The Hidden Illnesses That Shaped FDR's Life and Changed the Course of History
Conventional wisdom has it that after Franklin Delano Roosevelt overcame a bout of polio at age 39, he remained in robust health until dying of a stroke in 1945 at age 63. The reality: cover-ups by his innermost circle of confidantes, family members, and physicians concealed serious medical problems that not only endangered FDR's life, but threatened the fate of the free world.
Drawing on extensive research, including FBI memoranda, first-hand reports, a diary kept by his closest companion, and even an admission by Eleanor Roosevelt herself, FDR Unmasked reveals:
- The multitude of maladies FDR battled at virtually every stage of his career, including epilepsy, severe cardiovascular disease, and incurable cancers
- His friendship with the physician who helped hide Woodrow Wilson's disabling stroke for the last 18 months of his presidency
- His close, highly consequential friendship with Vincent Astor, who provided his yacht for secret medical treatments, including one near-fatal episode in 1934
- How a weakened FDR failed to challenge Stalin's demands at Yalta
- The unknown archive of a cancer surgeon who treated FDR as early as 1930 - a relationship FDR's son later concealed