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The book is filled with profiles of fascinating figures on both sides of the debate: syndicated newspaper columnist Dorothy Thompson, a leading voice for intervention; Burton Wheeler, a progressive Democrat who broke with Roosevelt over the war and led the isolationist cause in the Senate; and British ambassador Lord Lothian, who promoted support for his country and helped get the president to devise the Lend-Lease program that kept Britain afloat. Arrayed against the interventionists were many high-ranking military officers and the America First movement, whose anti-Semitic strains came to the surface in a Lindbergh speech that left him discredited among many Americans who once glorified him. The fight over intervention mobilized the public to take part in the debate and, in the end, helped to educate Americans about the need to prepare for entry into the war. "It was a robust, if tumultuous, example of democracy in action," Olson writes. "Those Angry Days" is popular history at its most riveting, detailing what the author rightfully characterizes as "a brutal, no-holds-barred battle for the soul of the nation." It is sure to captivate readers seeking a deeper understanding of how public opinion gradually shifted as America moved from bystander to combatant in the war to preserve democracy. ___ Online:
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