I am currently re-reading Freedom From Fear, the superb history by David Kennedy of 1929-1945 in the United States. I emphasize re-reading, since this sucker weighs in at 900 pages, but I'm a history buff, and the Depression and World War 2 is at the top of my list of interests.
I'm halfway through this tome at this point, just before the attack of Pearl Harbor. I can share a few thoughts off the top of my head:
+ Roosevelt was much more hamstrung by an uncooperative Congress than most people remember. It's incredible he got as much done as he did, particularly in the late 1930s.
+ People think of the French as the pathetic do-nothings in World War 2. They don't hold a candle to the people of the United States, which watched apathetically as Ethiopians, Chinese, and Jews were slaughtered. The isolationist/pacifist attitude of the United States was, in retrospect, revolting.
+ Thank God for Winston Churchill.
