The Wit & Wisdom of F D R

In Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, the premier collection of noted sayings, Mark Twain is the only American with more citations under his name than Franklin Delano Roosevelt. FDR was the greatest raconteur to occupy the White House between the presidencies of Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan. A superb mimic with a professional comic's sense of timing, he had an ear for a ringing phrase and could laugh at himself, relishing the opportunity to tell stories at his own expense. The anecdotes, sayings, and witticisms collected in this hugely entertaining and edifying volume are a testament to the high humor and insouciant, infectious personality of one of our greatest presidents.

James C. Humes is a former Woodrow Wilson Fellow at the Smithsonian Institution's Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.