Drawing on archival materials, public speeches, personal correspondence, and accounts by family and close associates, the acclaimed bestselling historian and biographer H. W. Brands offers a compelling and intimate portrait of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's life and career, revealing the inner strengths as well as the unerring political instincts that shaped him, and helped to save America in its darkest hour. Born into wealth and privilege, FDR became the nation's greatest champion of the poor and down-and-out. Brands examines the role of FDR's uncle Theodore Roosevelt in the shaping of Roosevelt's political aspirations, and the powerful influence of his dominating and overly protective mother. He explores the, at times, prickly resistance and unusual partnership between FDR and his wife, Eleanor. Most of all, the book traces in breathtaking detail FDR's revolutionary efforts with his New Deal legislation to alter the very fabric of the American economy in order to save it, his forceful--and cagey--leadership up to and during World War II, and his lasting legacy in creating the foundations of a postwar Europe. This year's presidential hopefuls have eagerly invoked Roosevelt's leadership and vision in their campaigns. TRAITOR TO HIS CLASS brilliantly captures the qualities that have made him a beloved hero and a pivotal figure to millions of Americans.