1932 : the rise of Hitler and FDR -- two tales of politics, betrayal, and unlikely destiny

Nominated for the American Library Association (ALA)'s Notable Books Council's 2015 Notable Books List Two Depression-battered nations confront their destiny in 1932, going to the polls in their own way to anoint new leaders, to rescue their people from starvation and hopelessness. America elects a Congress and a president--ebullient aristocrat Franklin Roosevelt or tarnished "Wonder Boy" Herbert Hoover. Decadent, divided Weimar Germany suffers two rounds of bloody Reichstag elections and two presidential contests -- doddering reactionary Paul von Hindenburg against rising radical hate-monger Adolf Hitler. The outcome seemed foreordained -- unstoppable forces advancing upon crumbled, disoriented societies. A merciless Great Depression brought greater--perhaps hopeful, perhaps deadly -- transformation: 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 baron William Randolph Hearst lays his own plans to block Roosevelt's ascent to the White House. FDR's politically-inspired juggling of a New York City scandal threatens his juggernaut. In Germany, the Nazis surge at the polls but twice fall short of Reichstag majorities. Hitler, tasting power after a lifetime of failure and obscurity, falls to Hindenburg for the presidency -- also twice within the year. Cabals and counter-cabals plot. Secrets of love and suicide haunt Hitler. Yet guile, ambition--and terror--may yet still prevail. 1932 's breathtaking narrative covers two epic stories that possess haunting parallels to today's crisis-filled vortex. It is an all-too-human tale of scapegoats and panaceas, class warfare and racial politics, of a seemingly bottomless depression, of massive unemployment and hardship, of unprecedented public works/infrastructure programs, of business stimulus programs and damaging allegations of political cronyism, of waves of bank failures and of mortgages foreclosed, of Washington bonus marches and Berlin street fights, of once-solid financial empires collapsing seemingly overnight, of rapidly shifting social mores, and of mountains of irresponsible international debt threatening to crash not just mere nations but the entire global economy. It is the tale of spell-binding leaders versus bland businessmen and out-of-touch upper-class elites and of two nations inching to safety but lurching toward disaster. It is 1932's nightmare -- with lessons for today. Two 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 president—ebullient aristocrat Franklin Roosevelt or tarnished “Wonder Boy” Herbert Hoover. Decadent, divided Weimar Germany faced two rounds of bloody Reichstag elections and two presidential contests—doddering reactionary Paul von Hindenburg against rising radical hate-monger Adolf Hitler. The outcome seemed foreordained—unstoppable forces advancing upon crumbled, disoriented societies. A merciless Great Depression brought greater—perhaps hopeful, perhaps deadly—transformation: 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 baron William Randolph Hearst lays his own plans to block Roosevelt’s ascent to the White House. FDR’s politically-inspired juggling of a New York City scandal threatens his juggernaut. In Germany, the Nazis surge at the polls but twice fall short of Reichstag majorities. Hitler, tasting power after a lifetime of failure and obscurity, falls to Hindenburg for the presidency—also twice within the year. Cabals and counter-cabals plot. Secrets of love and suicide haunt Hitler. Yet guile and ambition may yet still prevail. 1932’s breathtaking narrative covers two epic stories that possess haunting parallels to today’s crisis-filled vortex. It is an all-too-human tale of scapegoats and panaceas, class warfare and racial politics, of a seemingly bottomless depression, of massive unemployment and hardship, of unprecedented public works/infrastructure programs, of business stimulus programs and damaging allegations of political cronyism, of waves of bank failures and of mortgages foreclosed, of Washington bonus marches and Berlin street fights, of once-solid financial empires collapsing seemingly overnight, of rapidly shifting social mores, and of mountains of irresponsible international debt threatening to crash not just mere nations but the entire global economy. It is the tale of spell-binding leaders versus bland businessmen and out-of-touch upper-class elites and of two nations inching to safety but lurching toward disaster. It is 1932’s nightmare—with lessons for today. "Two Depression-battered nations confront their destiny in 1932, going to the polls in their own way to anoint new leaders, to rescue their people from starvation and hopelessness. America elects a Congress and a president--ebullient aristocrat Franklin Roosevelt or tarnished "Wonder Boy" Herbert Hoover. Decadent, divided Weimar Germany suffers two rounds of bloody Reichstag elections and two presidential contests--doddering reactionary Paul von Hindenburg against rising radical hate-monger Adolf Hitler. The outcome seemed