Publication Date: June 7, 2023
The Hidden Illnesses That Shaped FDR’s Life and Changed the Course of History
Conventional wisdom has it that after Franklin Delano Roosevelt overcame a bout of polio at age 39, he remained in robust health until dying of a stroke in 1945 at age 63. The reality: cover-ups by his innermost circle of confidantes, family members, and physicians concealed serious medical problems that not only endangered FDR’s life, but threatened the fate of the free world.
Drawing on extensive research, including FBI memoranda, first-hand reports, a diary kept by his closest companion, and even an admission by Eleanor Roosevelt herself, FDR Unmasked reveals:
- The multitude of maladies FDR battled at virtually every stage of his career, including epilepsy, severe cardiovascular disease, and incurable cancers
- His friendship with the physician who helped hide Woodrow Wilson’s disabling stroke for the last 18 months of his presidency
- His close, highly consequential friendship with Vincent Astor, who provided his yacht for secret medical treatments, including one near-fatal episode in 1934
- How a weakened FDR failed to challenge Stalin’s demands at Yalta
- The unknown archive of a cancer surgeon who treated FDR as early as 1930 — a relationship FDR’s son later concealed
Public figures have little hope when it comes to keeping secrets in today’s world of paparazzi and social media. They might want to take a history lesson from a former president.
Author Steven Lomazow, M.D., delivers a meticulously researched bombshell in FDR Unmasked. Who knew that a man responsible for the United States had so many concealed medical problems?
As a neurologist, the author chronicles FDR’s life. This medical viewpoint highlights his accomplishments while pointing out serious medical conditions. It has always been common knowledge that Franklin Delano Roosevelt battled polio, but his public image was carefully constructed.
Using a well-organized approach, the author peels back the layers of deception perpetrated by family members to reveal a multitude of medical concerns, including incurable cancers and epilepsy.
Supporting material such as photos and documentation enforces the book’s premise, as does a thorough resource list.
FDR Unmasked unveils the hidden medical problems that threatened to take down the 32nd president.
Steven Lomazow, M.D., is a board-certified neurologist in practice for 43 years. His first FDR biography, FDR’s Deadly Secret, written with journalist Eric Fettmann, was published in 2010 by Public Affairs. Dr. Lomazow served as a trustee of the FDR Library and Museum at Hyde Park, New York, and has written numerous scholarly articles about FDR’s health for peer-reviewed medical journals, including “The Epilepsy of Franklin Delano Roosevelt” in Neurology. He is also a reviewer for the Journal of Medical Biography, past president of the Medical History Society of New Jersey, and the current president of the Neurological Association of New Jersey.
