First published 2017
Miami swelters on a February evening in 1933. Giuseppe Zangara clutches a pistol in the crowd, watching President-elect Franklin Roosevelt's motorcade approach. The Italian immigrant has traveled here with one purpose: to kill the man who will soon lead America through its darkest economic crisis. Award-winning historian Kenneth S. Davis reconstructs the moments when Zangara raised his weapon, coming within inches of Roosevelt. The gunman's finger tightens on the trigger as Secret Service agents scan the crowd. Roosevelt waves to supporters, unaware that his life hangs in the balance. Davis examines what drove Zangara to this desperate act and how close he came to changing the trajectory of American history. The story captures those crucial seconds when the fate of the New Deal, World War II leadership, and the nation's recovery from the Great Depression all rested on one man's aim.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, mystery, crime, political-thriller, american-history
Vibes: suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, historical-figures
Setting: Miami
Period: 1933
15 pages · Kindle Edition · New Word City, Inc.