Of all the children of Franklin and Eleanor, Elliott had the most colorful, dangerous, and controversial career - or rather, dozens of careers. This book emphasizes his contributions to - and subtractions - from aviation history.
The contradictions Elliott embodied are stunning. As a war hero who rose from captain to one-star general in only four years, his role in the new discipline of aerial reconnaissance was crucial, and his direct assistance to FDR's, Churchill's, and even Stalin's war planning important. At the same time, he was almost constantly in the news on account of recurrent scandals, usually of a financial kind. Congress investigated him eight times, from 1934 to 1973, but Elliott skated each time.
Until 1945, the young man's access to the top, at home and abroad, involved him in aeronautics, broadcasting, and political matters - for better and worse. His constantly failing pursuit of great riches guaranteed unfavorable press attention, especially from the enemies of the Roosevelt administration. After his father's death, Elliott attempted to live off his name, and the downs outnumbered the ups. Yet of all the illustrious FDR kids, he remained in the public limelight as a constantly reemerging enfant terrible of the Democratic Party.
The purpose of this book is not to praise or denigrate Elliot, but to let him be the guide to the many overlooked episodes of history in which he was involved, almost Kilroy-style. This includes the 1934 Air Mail Fiasco; the secret reconnaissance flights over Greenland and the Sahara in 1941-42; the invasion of French North Africa, and the shuttle bombing project with the USSR. Also developed are the Hartford Loan Scandal (1944); the 1947 Howard Hughes & Elliott Roosevelt hearings in the Senate; and the brief career as a "fellow traveler" for Joseph Stalin after the war. Here you will find the truth about the ill-fated Hughes F-11, the explosive drone project that killed Joe Kennedy Jr., the abrupt end of Elliott's military career after the death of his father, and the way outside interests - the Texas oil barons, the Mafia, Marshal Stalin, aviation moguls, and even the shadowy masters of Miami Beach attempted to use the president's gullible and ambitious son for their purposes over no less than forty years. You will find out how American trans-Pacific and trans-Atlantic aviation got started in 1933-1945, and why FDR annexed half the South Pacific and occupied the North Atlantic. You'll even discover who wrote Elliott's books. And you will hear the truth about the beginning of the Cold War in 1944, as the American bases in the USSR soon outlasted their welcome.
This is not a political book. It is meant to illuminate history as it really happened, not argue for or against. Your pleasant orthodoxies will be challenged.