【Loyalty Test (2024) Hindi Web Series】

Editor's note: This is Loyalty Test (2024) Hindi Web Seriesthe 32nd entry in the writer's project to read one book about each of the U.S. Presidents in the year prior to Election Day 2016. Follow Marcus' progress at the@44in52Twitter account and the44 in 52 Spreadsheet.

Among the 43 (and counting) American presidents, Franklin Delano Roosevelt is in a rarified air. The record longest-serving Commander-in-Chief towers over all his peers except for the mythical George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.

Perhaps more importantly, he is the president for whom my dog is named. Meet Franklin Roosevelt Gilmer.

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Jean Smith's biography, FDR, is as concise as its title. It weighs in at less than 800 pages, which isn't so much when you consider the guy was in office for more than 12 years.

FDR was a complex man who had to step out of the shadow of his famous cousin and White House predecessor, Teddy. He overcame an adult bout of polio that left him with extremely limited use of his legs. Once he made up his mind on something, FDR acted on it.

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Surprisingly, the book felt like a quick read -- especially compared to Smith's biography of U.S. Grant, which took me a whopping 27 days to finish earlier in the year. It helped that I'm finally getting into 20th century politics, which tastes like a giant sundae after a steady diet of sprouts (Franklin Pierce) and cabbage (Benjamin Harrison).

The slew of legislation that created the New Deal -- along with his inauguration speech, one of the most memorable speeches in presidential history -- made FDR a legend when his presidency had barely begun.

Today they remind us how steep the popularity climb will be for either of 2016's major party candidates. Likely no other president will ever have a first 100 days like FDR's. Indeed, his fast-paced success is the reason we look at that important milestone in all subsequent administrations.

It's easy to be intimidated by such a figure. Yet FDR comes off as gregarious, smart, and up to all the challenges that led to his being elected four times to the White House. He was also a man who seemed to understand the importance of relationships, from his own mother to fellow world leaders.

There's much here about FDR's relationships. What stands out is an interesting juxtaposition between his relationship with Winston Churchill (warm, boyish) and his wife Eleanor (more of deep respect and admiration than anything resembling romantic love).

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Smith's recounting of the Churchill-FDR dynamic is one of my favorite things from the book. It was a dynamic that came into clearer focus when Stalin was thrown into the mix. I'm excited now to check out William Manchester's famed Churchill biography once this project is done.

The debates over Europe post-World War II captivated me the most. A child of the 1980s, I remember the end of the Cold War but, here, we see the very beginning. Though, if there's one particular failure on the book's part, it's the short shrift the historic Yalta conference gets.

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Just as important was the relationship FDR built with the American people, especially in his famous Fireside Chats. It was a powerful way for citizens to feel the presence of their president, especially in a turbulent time -- the ongoing Great Depression, the shadow of another World War.

For FDR, this early use of mass media was a brilliant propaganda tool, giving him a direct pipeline to a massive number of voters at one time -- something we take for granted in 2016. When was the last time any of us watched one of President Obama's (or any president's) weekly addresses, now conveniently posted to YouTube?

Despite the myths that have grown up around FDR, he was hardly perfect. Smith is careful to show those moments, too. Of note was his battle with the Supreme Court over the constitutionality of several of his New Deal initiatives and his subsequent "court-packing" scheme -- an ill-advised idea to appoint more than 9 justices, that Smith notes was based in FDR's hubris.

Also notable is FDR's affair with fellow aristocrat Lucy Mercer back in World War I. We don't just get the scandalous details; Smith believes FDR's ending of the affair had as profound affect on his development as did his fight with polio. He emerged from both experiences less arrogant and more resilient.

The details of his recovery from polio are just as fascinating -- the fact that he insisted on never being photographed in a wheel chair, the way he physically depended on his son for standing support throughout his presidency. It's especially impressive when looking back from an era where there is such intense physical scrutiny of potential presidents.

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If there's one bone to pick with Smith's book, it's that it ends a page after FDR's death. There's nothing about how the nation coped, how his family memorialized him, or the difficult transition of power to VP Harry Truman. It just ... ends.

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You wouldn't think it matters. But I was so stunned that it left me feeling cold, and was a far cry from the conclusion of Smith's wonderful Grant bio. After putting in so much work to show both the ruthless and warm sides of one of America's greatest (in every sense of the word) presidents, it's a wet blanket of an ending.

Still, I walked away with my extremely positive impression of FDR intact. And I still feel pretty good about naming my dog after him.

Days to read Washington: 16Days to read Adams: 11Days to read Jefferson: 10Days to read Madison: 13Days to read Monroe: 6Days to read J. Q. Adams: 10Days to read Jackson: 11Days to read Van Buren: 9Days to read Harrison: 6Days to read Tyler: 3Days to read Polk: 8Days to read Taylor: 8Days to read Fillmore: 14Days to read Pierce: 1Days to read Buchanan: 1Days to read Lincoln: 12Days to read Johnson: 8Days to read Grant: 27Days to read Hayes: 1Days to read Garfield: 3Days to read Arthur: 17Days to hear Cleveland: 3Days to read Harrison: 4Days to read McKinley: 5*Days to read T. Roosevelt: 15*Days to read Taft: 13   *Days to read Wilson: 10  *Days to read Harding: 3*Days to read Coolidge: 7 *Days to read Hoover: 9 *Days to read FDR: 11

Days behind schedule: 12