foreordained--unstoppable forces advancing upon crumbled, disoriented societies. A merciless Great Depression brought greater--perhaps hopeful, perhaps deadly--transformation: 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 baron William Randolph Hearst lays his own plans to block Roosevelt's ascent to the White House. FDR's politically-inspired juggling of a New York City scandal threatens his juggernaut. In Germany, the Nazis surge at the polls but twice fall short of Reichstag majorities. Hitler, tasting power after a lifetime of failure and obscurity, falls to Hindenburg for the presidency--also twice within the year. Cabals and counter-cabals plot. Secrets of love and suicide haunt Hitler. Yet guile, ambition--and terror--may yet still prevail. 1932's breathtaking narrative covers two epic stories that possess haunting parallels to today's crisis-filled vortex. It is an all-too-human tale of scapegoats and panaceas, class warfare and racial politics, of a seemingly bottomless depression, of massive unemployment and hardship, of unprecedented public works/infrastructure programs, of business stimulus programs and damaging allegations of political cronyism, of waves of bank failures and of mortgages foreclosed, of Washington bonus marches and Berlin street fights, of once-solid financial empires collapsing seemingly overnight, of rapidly shifting social mores, and of mountains of irresponsible international debt threatening to crash not just mere nations but the entire global economy."--Publisher description "1932: Two Depression-battered nations confront destiny, going to the polls to anoint new leaders, to rescue their people from starvation and hopelessness. America elects a Congress and a president--ebullient aristocrat Franklin Roosevelt or tarnished 'Wonder Boy' Herbert Hoover. Weimar Germany suffers two rounds of bloody Reichstag elections and two presidential contests--doddering reactionary Paul von Hindenburg against rising hate-monger Adolf Hitler. The outcome: FDR's New Deal and Hitler's Third Reich. But neither was inevitable. Readers enter the fray through award-winning author David Pietrusza's page-turning account: Roosevelt's fellow Democrats may stop him at a deadlocked convention. Al Smith, 1928's Democratic nominee, harbors a grudge against his onetime protégé. William Randolph Hearst also plans to block Roosevelt's ascent to the White House. FDR's juggling of a New York City scandal threatens his juggernaut. In Germany, the Nazis surge but twice fall short of Reichstag majorities. Hitler, tasting power after a lifetime of failure, falls to Hindenburg for the presidency--also twice within the year. Cabals and counter-cabals plot. Secrets of love and suicide haunt Hitler. Yet guile, ambition, and terror may still prevail. [This] is a breathtaking tale of scapegoats and panaceas, of class warfare and racial politics, of massive unemployment and hardship, of unprecedented public works/infrastructure programs, of stimulus programs and allegations of political cronyism, of bank failures and mortgages foreclosed, of Washington bonus marches and Berlin street fights, of rapidly shifting social mores, and of international debt threatening to crash the entire global economy It is the tale of spellbinding leaders versus bland businessmen and out-of-touch upper-class elites, and of two nations inching to safety but lurching toward disaster, It is 1932's nightmare--with lessons for today."--Dust jacket Content: Cast of characters -- "A gentleman cast himself down fifteen stories" -- "I won't be ready until 1932" -- "Everything should be blown up" -- "Miracle man, Washington, D. C." -- "They will remain hanging until they stink" -- "He has never consulted me about a damn thing" -- "Are you frightened of me?" -- "I will take off my coat and vest" -- "A poison-painted monkey on a stick" -- "The half-witted yokels of the cow and cotton states" -- "Dear old man . . . you must step aside" -- "The nomination of this man Hoover is invalid" -- "There was little opportunity for air-sickness" -- "Dammit, Louis, I'm the nominee!" -- "Anti-semitism may be a good starter . . ." -- "Soup is cheaper than tear bombs" -- "He doesn't need a head, his job is to be a hat" -- "The sinister faculty of making men like bad government" -- "The swine within themselves" -- "Climb on the mule" -- "Herr Hitler, I will shoot" -- "We always call her 'Granny'" -- "I saw Hitler cigarettes" -- "Vote for Roosevelt and make it unanimous" -- "A primitive and stupid woman" -- "You felt that they would do anything" -- "Somebody hurled a spittoon." By acclaimed historian David Pietrusza (Rothstein, 1920, 1960, and 1948), the dazzling series of events and amazing cast of characters that comprised the simultaneous rise of Hitler’s Third Reich and FDR’s New Deal in 1932, thus setting the stage for World War II. During that year, two Depression-battered and humbled nations confronted destiny. Depicts the events of 1932, marking the ascent of two political powers that would shape the rest of the twentieth century to come