The Improbable Wendell Willkie: The Businessman Who Saved the Republican Party and His Country and Conceived a New World Order

Two-time Pulitzer Prize–winning biographer Lewis (God’s Crucible) breathes new life into the onetime Republican standard bearer and now historical footnote. In folksy prose, Lewis tracks Willkie’s evolution from small-town Indiana Wilsonian Democrat to utility company executive, then to, in Lewis’s description, “certainly one of the most unexpected, if not unlikely, candidates for presidency” ever on the Republican ticket. The bulk of the narrative focuses on Willkie’s approximately five years of national prominence, from his 1939 appearance on the cover of Time magazine for his role in challenging New Deal policies to his death in October 1944 at age 52 after an unsuccessful second bid for the GOP nomination. Lewis highlights Willkie’s role in gaining Republican support for the Lend-Lease Act and supporting the nascent civil rights movement. Those looking for parallels to recent elections featuring moguls-turned-politicians will be disappointed; Willkie took a globalist stance and favored bipartisanship to further his political missions. Lewis does not shed much light on Willkie’s personal relationships, but his swift, thoughtful biography makes clear Willkie’s importance in WWII-era America and his lasting impact on domestic and international policies. (Sept.)