Closest Companion: The Unknown Story of the Intimate Friendship Between Franklin Roosevelt and Margaret Suckley

Closest Companion is the highly acclaimed and surprisingly engrossing secret diary of Margaret "Daisy" Suckley, Franklin Roosevelt's sixth cousin, who spent more private time with FDR during his years in the White House than any other person. Expertly edited by the eminent historian and bestselling author Geoffrey C. Ward, the diary begins on FDR's inauguration day in January 1933 and ends on the day Roosevelt died in April 1945. Including thirty-eight letters that FDR wrote to Daisy, this volume is a significant contribution to history, offering unique and intimate details of FDR's relationship with Winston Churchill and other wartime leaders, his decision to run for an unprecedented fourth term, his deteriorating health, and his hopes for the postwar world. But at bottom, Closest Companion is a love story like no other, one that provides dramatic new insights into the character and private life of one of America's greatest presidents.

Geoffrey C. Ward is the bestselling author of two books about FDR—Before the Trumpet and A First-Class Temperament—and the coauthor (with Ken Burns) of The War, The Civil War, Jazz, and Baseball. The former editor of American Heritage magazine, he is the winner of many awards, including the Parkman Prize for history and the National Book Critics Circle Award. He lives in New York.