FDR: The New Deal Years 1933-1937: A History, Kenneth S. Davis presents a meticulous account of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's first term. This book is the third volume in Davis' much-lauded biography series of the 32nd president.

In this volume, Davis focuses on Roosevelt's New Deal policies, providing a thorough analysis of how the president laid the foundations - often without his full comprehension -- of the American semi-welfare state.

Davis' core argument is that the New Deal Program, which Roosevelt cobbled together in fits and starts and amid stringent opposition, would eventually be recognized decades later as a necessary safety net for the unfortunate and the down and out.

To examine Roosevelt's achievements, Davis arranges the book into four sections that chronicle Roosevelt's term from his 1933 inauguration to the beginning of 1937. These sections take the reader chronologically through the president's first Hundred Days, late 1933 to 1934, the...
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