Witness to Power: The Life of Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy

By Henry Hitch Adams

Book Overview

From the author of the acclaimed biography of Harry Hopkins comes this first full-scale portrait of Franklin D. Roosevelt's top military advisor, Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy. The president's personal chief of staff and chairman of the newly established Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Leahy was the highest-ranking military officer in the nation and one of the most powerful men in Washington during the war years. Along with Hopkins he enjoyed Roosevelt's complete trust. But unlike his better-known White House counterpart and the prominent military leaders of the day, Leahy quietly performed his valuable services behind the scenes. Consequently, he never received the fame of his more dynamic colleagues and soon after retirement faded into history. Henry H. Adams takes this forgotten figure out of the shadows and places him beside the president he so brilliantly and devotedly served. He shows how Leahy, as FDR's confidant, his contributions to the war effort were so valuable that Adams credits Leahy, along with Hopkins, as being chiefly responsible for the smooth transfer of power to Truman upon Roosevelt's death. This biography is equally revealing of Leahy's earlier years of service to the government as chief of naval starting the buildup of what would become a powerful two-ocean navy. It describes his brief but important tenure as governor of Puerto Rico and his later service as ambassador to Vichy France. Witness to Power ensures that Leahy, because of the central role he played during one of America's most important eras, will assume his rightful place on the historical stage.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1682478343
• ISBN13: 9781682478349
• Release Date: November 2022
• Publisher: Naval Institute Press
• Length: 408 Pages
• Weight: 1.56 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 7.0" x 10.0"

Customer Reviews

Great insight into Leahy's place in our history...

Fleet Admiral Leahy played a very important role in the pre-WW2 confusion, isolationalism and uncertainty that existed for the USA. After an exemplary naval career, beginning with the Naval Academy, when Leahy finally attained flag rank he took on innumerable and substantial responsibilities for the country. He worked closely with FDR before FDR was president. It's good he did, since his clear minded approach to most things caught FDR's eye early in his political career and the (later) president called on Leahy to fill some exceptionally critical postings as WW2 loomed: among them Governor to Puerto Rico and Ambassador to Vichy France. The service that FADM Leahy rendered the nation was much greater than I had realized before rounding off some rough edges with this book. In our present day milieu what Leahy did back then, when even a trip between the coasts took several days and not hours, Leahy tirelessly labored to better the Navy and protect the nation. This kind of patriotism is still out there but is a lot harder to find. For children in our nouveau, special focus educational system to not ever hear of Leahy would be dereliction. I always knew Leahy made Fleet Admiral, but I knew this less intensely than I was familiar with other military officers attainment of five star rank. It's a d--- good thing we had Leahy around back then. He exemplified old-school dedication that is less alive today than in his era. Leahy stepped up to the plate and dedicated his life to the protection and thereby the betterment of his country. Others did too, of course. However, this book allows one to dig a bit deeper on Leahy than is normally done by the casual or armchair historian. This book filled a lot of blanks for me -- interesting blanks indeed.