Master of His Fate: Roosevelt's Rise from Polio to the Presidency

by James Tobin

Overview

Master of His Fate by James Tobin is an inspiring middle-grade biography of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, with a focus on his battle with polio and how his disease set him on the course to become president.

In 1921, FDR contracted polio. Just as he began to set his sights on the New York governorship—and, with great hope, the presidency—FDR became paralyzed from the waist down. FDR faced a radical choice: give up politics or reenter the arena with a disability, something never seen before. With the help of Eleanor and close friends, Roosevelt made valiant strides toward rehabilitation and became even more focused on becoming president, proving that misfortune sometimes turns out to be a portal to unexpected opportunities and rewards—even to greatness.

This groundbreaking political biography richly weaves together medicine, disability narratives, and presidential history.

Christy Ottaviano Books

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781627795203
Publisher:	Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Publication date:	03/23/2021
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	1,102,377
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.10(d)
Lexile:	1060L (what's this?)
Age Range:	9 - 14 Years

About the Author

James Tobin is an award-winning biographer and the author of the adult book The Man He Became: How FDR Defied Polio to Win the Presidency, as well as the children's books The Very Inappropriate Word and Sue MacDonald Had a Book. He won the National Book Critics Circle Award in biography for Ernie Pyle’s War and the J. Anthony Lukas Work-in-Progress Award for To Conquer the Air: The Wright Brothers and the Great Race for Flight. He teaches narrative nonfiction in the department of media, journalism, and film at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.

Editorial Reviews

"A nuanced, engaging, and thought-provoking blend of biography and disability history." —Kirkus

"A tightly focused biography." —Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

From the Publisher

02/01/2021

Gr 5–8—This biography focuses on the years of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's life from the time he contracted polio in 1921 to when he was inaugurated in 1933. His early life is briefly summarized. When discussing people with disabilities, Tobin notes when he is using words that readers will find offensive now and why he is doing so. Tobin also examines society's changing views of disability and how Roosevelt helped impact these shifts in cultural thought. There are details about the controversy surrounding the portrayal of Roosevelt without crutches or a wheelchair in his monument erected in the 1990s. Pages of photographs, an index, and source notes are included. The writing level could be challenging for some readers, and the tone occasionally veers toward the didactic. Only a few times does the text feature a broader outlook on people with disabilities during the 1930s; it usually stays tightly focused on Roosevelt and acknowledges the unique power and privileges his position and wealth provided. While this book would not work as an overarching look at FDR's life, nor should it be the first choice for a biographical portrait of the former president, it would work well for a student who wants to learn about polio and the experiences of people with disabilities. VERDICT A solid biography for older readers focusing on the specific years of FDR's life that included his struggles with polio, recovery, and learning to live as a person with a disability in a world where those differences usually meant being hidden away.—Elizabeth Nicolai, Anchorage P.L., AK

School Library Journal

2020-12-24
Biographer Tobin examines how polio shaped Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s path to the United States presidency.

In 1921, at the age of 39, the always active Roosevelt suffered mysterious pains, weakness, and paralysis in his legs. After some investigation, he was diagnosed with poliomyelitis, which threatened his political career as well as his body. Polio, thoroughly and accessibly explained, grounds this biography. Chronicling Roosevelt’s recovery as well as his campaigns—for governor of New York in 1928 and 1930 and finally for president in 1932—the author details the intricate physical and political maneuvering Roosevelt’s disability required. Sympathetically and sensitively, he reveals that Roosevelt’s obsession with walking unaided and appearing nondisabled stemmed less from vanity than desperation. Accounts of pitying and skeptical bystanders and rumor-spreading political rivals illustrate the fact that prejudice, as much as paralysis, jeopardized his career. Though the author emphasizes Roosevelt’s determination and optimism, he doesn’t ignore their drawbacks; occasionally, Roosevelt’s stubbornness undid his progress, and his intense focus on politics and walking left his children lonely and stifled his wife’s own ambitions. Nor does Tobin glorify “overcoming” disability; only by working with his limitations could Roosevelt finally move forward. An epilogue details the debate surrounding a statue of Roosevelt in his wheelchair and summarizes Roosevelt’s presidency until his death in 1945.

A nuanced, engaging, and thought-provoking blend of biography and disability history. (source notes, index) (Biography. 10-14)

Kirkus Reviews