When Roosevelt, in failing health, decided to run for a fourth term, he gave in to the big city Democratic bosses and reluctantly picked Senator Truman as his vice president, a man he barely knew. Upon FDR’s death in April 1945, Truman, after only 82 days as VP, was thrust into the presidency. Utterly unprepared, he faced the collapse of Germany, a Europe in ruins, the organization of the UN, a summit with Stalin and Churchill, and the question of whether atomic bombs would be ready for use against Japan.
In his latest book, Ascent to Power: How Truman Emerged from Roosevelt's Shadow and Remade the World, David L. Roll focuses on these momentous years of transition, 1944 to 1948, illuminating Truman’s struggles to emerge as president in his own right.
David L. Roll is the author of George Marshall and The Hopkins Touch. After serving as an Assistant Director in the Bureau of Competition at the FTC, Roll practiced law and founded Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation, a public interest organization that continues to provide pro bono legal services to social entrepreneurs around the world.
