About this item
President Franklin D. Roosevelt coined the slogan “The Arsenal of Democracy” to describe American might during the grim years of World War II. The man who financed that arsenal was his Secretary of the Treasury, Henry Morgenthau Jr. This is the first book to focus on the wartime achievements of this unlikely hero—a dyslexic college dropout who turned himself into a forceful and efficient administrator and then exceeded even Roosevelt in his determination to defeat the Nazis.Based on extensive research at the FDR Library in Hyde Park, NY, author Peter Moreira describes Morgenthau’s truly breathtaking accomplishments: He led the greatest financial program the world has ever seen, raising $310 billion (over $4.8 trillion in today’s dollars) to finance the war effort.
About the Author
My latest book -- and first novel -- is The Haight, a murder mystery set in Haight-Ashbury in 1968. The novel follows the SFPD Lieut. Jimmy Spracklin as he pursues the killer of a Haight-Ashbury artist, and searches for his own run-away stepdaughter. I've always loved the Sixties and have had a great time setting a crime novel in one of the decade's hot spots. My previous books include: Hemingway on the China Front, which told the little-known story of Ernest Hemingway's trip to China in 1941; and The Jew Who Defeated Hitler, which chronicled Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau, Jr.'s role in financing the Allied war effort in the Second World War. I'm now working on Book 2 in the Haight Mystery series, and hope to have some details soon.
