A Blueprint for War, Susan Dunn
A Blueprint for War, Susan Dunn
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A Blueprint for War
FDR and the Hundred Days That Mobilized America

Author: Susan Dunn

Narrator: Suzanne Toren

Unabridged: 8 hr 17 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 04/17/2018

Synopsis

In the cold winter months that followed Franklin Roosevelt’s election in November 1940 to an unprecedented third term in the White House, he confronted a worldwide military and moral catastrophe. Almost all the European democracies had fallen under the ruthless onslaught of the Nazi army and air force. Great Britain stood alone, a fragile bastion between Germany and American immersion in war. In the Pacific world, Japan had extended its tentacles deeper into China. Susan Dunn dramatically brings to life the most vital and transformational period of Roosevelt’s presidency: the hundred days between December 1940 and March 1941, when he mobilized American industry, mustered the American people, initiated the crucial programs and approved the strategic plans for America’s leadership in World War II. As the nation began its transition into the preeminent military, industrial, and moral power on the planet, FDR laid out the stunning blueprint not only for war but for the American Century.

About Susan Dunn

Susan Dunn, the Massachusetts Professor of Humanities at Williams College, is the author of a dozen books, including Roosevelt’s Purge; 1940: FDR, Willkie, Lindbergh, Hitler—the Election amid the Storm; and The Three Roosevelts, cowritten with James MacGregor Burns. She lives in Williamstown, Massachusetts.

About Suzanne Toren

Suzanne Toren, award-winning narrator, has over thirty years of experience in narration. She was named a “Golden Voice” by AudioFile magazine in 2019. She has won the American Foundation for the Blind’s Scourby Award for Narrator of the Year, AudioFile magazine named her the 2009 Best Voice in Nonfiction & Culture, and she is the recipient of multiple Earphones Awards. She performs on and off Broadway and in regional theaters and has appeared on Law & Order and in various soap operas.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Alex on October 26, 2021

A very well-written book regarding the beginning of WWII and the transformation of foreign policy by FDR with the help of lend lease act. Explains everything in detail from domestic to foreign policy. Very compact (180 pages) and helpful for researches!......more

Goodreads review by Gavinõ on February 21, 2025

"It’s a terrible thing to look over your shoulder when you are trying to lead—and to find no one there." – Franklin Delano Roosevelt This quote perfectly encapsulates the challenge FDR faced in the early months of his third term. Unlike his first two terms, where he successfully united the nation beh......more

Goodreads review by Eugenea on February 15, 2023

This is very good coverage of 1940, the year before the U.S. became fully involved in WWII; Lend-Lease and American efforts to assist Britain as she stood alone against Hitler dominate the pages of this history book. I was particularly interested to follow the activities of Harry Hopkins, since my f......more

Goodreads review by Piker7977 on February 23, 2019

A Blueprint for War: FDR and the Hundred Days that Mobilized America focuses on the period between Roosevelt's third electoral victory and the drafting of the Atlantic Charter. The reader gets a good retelling of the political leadership, ideology, and circumstances that encouraged FDR's interventio......more

Goodreads review by Charles on August 30, 2024

This had some good historical information about the steps taken in the US to prepare the country for WWII. After reading several books about this time, my opinion is that FDR was not the President that the US needed at the time. He wasn't interested in making the difficult decisions, he did not give......more

Quotes

“A Blueprint for War should become the definitive telling of a pivotal episode in American history.” Edward J. Larson, Pulitzer Prize–winning author

“A superbly researched and written history of how FDR…set forth an enlightened and lasting vision of America’s international responsibilities in the future.” James T. Patterson, author of Grand Expectations

“Susan Dunn is one of the great Roosevelt historians of our time…Especially in these times, it is inspiring to read this story of a President surely exercising moral leadership at a moment of looming world crisis.” Michael Beschloss, author of Presidential Courage

“Dunn has given us a thoughtful, readable examination of presidential leadership.” Warren Kimball, author of Forged in War: Roosevelt, Churchill, and the Second World War

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