The Switchman
America-Europe 1933-1945
The Great Depression, the New Deal, the rise of Fascism, the Spanish Civil War, the Second World War – the nineteen-thirties and -forties formed a period of monumental decision-making in the United States and Europe. In The Switchman, Geert Mak brings to life the period’s great political movements on both continents through the lives of the men and women in the White House during those years
Central to this portrait is Harry Hopkins, a former social worker in New York’s poorest neighbourhoods, Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s right-hand man and confidant, and a driving force behind the New Deal and the wartime alliance. Never owning a house, or more than two suits, he worked tirelessly on the period’s defining international negotiations. After Hopkins’ death just after the war, Winston Churchill wrote, ‘He was a true leader of men, and alike in ardour and wisdom in time of crisis, he has rarely been excelled. We shall not see his like again.’ Today he is virtually unknown. Mak introduces us to a whole cast of such characters, from the outspoken Eleanor Roosevelt and her friends to the clever all-rounder Missy LeHand, the president’s secretary and ‘second wife’.
Through individual lives, both unusual and everyday, Mak weaves together a thrilling story about the importance of democratic values and following one’s moral compass. Turbulent times require great courage, a call that was answered by Harry Hopkins and those around him. At today’s crossroads in questions of democracy, economy and war, it is a call that has once again become all too urgent.
One of the Netherlands’ most successful non-fiction writers
A highly topical account of twentieth-century international politics
Mak distils the great movements of history in individual lives recounted with feeling and empathy
“It was only when writing that I noticed how relevant the book actually is. The thirties, Spain, Ukraine, the “arsenal of democracy”. I wasn’t looking for parallels, they imposed themselves”
“In The Switchman the parallels with our time are implicit though unavoidable. Thanks to Mak’s talent for making deeply human experiences felt, as a reader you are constantly on the edge of your seat. This is absolutely a new highlight within his oeuvre.”
