White House witness, 1942-1945

the long version

The Nation's Capital during WWII -- a town of intrigue, gossip, humor, and deadly serious political decisions that would affect the future of the world. It's all captured in this remarkable firsthand account by a man who saw it from the vantage point of the White House, as one of FDR's closet aides. The events covered in the diary-with-commentary include: *The White House's struggle with the reaction that was setting in against Roosevelt's New Deal policies; *The politically damaging "spiritualist letters" of Vice President Wallace, and the "blackmail" trade-off that kept them secret. *The infighting over the control of war production. *The historic Big Three conferences. *The battles with the press over excessive wartime secrecy. *The momentous decision by the President to seek an unprecedented fourth term. *The mishandling of the replacement of Wallace by Truman as Roosevelt's running mate. *And the dramatic moments, following FDR's death, when Harry Truman assumed the presidency.