Franklin, Winston: Leaders for all times

0 Comments | USA TODAY, December, 2003 | by Deirdre Donahue

"People are hungry for whatever light can be shed on leadership," author Jon Meacham says. After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, "we feel vulnerable."

Many readers might find themselves looking for historical guidance. Meacham's book, Franklin and Winston : An Intimate Portrait of an Epic Friendship (Random House, $29.95), details the genuine and complicated bond between Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Winston Churchill.

A surprise best seller, it has gone back to press 10 times and has 185,000 copies in print. It's No. 53 on USA TODAY's Best-Selling Books list.

Meacham, 34, managing editor at Newsweek , notes that Americans seem drawn to a book that details how Roosevelt and Churchill led the Allies to victory after Hitler's conquest of Europe. While...