The Roosevelt Myth, John T. Flynn
America’s Great Depression, Murray Rothbard (though this one is about Hoover, not FDR)
The Forgotten Man, Amity Shlaes
New Deal or Raw Deal?, Burton Folsom, Jr.
FRD’s Folly, Jim Powell
My father declared FDR to be “King Franklin the First.”
Best possible novel about depression is Steinbeck’s “Grapes of Wrath.”
Best economic book explaining how governments cheat is a 1948 rewrite of Adam Smith’s “Wealth of Nations.” That book’s title is “Adam Smith Today” by Arthur Hugh Jenkins.
Happy reading.
Not focused solely on FDR, but lots of interesting stuff. A bit dense, but if you are really interested in Conservative economics, this is the site
“The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Great Depression and the New Deal” is pretty good:
Kindle is a wonderful device (I have one) however the books available in Kindle format tend to be recent publications or heavy old sellers and classics. Finding lower production run books from earlier decades in Kindle is difficult. Do what I do, books not available in Kindle are usually available via Amazon. Buy them used and save a fortune. BTW you can request a book to be brought into Kindle format. Its just a request. I imagine Kindle will act on requests if certain books have the demand for it.
On economics, this sounds like a drone-fest, but it was very interesting and, moreover, HIGHLY relevant to what's going on today: An Essay on Mediaeval Economic Teaching, by George O'Brien. Lots of stuff about how stupid Socialism is and, more importantly, WHY. And this was written in the early 1900's!
Also enjoyed:
A Life of General Robert E. Lee, by John Esten Cooke. Not only an interesting portrait of the man, but a contemporary look at national politics and some of the battles.
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin.
The Oregon Trail: Sketches of Prairie and Rocky Mountain Life. This pithy little book is full of wry observations about society and peoples. Quite humourous in it's own way, too. (Be warned there are some jibes at the Mormons -- along with most everyone else.)
It helped that I had just read The Journals of Lewis and Clark, which provides a weirdly compelling tale of life on the plains and especially of the different Indian cultures. However, at least the free version of the journals, had a lot of repetition of entries, so I can't recommend it unless you are okay with skipping through a lot (which is quite easy on the wonderful Kindle). I think the prairie sketches are a good read, regardless.
And, hey, these are all FREE. So, check 'em out if you're so inclined!
These are all good recommendations, but I’d start with Burt Folsom’s Myth of the Robber Barons.
It covers the history of the end of the 19th century and into the early 20th, just before the 2nd Roosevelt takes over.
Bad things started to happen in America right from the start with politics entering business and muddling things up. This book is a good primer on the bad ideas that shaped the early 20th century in America including the first dummy - Teddy Roosevelt.