An inspiring call to redeem the progressive legacy of the greatest generation, now under threat as never before. For decades conservative and corporate interests have worked to obscure the greatest achievement of the Greatest Generation: securing Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms for all Americans. Freedom from want and fear; Freedom of speech and religion. These were the democratic aims that helped beat the Great Depression, defeat the Axis Powers in World War II, and turn the United States into the strongest and richest nation in history—and they remain the most significant legacy of America’s most progressive generation. This generation of Americans, often in the face of fierce conservative opposition, advanced freedom, equality, and democracy for all. Since the 1970s, the political right has fought to contain or reverse middle class prosperity and democratic rights for workers, women, and minorities. In this eye-opening account, scholar and advocate Harvey Kaye recalls the full story of this generation’s extraordinary struggles and accomplishments. By making America, in FDR’s words, “fairly radical for a generation,” the Greatest Generation had their true rendezvous with destiny. And Kaye convinces that to honor them, it is time for another generation of Americans to do the same, before it is too late.
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