Description
Book SynopsisTwo Depression-battered nations confronted destiny in 1932, going to the polls in their own way to anoint new leaders, to rescue their people from starvation and hopelessness. America would elect a Congress and a presidentebullient aristocrat Franklin Roosevelt or tarnished Wonder Boy Herbert Hoover. Decadent, divided Weimar Germany faced two rounds of bloody Reichstag elections and two presidential contestsdoddering reactionary Paul von Hindenburg against rising radical hate-monger Adolf Hitler.The outcome seemed foreordainedunstoppable forces advancing upon crumbled, disoriented societies. A merciless Great Depression brought greaterperhaps hopeful, perhaps deadlytransformation: FDR's New Deal and Hitler's Third Reich.But neither outcome was inevitable.Readers enter the fray through David Pietrusza's page-turning account: Roosevelt's fellow Democrats may yet halt him at a deadlocked convention. 1928's Democratic nominee, Al Smith, harbors a grudge against his one-time protege. Press
Trade Review[Starred Review] Lively . . . wonderful . . . mesmerizing. * Kirkus *
"David Pietrusza isn't just one of the best historians writing these days, he's one of the best storytellers--and his latest masterpiece, 1932, is another home run." --Matt Lewis, columnist, Daily Beast
1932 represents a rare combination of scholarly rigor and relentless drama. This book ranks right up there with In the Garden of the Beasts and should be a must choice for every book club. -- Amity Shlaes, author
