Presidential Elections from 1940 to 2012

It's Election Day! Have you performed your civic duty? If you're still undecided, you can visit HuffPost Books for a look at how some of history's most notable authors might have voted if they were alive in 2012. Need a break from the news cycle? Check out NPR's list of "6 Book Stories That'll Cast The Election in New Light."

During the current election season, we've been turning the clock back on Washington politics to look at another important moment in American history: FDR's third presidential election. The context for this historic race is vividly rendered in Andrew Rosenheim's FEAR ITSELF, a rousing new political thriller released last month from Overlook. Andrew Rosenheim visited the Overlook office last week to tell us a bit more about his latest book. Sample the video below for an exclusive message from the author.

Would the United States have entered the Second World War if President Roosevelt had never run for a third term? Only hindsight presents Americans of the early 1940s as unequivocal supporters of World War II. While FDR strongly supported the British, his efforts to help them were repeatedly hindered by an isolationist Congress and a country mired in Depression, reluctant to undertake another costly global conflict. At a time when radical groups sprouted across America, fed by populist fears and hopes for strong leadership, organizations like the Bund, a small yet ardently pro-Nazi collective, aggressively opposed America’s entrance into the war in Europe.

In Fear Itself twenty-six year old Jimmy Nessheim, a young rookie agent in the newly-minted Chicago Field Office of the FBI and the child of German parents is the perfect candidate to take on a dangerous assignment—a mission to infiltrate the Bund’s sinister organization in order to diffuse an insidious plot aimed at sabotaging President Roosevelt’s reelection. Working to discover the true identity of the Dreiländer, a covert German agent lying dormant in the United States for more than a decade, Nessheim’s case hurtles him across the country—from New York to San Francisco to Washington DC—offering a meticulous look at the United States during the years leading up to World War II.

Praise for Fear Itself

“This top-notch historical thriller from Rosenheim, the first in a new series … will only whet readers’ appetites for more.” – Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“If you like wartime political thrillers, you’ll love Andrew Rosenheim’s gripping Fear Itself.” – Newsweek

“[A] disturbingly vivid portrait of the U.S. driven by the Great Depression, political conflicts, and concerns about looming war in Europe … Rosenheim’s picture of pre-WWII America is riveting.” – Booklist

“Fans of Le Carré, Deighton, and all the other great spy masters will thoroughly enjoy Fear Itself.” – Crimesquad.com

Coming Next Week: THE ESCAPE OF SIGMUND FREUD

Renowned psychologist, author, and filmmaker David Cohen returns next week with the release of The Escape of Sigmund Freud, a new book exploring Freud's final years in Vienna and his flight from the Nazi rise.

As Hitler seized power in Germany throughout the early 1930s, the Nazis passed a series of decrees intended to limit the personal and financial freedom of Jews throughout the country. Agents of the regime appointed trustees to every Jewish owned business, responsible for ensuring that "improperly" acquired Jewish assets were confiscated. After Germany annexed Austria in 1938, thousands such Kommisars were dispatched and appointed to businesses in Vienna to oversee these transactions, including one young Nazi official named Anton Sauerwald, assigned to investigate the assets of Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic practice and publishing company. What Sauerwald discovered included records of illegal deposits to international bank accounts, which qualified as evidence enough to confiscate Freud's saving. Rather than turn him in, however, Sauerwald instead assisted Freud and his family as they used these funds to flee Vienna for London.

Featuring never-before-seen material including personal correspondence between Freud's extended family and previously undisclosed financial records, this revelatory biography of Freud's final years recounts in vivid detail how Sauerwald improbably risked his own life to help one family escape a genocide. Drawing on a treasure trove of new research shedding fresh light on Freud's twilight years, Cohen explores the famed professor's late life and work, looking at his Jewish identity, the agony of his advancing cancer, and his often overlooked works in exile.

Advance Praise for The Escape of Sigmund Freud

"An illuminating look at the end of the life of a giant of psychology." - Kirkus Reviews

"Fascinating ... Cohen's book is informative, entertaining, and sometimes gripping." - Publishers Weekly

"A tantalizing exploration of Freud's escape from Vienna ... [Cohen's] writing is passionate, sometimes wry, and always gripping." - The Independent

"Offers an excellent introduction to Freud's life and work and is full of fascinating insights and anecdotes." - Daily Mail

Available Now: Monty and Rommel: Parallel Lives

Thought you knew all there was to know about the Second World War? Think again. Today we're celebrating the release of Monty and Rommel: Parallel Lives, the new dual biography exploring the lives of WWII's opposing European generals Bernard Montgomery and Erwin Rommel, written by military defense analyst and BBC contributor Peter Caddick-Adams.

During the Second World War, British and German generals Bernard Montgomery and Erwin Rommel achieved unprecedented fame, becoming household names throughout Europe as they fought a series of extraordinary battles across multiple theaters of war and established themselves as the best known military commanders of their age. In Monty and Rommel: Parallel Lives, acclaimed military historian Peter Caddick-Adams delves deeply into the complex and interconnected lives of two of history's most influential military minds, exploring how each was raised to power and how their legacies continue to affect armies today.

Peter Caddick-Adams has been a professional military historian for more than twenty years and has served for three decades in the British Army. Acknowledged as one of the UK's most experienced battlefield guides, Peter has led over 200 visits to more than 50 battlefields around the world, covering all periods in history, from the Romans to the present day. A frequent contributor to television and radio on defense issues, you can read his contributions to the BBC here.

Want to win a copy of Monty and Rommel: Parallel Lives? Subscribe to updates from the Winged Elephant for all the latest blog posts from Overlook delivered straight to your mailbox. Subscribe before 9am (EST) tomorrow, and you'll be entered for a chance to win a copy!

Praise for Monty and Rommel: Parallel Lives

[Monty and Rommel] is a wonderful mine of information for fans of either general ... [Peter Caddick-Adams] is a military historian of great industry who shows an impressive grasp of his materials." - The New Republic

"Caddick-Adams' dual biography manages to move fluidly between the events in the two great generals' lives ... an accessible, well honed study of two fascinating characters." - Kirkus Reviews

"Bernard Law Montgomery and Erwin Rommel are ideal subjects for a comparative military biography." - Publishers Weekly

"In bringing these two men together, Caddick-Adams employs no clunky artifice: the parallels between the two men, in terms of their characters and histories, are extraordinary, and enable him to produce a quite brilliant piece of writing." - BBC History Magazine

"A compelling study of two of the Second World War's best known commanders. Peter Caddick-Adams writes with authority and a deep knowledge of both his subjects and the two world wars in which they fought." - James Holland, author of Together We Stand: North Africa, 1942-1943

"Full of penetrating new insights, illuminated by a clear understanding of the world wars. This impressive book will undoubtedly prove one of the best military histories of the year." - Richard Holmes, author of World at War

"An exciting character-driven read ... an excellent example of how the personal experience of war can create great and yet humane generals. First-class history." - Military Illustrated