1/8: America First: Roosevelt vs. Lindbergh in the Shadow of War Hardcover – September 24, 2024 by H. W. Brands (Author)
The John Batchelor Show
John Batchelor
4.5 • 2.8K Ratings
🗓️ 6 November 2024
⏱️ 11 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
https://www.amazon.com/America-First-Roosevelt-Lindbergh-Shadow/dp/0385550413
Hitler's invasion of Poland in September 1939 launched a momentous period of decision-making for the United States. With fascism rampant abroad, should America take responsibility for its defeat?
For popular hero Charles Lindbergh, saying no to another world war only twenty years after the first was the obvious answer. Lindbergh had become famous and adored around the world after his historic first flight over the Atlantic in 1927. In the years since, he had emerged as a vocal critic of American involvement overseas, rallying Americans against foreign war as the leading spokesman the America First Committee.
While Hitler advanced across Europe and threatened the British Isles, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt struggled to turn the tide of public opinion. With great effort, political shrewdness and outright deception—aided by secret British disinformation efforts in America—FDR readied the country for war. He pushed the US onto the world stage where it has stayed ever since.
In this gripping narrative, H.W. Brands sheds light on a crucial tipping point in American history and depicts the making of a legendary president.
1920s
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | This is CBS Eye on the World. |
| 0:08.5 | Here's John Batchelor. |
| 0:11.7 | I welcome Professor H.W. Brands, Bill Brands, |
| 0:16.6 | his new book, America First, Roosevelt versus Lindberg, in the Shadow of War. |
| 0:22.9 | It is April, 1939. |
| 0:25.8 | A young man is exiting a transatlantic steamer, |
| 0:30.2 | and he's greeted by what appear to be a football team of flashbulbs |
| 0:36.5 | popping as he walks off the police form a barrier for him to get off the ship. |
| 0:42.1 | His name is Charles Lindberg, Lucky Lindy, and he remarks in his diary, and I have this thanks to the professor, |
| 0:49.4 | that the bulbs were popping so fast and they were smashing to the ground that it was like walking across glass. |
| 0:57.8 | The excitement here is because of events in Europe and events in the United States that are about to lead to a huge controversy |
| 1:07.0 | based on the understanding of not going to war again as we did in 1917, because |
| 1:15.4 | the American people resented what they'd been told the war was for, the war to end all wars, |
| 1:22.9 | the war to save democracy, and the results had been the usual colonial empires battling each other for |
| 1:29.8 | regions and space and resources in Europe while America went home in grief. Professor, |
| 1:36.8 | congratulations. This is an incredibly rich story with all kinds of connections about America |
| 1:43.2 | and its reluctance to get involved in European |
| 1:45.5 | wars. Lindberg, at this point, he's 37 years old, and he's world famous. Why? What is it that |
| 1:57.5 | they're still celebrating about him 12 years after the spirit of St. Louis |
| 2:02.4 | flew the Atlantic in a solo flight? Good evening to you. Well, thank you. So the reason that |
| 2:09.5 | Lindberg was famous in 1939 is precisely for what he did in 1927. The world had never heard of |
| 2:15.9 | Charles Lindberg until out of the night, he landed |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from John Batchelor, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of John Batchelor and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.