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http://www.npr.org/2013/11/25/247155522/roosevelts-polio-wasn-t-a-secret-he-used-it-to-his-advantage How FDR Defied Polio to Win the Presidency by James Tobin Hardcover, 370 pages Americans remember Franklin Delano Roosevelt as the president who led the country through the Great Depression and World War II. He bolstered the nation's spirits with his confidence, strength and optimism, despite being crippled by polio, a disability that's largely invisible in photographs and newsreels of his presidency. Roosevelt\'s Polio Wasn\'t A Secret: He Used It To His \'Advantage\'But historian James Tobin says, despite misimpressions to the contrary, Americans of Roosevelt's day were well-aware of his disability. In fact, Tobin says, Roosevelt's struggle to overcome his affliction was an important part of the personal narrative that fueled his political career. Tobin tells Fresh Air's Dave Davies, " only discovered who he really was through the ordeal of polio. ... It gave him a kind of confidence in his own strength that perhaps no one can have until you're tested." Roosevelt contracted polio at the age of 39, and Tobin's new book explores his battle with the illness and the ways it molded his character and influenced his rise in the Democratic Party. Tobin has written previous books about the Wright brothers and war correspondent Ernie Pyle. His new book is The Man He Became: How FDR Defied Polio to Win the Presidency.