The book only encompasses 40 years. From 1932 to 1972. In essence the New Deal to watergate. He covers economics, social changes, wars, civil rights, assassinations and goes from the greatest president to the worst (up to that time).
First example: Going off the gold standard.
FDR was elected in Nov. 1932, his inauguration wasn't until March of 1933. His platform included going off the gold standard. In other words gold would no longer back American currency the Federal Reserve board would do that by manipulating interest rates.
The wealthy were looking at all the gold they owned being moved off the commodity exchange which makes the worth of the product fluctuate due to supply and demand. FDR was going to freeze the price of gold and $32.00 per ounce. Outside the U.S. the price could be hundreds of dollars or more.
Immediately after the election there was a rush to transport gold outside the U.S. the main country was Switzerland. There was one problem. Gold was kept in banks and to withdraw the gold created a paper trail of who owned it and how much was withdrawn.
FDR threatened the wealthy gold owners that if it was not returned by a certain day all their names and the amount they sent out of the country would be printed in the New York Times. Most of it was returned. This resulted in a constitutional amendment moving the date of inauguration to January 20. Shortening the lame duck period. This bit the Democrats in the butt in 2000 with the recount in Florida.
Second Example: In 1942 after Pearl Harbor the head of the Selective Service was the father of Grace Kelly (the actress). As lines formed up of young men enlisting to fight in the war he discovered that nearly 30% of the men were medically classified as 4F. As children during the depression they suffered from malnutrition and developed rickets from calcium deficiency causing bowed legs and eye sight problems from lack of vitamin A.
Manchester extrapolated that if FDR was not elected in 1932 and Hoover continued his policy of laisse faire economics and denying there was widespread hunger in America that we might not have been able to field an army or navy in WWII.
Third example: He explained how young girls started screaming at concerts.
There was a young lady who worked during the day and met with some friends who drove to a Frank Sinatra concert. She ate lunch, but was traveling and didn't have anything for dinner. About halfway through the concert and the audience was enjoying the singing either humming or singing along, the girl passed out and fell. Her friends started screaming for help. The other girls started screaming. Sinatra kept on singing and soon all the girls were screaming not knowing what started it. From that concert on the girls screamed during his performance and it continued with rock and roll.
Other books I've read by William Manchester:
His best known book -- Death of a President the authorized account of Kennedy's assassination. Many were disappointed that he stuck to the single assassin.
Goodbye Darkness. This is a recounting of years after WWII he visited the islands in the pacific where he fought. Most of the islands aren't in the history books. He tells of the shrines the Japanese built on all the islands to honor their dead and how the U.S. did nothing.
American Caesar. A biography of Douglas MacArthur.
I came to understand the monumental achievement of what he accomplished in the Pacific with the fewest casualties of any branch of service in the war. He conquered an area three times the size of the United States with total casualties for the war under his command being100,000. There were that many casualties at Iwo Jima, Okinawa and Battle of the Bulge.
In recounting Truman's telegram relieving him of command in Korea, Manchester stated, "England gave more honor to Napoleon."
He does tell of MacArthur's huge ego and the black mark of trying as a war criminal and execution of the Japanese commander of Manila. The commander and his men evacuated leaving he city unharmed. It was Japanese Marines, not under his command that burned the city. MacArthur knew this and had him executed anyway upset that his house and precious library were burned.
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