."--Kevin Boyle, author of Arc of Justice

"James Tobin is a gifted storyteller. His tale of how FDR overcame polio is human, inspiring, riveting."--Evan Thomas, author of Ike s Bluff"