Sly and Able: A Political Biography of James F. Byrnes

Born in near poverty, James Byrnes (1882-1972) rose to become a powerful New Deal senator, served briefly as a Supreme Court justice, was FDR's wartime economic czar, and was appointed by President Truman as his first secretary of state. Years later, as Democrat-turned-Republican governor of South Carolina, Byrnes implemented the so-called Southern Strategy to Richard Nixon's advantage at the 1968 Republican convention. Robertson, who has taught at Clemson Univ. in South Carolina, describes how close Byrnes came to becoming the thirty-third president, only to be double-crossed in 1944 when FDR discarded him as a political liability and picked Truman as his running mate. The author reveals new information about Byrnes's role in the dropping of the atomic bomb, the terms of surrender with Japan and Secretary of State Byrnes's most successful diplomatic achievement: maneuvering Soviet troops out of Iran in 1946. Robertson's account of this subtle, manipulative politician documents in detail how one man served in all three branches of government, acquired enormous political clout and wielded it with great effect. A major political biography. (Nov.)